Chapter 6 Meeting the Wife-to-be

Donovan's POV

"Is this a fucking child?!" I asked quietly, leveling a furious look at Miguel Santario and his twin sister.

The idiotic man had the audacity to shiver. It was quite amusing. I'd heard many things about Miguel Santario, and shivering wasn't one of them.

When Cypher informed me that the Santario family was ready to sell off one of their own, I knew it was finally time to kick my plans into action.

My men had been monitoring the Santario business for a decade now, and when Luis Santario passed away two years ago, I thought I'd never get my revenge. Who knew he had two useless children stupid enough to run his company into the ground?

Now they are looking for a way to salvage the situation, and it's only through marriage that they can save themselves. I actually thought he was going to sell off his twin sister because I had plans that scared even the devil.

But then, instead of the twin showing up in front of me, a very skinny girl who looked like she'd been trapped in a war camp came down the stairs and floated into the room in a very white dress like an angel.

Miguel Santario looked dreadful before stepping into the center to explain himself.

"She's not a child. She recently turned twenty-four a few months ago."

At this bit of information, a look of surprise crossed the girl's face as her eyes slightly watered. It was as if she didn't expect Miguel to know that she'd turned twenty-four or remember her birthday.

When I glanced at the girl again, her eyes were dry and her face was blank as a white sheet.

Something was going on here, and I didn't want to know what it was. I came here for a bride with Luis Santario's blood running in her veins, and I wasn't leaving until I had one.

"So what? Is this your sister?" My face tightened, hoping I wasn't being played with.

"Ye...yes. She is our father's only biological child," he explained, as if he knew that was what I was thinking.

I've spent years hiding any flicker of emotion on my face or body. It was the only way to survive and live when you were constantly surrounded by enemies and people who wanted to see you dead any second.

This news means that the investigator Cypher had hired hadn't done a good job. Why wasn't I told that Luis Santario had stepchildren? Does this mean he was such a good man to his stepchildren that they still referred to him as "our father."?

So that bloody bastard had a shred of humanity in him. Who knew?

Not pleased with the news, I shifted my gaze to the skinny girl and watched her silently. She wasn't comfortable with my scrutiny.

And if she was Luis's only biological child, then it was all the better. I could thoroughly ruin her and get back at him for what he did to my family years ago.

"Come," I ordered.

Her eyes darted towards Miguel, who was standing beside her, widening with a plea, as if begging him to save her. I wanted to scoff.

Miguel didn't spare her a glance, but his eyes steeled with fierce resolution as he turned away from her and walked back to join his twin sister.

The girl was all alone.

Eliana Santario. That was her name.

Her shoulders slumped as she fisted her hands beside her hips and took one step after another until she was in front of me.

"Sit," I commanded without gazing up to see her expression.

Her body stiffened before she gingerly lowered herself to my open lap and sat.

I could sense the tension radiating off her body as she tucked her hands between the dip in her thighs. I'd expected her to wrap them around my neck, but she looks wounded.

As if this isn't the first time she's sat in a man's lap before.

Suddenly, a visceral urge to hunt down the men whose laps she'd sat in overcame me, but I tamped it down as I focused my gaze on the twins who couldn't look into my eyes.

I was buying their half-sister, and they didn't care. Any outsider with two eyes can pick up on the tension between the half-siblings. It's obvious there was a power shift here and I couldn't blame the twins for it.

Because I too would like to destroy anybody with the blood of Luis Santario running in their veins. And if she's his last remaining offspring, then so be it.

She will be mine to ruin.

At that thought, I clutched the side of her waist in a bruising grasp. The movement caused her to jerk, but other than that, she remained still, as if expecting worse.

"As discussed, all debts will be cleared, and you will have no further problems. The remaining money will be deposited as well. This is the last you will see of your sister," Cypher informed the twins.

"She's yours to do as you wish for as long as you want," was Miguel's immediate reply.

I didn't know if I should be pleased with his response or happy.

It didn't matter, I had other matters to get to. On top of the list is leaving this wretched house that belonged to Luis Santario.

Years ago, stepping into this house would have made me lose my senses. It'd have caused a panic attack, but I was only a boy who hadn't seen what grown men could do to each other.

Now, as a grown man who has done things to other men, I should be poised and composed.

I have been for the past hour. Now, it's time to leave. Lifting a hand, I signal to my men that it's time to go.

In one straight line, they file out in the wake of Cypher, who leaves first, leaving me and the twins behind.

And my wife-to-be.

"Let me be clear on one final thing." My voice comes out sharper than intended.

"Under no circumstances will you contact them ever again, so if you have something to say, say it now."

The room went deadly silent at my tone. When I first spoke, the twins had glanced sidelong at each other in trepidation.

Now their faces relaxed with relief as they both realized I wasn't talking to them.

My wife-to-be jerked when she realized I was speaking to her and an involuntarily squirm escaped her throat.