Chapter 29: Consolation

"My daughter."

Her hand remained fixed on the locket as she continued tracing it as if she wanted to feel if it was the real one or not.

"Your father gave it to you. I never expected him to give it back to you." She said, her eyes were filled with unshed tears and her hand moved away from the locket and was now tracing Amie’s face softly.

Amie chocked when her hand got to her throat. She swallowed nodded.

Who knew she was going to be this lucky?

June’s mother being blind made much easier for her to take June’s place.

"Yes, mother." Her voice paused before saying the word mother as if she were testing how it felt to say the word.

Before she could say more, Serena stood up and engulfed her in a bone crushing hug. "I’m sorry, Xena. I shouldn’t have left you alone with the Trevor’s but I had no choice back then."

Amie frowned. "Xena."

She thought her mother’s daughter was June and she was prepared to take on the name, but getting called Xena threw her off balance.

Serena nodded. "Yes. That’s your name. Did your father changed it?"

Finally, Samir spoke. "Of course, I did. You don’t expect me to leg her continuing bearing the name a woman who had left me had given her."

At alert, she pulled Amie beside her as if Samir would snatch her again if he was allowed. "Samir Trevor, what are you doing here?" Her voice was cold, the warmth in it when speaking to Amie was all gone.

And at that moment, Amie got the feeling that this woman was probably had dangerous as she had been rumored to.

But her father continued as if he wasn’t scared of her. "Serena! Serena! You don’t expect me to leave a child I have raised all by himself for years just to some stranger without confirming if it’s really you."

Amie felt Serena’s fist tightened on hers. "I never asked you to raise her alone. I have been asking you to let go off my daughter for years, but you insisted on keeping her with you."

"Of course!" Samir responded. "You left the Trevor house with nothing but the cloth you were wearing, how was I supposed to leave a Trevor offspring to you."

Before he could continue, Chris had bounced on him, holding his throat as he whispered to him. "Talk to my mother in that way again and you’ll be history."

Though Serena could not see them, she could sense something was wrong. "Let him go, Chris. He’s not worth it."

Chris stared him down as if daring him not to respect his threat, before he left his and walked back beside Rauf.

Samir let out coughs, exaggerating on every part that followed. Once he was satisfied with his actions, he turned back to Serena. "Is this how you will treat the man who helped you raise your daughter."

At this point, Amie felt that Serena would leave a wound on her wrist id she didn’t leave her alone. "I never asked you to raise her alone, and she’s just as much your daughter as she’s mine."

Samir’s response was a low humming sound.

"What do you want?" Serena asked.

She knew Samir just like the back of her hand. She knew he had come there for a purpose.

"Why have you come here? You could have just sent my daughter alone, but why are you here yourself?"

Samir smiled. "I can see you’ve finally matured. It’s no wonder you’re the queen here now." His voice dropped on sarcasm. Underneath he was shivering, but he knew he needed to act bold to get what he wanted.

And if Serena hadn’t attacked him since all this while, she must have had her reason. Yet, she hardly believe she was going to attack her now for absolutely no reason.

"I want my reward for raising your daughter."

Serena scoffed. She already knew it was all about money. "How much?" She responded. She was willing to pay him off her daughter’s right. She didn’t mind laying his part out of her life.

Then she would know her daughter don’t have a father.

But Samir chuckled. "I don’t want money."

Serena gasped, she never expected he was going to reject money for any reason.

Even Rauf who had been silence, opened his mouth for a fleeting seconds before closing it back.

He had told himself not to get involved in the matter. He had played his part judiciously, and it was up to Serena to do whatever she wanted.

"Then what do you want?" She asked.

Daring for more, Samir said. "Can we sit first? I am already getting tired from standing all day."

Chris wanted to advance on him and tell him that if he was tired he could as well leave their mansion, but Serena spoke first.

"Fine, sit down."

She pulled Amie with her as she settled at the adjacent couch. "So?" She asked. Her hand never for once left Amie.

Samir settled in, bouncing a bit at the top of the chair. "I heard you’re the mafia queen of all New Central State."

Serena nodded. She didn’t need to see before she know he was an opportunist.

"I’ve a deal I am currently pursuing..."

For a brief moment, his eyes landed on Rauf. He knew the agreement between them was that he wasn’t supposed to start a new deal without Rauf’s permission.

Rauf held the urge to pounce on him and beat out his greediness. He was holding himself back out of respect for Serena.

Seeing that Rauf didn’t make a single move, he smiled. "... It’s a drug licensing deal. I want to be able to import my drugs freely and get them sold in state without the cops on my beck and call."

Serena’s little finger twitched. The drug licensing deal was the biggest deal out there, for now. She had heard that the opposition gangs had been tackling themselves over the deal. But rest assured that Chris had settled everything, she never got herself involved in the deal.

Now, the problem was how did Samir know about the deal. And how did he know she had authority over it.

She forced a smile at him. "Drug licensing deal? I have no idea what you’re talking about."

But Samir was no fool. "I know you have a perfect idea what I am talking about. I have Intels telling me that the Mafia Queen would be the one to decide who gets the deal. I just didn’t know if was you." He flashed all his teeth at her. "I guess luck is on my side."

Serena chuckled.

Samir!

He hadn’t changed a bit.

When she met him, he was just some upcoming stuck up mafia boy. She had hidden who she was because she had fancied herself in love with him. She had no idea she was dining with the devil himself.

"And what if I refuse to hand over the deal." She asked.

There was no point trying to act smart in his presence. He wouldn’t have boldly asked for it, if he hadn’t heard from reliable source.

Samir’s gaze moved to Amie. "Then I don’t think I would be willing to leave my daughter here."

Shocked by her father’s answer, and afraid he was going to spoil the whole deal, Amie stood up and screamed. "Father."

She wasn’t ready to lose what she was seeing.

And though she had always thought Rauf was the gate to opportunities, he was nothing when compared to Serena. The number of security the house had and how vast it was.

From the moment she had stepped into the mansion, she had decided Serena was her mother.

Serena pulled her back slowly. She laughed, softly. "Do you think you can take her out of this mansion once she was here?" She asked. "I didn’t fight you for Xena all these years, not because I can’t fight, but I want things to settle amicably. I didn’t want Xena to have to choose between her mother and father. But if it’s what you’re clamouring for. Fine."

Sweat broke out of Samir’s back. He had only said that as a threat, he hadn’t expected Serena to expand it in that way.

He could feel Chris and Rauf’s eyes on him, as if they were ready to get to him at anytime.

"Okay. But I still deserve to get a reward for raising her."

Serena sighed. She turned her attention to Amie. "Baby, do you think he deserves an award for raising you? Did he treat you well while you were at his place?"

Amie looked at Samir, her face blank of expression.

This was the same deal she had been looking for ways to get from Rauf. If her father should get it, the Trevor’s households would move up the food chain.

And it would serve as her backup plan.

She nodded. "Mother, father has been amazing to me. He gave me all I needed. I think he deserved to be helped. For my sake."

With her hand back on the locket, Serena nodded. "Well, Samir. It seems we have a deal, but after this I don’t want to see your ugly face around me anymore."