“Ace, what are you all doing here?”Kaida asked, keeping her gun pointed at Ricardo while looking at Ace and all the mafia men present, their weapons in their waistbands. Had he found out the truth about her? Was he here to end her?

“Kaida, Ricardo had been arrested for attempted murder in Japan. He had tried to murder your father several years ago. The day your parents were celebrating their anniversary.. He had just been released one week prior to that” Ace explained, making her heart break even more. So she was right. Ricardo had come to seek revenge that unfaithful day. He was no old friend of her mom. He had been the one behind that dark red mask that day.

She should have been relieved that Ace was not here to end her but in the face of her adoptive father's betrayal. She couldn't find it in her to be relieved.

“What's going on between you two?”Valentino asked as he looked at her gun with a guarded expression.

“I.. I recognised his voice.. When he shouted just a couple of minutes ago, it was the same voice as the man who killed my mother, “Kaida said, her tears finally falling.

“How come you didn't recognise it all those years?”Ares asked, his eyes flickering with fury and confusion.

“Well it was muffled that day because he was masked,” Kaida said, glancing back at Ricardo who had an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes tracking her every movement.

“But today was the first time he raised his voice at me.. I recognised it immediately” Kaida whispered blaming herself for having never recognised it earlier, for having never noticed it. But then again, Ricardo had always spoken to her softly. Only being firm when giving orders. Even then he was never loud or hateful.

“Tsk so that was my mistake. Ah so many years of being careful around you only to be wasted by one slip up” Ricardo said, his brown eyes holding the same glint of evilness that she had only briefly seen when being given targets to kill.

“You are not even denying it, you bastard!”Ace growled pointing his gun at Ricardo too.

Ricardo’s men immediately lifted their guns too but so did Ace’s men. Ricardo was outnumbered and he seemed to realise that as he stepped back. “You can't defy me, Kaida. Your father was a pathetic man. You should be grateful I raised you,"Ricardo said, making her see red.

“My father was the kindest man in the world. Don't you dare speak of him like that!”Kaida growled, gripping her gun so tight, her knuckles turned white.

“Your Father took what was meant to be mine!”Ricardo snapped, his eyes blazing with anger and hatred.

Kaida paused, her mind racing. “What do you mean?”

“Your mother, she was meant to be mine. I had asked for her hand but she had already fallen for your pathetic father and rejected me”Ricardo said, his voice full of hatred and disgust.

“How.. How did you meet her?”Kaida asked, struggling to process this new piece of information.

“I went to Japan for work. While I was there, I was attacked by a rival and nearly bled to death while escaping. All the men I brought with me had died. Your mother found me in an alleyway barely conscious..”Ricardo trailed off, his eyes looking lost in thought. They almost had a tender gaze in them but Kaida knew better than to fall for this.

“I refused to go to the hospital. Without questioning me, she took me to her house and took care of me till I was completely healed. She was the most beautiful and kind hearted woman I ever met” Ricardo continued as Kaida listened, completely speechless. Her mother was a doctor and she knew he indeed wasn't lying.

So, it had all started with one act of kindness. One act of kindness from her mother had brought them here today. One act of kindness had caused her innocent mother to fall under the predatory gaze of a mafia boss.

“I knew I wanted her to be mine. I went to her family to ask for her hand once I was recovered and they agreed. But because of Daisuke, your father, Akira refused saying her heart belonged to him. Her parents had relented, wanting their daughter's happiness"Ricardo said, his jaw clenching. His eyes darkened with hatred.

“And you tried to kill him,” Kaida muttered, putting the pieces together.

“Yes but your father unfortunately had found out to my ignorance that I was a mafia man and he had already called the cops when I had asked to meet him alone. The cops arrested me before I could end him completely.” Ricardo replied.

“How did you manage to do such a massacre years after on my parents’ anniversary if your men were dead during that rival attack?”Kaida asked, trying to make sense of what she was hearing.

“I made several connections when I was in jail and got in touch with an old mob boss there who kept me updated about everything going on in your mother's life through his men” Ricardo said, his eyes darkening with malicious intent.

“When I came out, the mob boss was on the verge of dying from a heart attack and with no heir. He needed a new leader for his members. For his organisation. ”Ricardo smiled sadistically.

“He eventually gave you the reins before dying” Kaida whispered, her head throbbing as she processed everything.

“Exactly, and I started plotting your parents death, waiting patiently for their anniversary so I could erase that entire bloodline. They shouldn't have chosen Daisuke over me” Ricardo spat, his voice full of hatred.

You should have thought about that before choosing him.

That sentence the man had uttered before killing her mother echoed in her mind once more. Ricardo, blinded by jealousy and obsession, had murdered her entire family. It all made sense now, why she had never discovered the true culprits behind her family's death. Why Ricardo had never tried harder to find out.. Why he had always been so cautious, reserved and strict..But one thing she didn't understand was why did he save her?

He had clearly planned this carefully; they were all masked back then and after Ricardo took her away from there, the house was already burning. Her mother loved nature which is why their house was built far away surrounded by the mountains and trees. By the time the police arrived. Everything was burnt to ash. No witnesses. No bodies. Nothing. But saving her was risky. What if she had discovered everything? Why on earth had Ricardo saved her when he clearly despised her father so much?