When Kiara arrived in Los Angeles, her single-minded purpose was to find her father. Nothing could have prepared her for the tangled web of confusion she was now caught in.
Reflecting on the chaos of the thirty minutes, she shook her head in disbelief. It all happened so fast. One moment, she stood inside Bertarelli's Law Firm, hoping for a lead on her father's whereabouts. The next, she was being grabbed by men in tactical uniforms and roughly shoved into a car.
She sat sandwiched between two men, while two others sat up front: one behind the wheel, the other in the passenger seat.
Her heart pounded in her chest, panic rising as she struggled against the cuffs that bit into her wrists.
"Let me go! Where are you taking me?!" she shouted, her voice echoing in the confined space of the car.
As the cityscape blurred past the windows, Kiara's mind raced with fear and confusion. Who were these men? What were they going to do with her?
The man on her left removed his mask, revealing piercing green eyes. Kiara's breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding even harder.
Garrett Tanner.
"Grandad?"
He smiled as he unlocked her cuffs. "How did you know?"
"Aunt Charlotte showed me a picture of you," she said as she rubbed her wrists.
The man sitting next to her was just as handsome as the man from the faded photograph. Just with a few added wrinkles and grey highlights.
"Sorry to treat you like a hardened criminal, but we needed to make it believable," he said, with a wink.
Her grandfather didn't say anything else during the remainder of the trip. And she had so many questions running through her mind. A sob caught in her throat when she realized her dad wasn't her only living relative.
Now she had her grandfather.
Aunt Charlotte's tales had painted a vivid picture: her grandfather vanished one day, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions. Grandma Sarah's relentless search yielded no clues. Yet, here he was, in the flesh.
Where had he been all this while?
After what felt like an eternity, the car rolled to a stop in front of what could only be described as a fortress.
Kiara's jaw dropped.
Towering walls encased the property, with armed guards stationed both outside and within. As they drove down the winding driveway, flanked by trees, shadows flitted among the branches, hinting at hidden observers. She couldn't help but wonder about the man who had brought her here.
Who the hell was her grandfather?
As they emerged from the car, Kiara was struck by the imposing presence of the house. Its deep green exterior was accented by white stately pillars at the front while balconies were adorned with guards wielding powerful rifles overlooking the surroundings.
As they ascended the steps, leading to the front door, it swung open with a weighty creak, revealing the interior bathed in soft light.
Inside, men nodded respectfully to her grandfather as they passed, their attention focused solely on him. Kiara felt a ripple of awe at the sight of the sheer manpower and the sense of authority that permeated the air.
Led to a spacious living room, Kiara sank into the plush sofa, her gaze drawn to her grandfather's intense stare as he sat opposite her.
Her grandfather took a deep breath, his gaze softening as he met Kiara's eyes. "Kiara, I know you must have a million questions right now."
She nodded.
"But I need you to understand that what I did, I did to protect you. Bertarelli and your father are knee-deep in a dangerous case. If even a whisper got out that Dwayne had a daughter, they'll use you against him. They'll threaten your safety to ensure their victory, no matter the cost."
"Mr. Bertarelli mentioned the case briefly when I was in his office. Do you have any idea of the nature of the case?"
"It's a human trafficking case against Matteo Leone, one of the most notorious criminal masterminds in this district. Dwayne is defending him," her grandfather stated.
"A few weeks ago, I called in some old friends to infiltrate his shipping dock and gather some files on the inside. That same day, the police were tipped off about a shipping container. It was revealed that Jasmine was in it."
Kiara looked at him, confusion written all over her face. "Who's Jasmine?"
"She's McKenzie's one year old."
Kiara gasped. "I have a baby sister?"
"You do."
"Wait!" Kiara's eyes widened and her pulse spiked. "Mom's alive?!"
Her grandfather nodded with a smile.
She couldn't believe it! Her mother was alive! She wished Aunt Charlotte was there to know that Mom was alive. Fourteen years of uncertainty had finally come to an end.
Tears trailed down Kiara's cheeks before she could stop them. "Last night I thought Dad was my only relative alive. Now I have you. And Mom's alive and I have a sister," she choked out as she clutched her chest.
Her grandfather sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. A hug she never thought she'd ever feel which made Kiara cry even harder. She clung to his shirt as he rubbed her back soothingly.
Five minutes later, her tears stopped falling. Her grandfather removed a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. She dried her eyes and blew her nose but she stayed wrapped in the comfort of her grandfather's arms.
"Is Jasmine okay now?" she asked softly. "Can I see them?"
"Jasmine is fine. But, you can't see them yet," he said gently.
She pulled away to ask why when he continued. "They're in hiding, from McKenzie's husband, Alejandro, who runs a criminal empire. If he finds out that you are McKenzie's daughter, you'll become a target too."
Kiara tilted her head. "So Dad is representing a criminal and Mom is married to one?"
She had longed for so many years to rekindle with her Mom and meet her dad. Now, it felt as if she had been thrust into the middle of a storm with no warning.
"I wouldn't judge your parents just yet. If I had to guess neither one of them wanted to be placed in the situation they're in. But, they've been dealt those hands and they're working through it."
Kiara nodded. "But, where was Mom all this time? Did she run away to be with Alejandro?"
Kiara didn't know how to feel if her mother abandoned her for a man.
Her grandfather shook his head and his eyes darkened. "McKenzie was trafficked. When I discovered that it was his shipping container that transported McKenzie overseas all those years ago, I wanted his head on a platter. Now, that Jasmine almost met the same fate as her mother by the same man? I want his body cut up in little pieces to be fed to the ocean animals."
Kiara stopped breathing.
Her mother being trafficked explained why Aunt Charlotte and Grandma Sarah couldn't find her. She wasn't even in the country."
Something dawned on Kiara.
"Can at least talk to Dad? If Mr. Bertarelli told him what happened at the firm, he'd think Matteo's men nabbed me, not my grandfather. He might think Matteo trafficked me too."
Her grandfather nodded. "You're right. We'll contact him and let him know you're safe."
Taking a deep breath, she looked at her grandfather. "Thank you," she said, her voice steady. "And I want to help them, however I can. I'm not a helpless girl."
This was her family. It wasn't what she expected but they were hers. And she was willing to do whatever she could to help them.
Her grandfather smiled, a hint of pride in his eyes, and nodded. "I know you're not. After all, you did take care of those guards at the law firm…and Jim."
Kiara's eyes widened in surprise. "You know about Jim?"
"Yes," her grandfather replied with a reassuring smile. "And don't worry, I took care of it. When I finally confirmed who you were and where you lived, it was already too late. By the time we reached your place, Jim was dead, and you had vanished. We had no choice but to track you down to Los Angeles."
That explained why she hadn't heard anything about Jim in the news or why the police hadn't been looking for her. A wave of relief washed over her, but it was quickly replaced by curiosity and a burning need for answers.
"Are you going to tell my parents what I did?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
My parents. Words she never thought she would utter.
"No," he said, his eyes twinkling with a secret understanding. "That can stay between us."
Kiara sighed with relief and nodded, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders.
She took a deep breath, her mind still swirling with everything she'd just learned. But, she needed to address the one question that rose above everything in her mind.
"Grandad, where have you been all these years?"