I hear commotion behind me and turn around to find Ravi and Sai tumbling across the coffee table. Sai delivers a blow to Ravi’s face and then another. Ravi tries to pry him off of him, but Sai is relentless.
“Stop it, both of you.” Mom shouts sternly, and surprisingly, they listen, and Sai stumbles off him.
“Don’t you fucking go near her again.” Sai pants out, his eyes shooting daggers at Ravi.
“Sai, you have this all wrong, man.”
Sai lunges for him again, but my mother rushes toward them, barely holding him back.
Sai walks toward me, his hair is a mess, his shirt ripped in one place, but he still looks like a god. “Güzel.” He calls me the nickname I’ve grown so fond of. I have never felt as beautiful as I do when he calls me that.
“Don’t.” I raise a hand in front of me to keep him from stepping any closer.
“Are you all right? Just tell me that.” he asks with such sincerity it hurts my heart.
“I’m fine. She isn’t.” I motion to the room where Deniz holds Amelia.
“Get her.” My mother orders Ravi, who he does as he’s instructed.
I watch as he punches the lights out of the guy in there with Amy then works to free her from the restraints. Sai walks toward the laptop when he spots the image on in it. He looks at me, but I avert my gaze.
“There is a lot we need to talk about, baby,” Mom says when the silence in the room becomes too much to contend with.
Ravi carries Amy into the room and places her on the couch. I rush over to check on her, and Mom feels her pulse. “Slow but steady. She just needs to get her strength back.”
I hear a gunshot, and then everything moves in slow motion. Sai is on the ground, and my mother is being held at gunpoint by Deniz. When I am able to catch my breath and understand what is happening, I move away from Amy and go over to Sai. He lies motionless on the ground, and there is so much blood. I look toward Deniz. “What do you want?”
“I think I’m going to let her tell you.” he hisses, pressing the gun harder against my mother’s head. She doesn’t look afraid, just annoyed.
“Mom?” I stand, facing her.
“I wanted to tell you this so many times, but I couldn’t. To keep both you and Sai safe. Until you and Amelia met. I knew that you would meet him someday. Your real name is Kennedy Tekin.”
She lied to me. The one person who I could trust with my life lied to me. “Why would you lie to me, Mom?”
“Because of me.” Deniz says. “Because she was afraid of this.” The bastard laughs.
I look over at Ravi. “Dad, this does not have to go any farther. You said you wanted Sai, and that you’d let the girls go.”
“You have always been a fucking disappointment.” Deniz scowls at Ravi. My mother uses that opportunity to heel his foot and elbow him in the solar plexus. “Bitch!” He grunts as he hits the ground.
“Watch your mouth, asshole.” Mom counters as she kicks him in the stomach.
I run over to Sai. He’s semi-awake but totally out of it. “Hang in there, Sai. Hang in there.”
My mom comes over and inspects his wound. “We have to get him to a hospital.”
“Nobody goes anywhere.” Deniz struggles up, his gun pointed at my mother and me. “She can’t live as long as I do. Sai can’t carry out his calling, with her getting in the way.”
Ravi stands and points a gun at his father. “I told you it didn’t have to go this far.”
“What are you going to do? Shoot your own father?” he laughs mirthlessly.
Ravi looks between us and his father. “You have to get help, Kennedy.”
I don’t wait to be told what to do. I run out of the room, down the corridor, and toward the lift which thankfully opens as I get near it. When on the street, I run to the old woman. She looks me over and calls for someone in the back. “Can I help you?”
“My – friend – he needs help, he’s been shot.” I huff out breathlessly.
