“Fuck you.”

“Fine, don’t say I didn’t offer you a fair way out of this. You see as we speak, a group of my men are about to kidnap your precious baby and kill whoever stands in their way. This all could have being avoided Athena, if only you weren’t a stubborn bitch.”

“I swear to God if you hurt him, I will destroy you.”

“Empty threats sweetheart, I’m the one in charge here.”

Back at the Mayor’s office

“Mr. Romano, we just heard from the security company at one of your buildings that three unidentified males are trying to gain access to your private elevator.” One of Dante’s employees rushed in to inform him.

“That elevator only goes up to my suite and the one below me, fuck.” Dante knew something was going on and immediately dialled Athena, only to have his call go straight to voicemail.

“Get a hold of Antonio and tell him to go with some of my men over there and take care of those bastards now.” Dante demanded before ringing Hendrik, hoping he was still in the suite with Gisele and Alessio.

At Romano Luxury Apartments

“Okay, I’m on it man. Don’t stress, you just find Athena and end all of this once and for all.” 

“What’s going on?” Gisele questioned as she swayed Alessio in her arms.

“You need to take Alessio and hide, just in case things go south.” Hendrik instructs after filling Gisele in on what’s going on and loading his gun.

“No way. I’ll put Alessio in a safe place and we will take care of those brutes together. I was in the Special Forces, I know how to handle myself.”

“God you’re so fucking attractive right now.”

“Let’s go big boy.” Gisele taps Hendrik on the cheek as the two ready themselves for battle.

On the other side of town, Il piatto dei sapori

Pedro and Adrianna had been consorting with their goon which provided the perfect opportunity for Athena to try and free herself.

“I broke my thumb when I was seven, if I can just dislocate it I could get out of these ropes.” Athena whispered to Fernando.

“It’s going to hurt like hell.”

“I don’t care and there’s so much adrenalin running through my body right now I don’t think I would feel a thing.”

And just like that Athena shook off her restraints and sprinted towards the kitchen in hopes of finding some weapon to fight off Pedro’s goon who was now chasing her. Pots and pans were flung at the brute, temporarily disorientating him giving Athena the chance to throw some cayenne pepper flakes into his face.

The man swore out in agony, furiously rubbing his eyes which only made matters worse and ultimately lead to his demise. Athena managed to lure him into the nearby meat locker and grab his gun before bolting the door shut, getting rid of her one problem.

“Your goon has been disposed of and I have his gun, what’s your next move Pedro?” Athena mocked, from behind the kitchen door.

“Go in there and bring her to me.” Pedro order Adrianna.

“Are you crazy? She has a gun.”

“She’s not going to shoot you, you’re her mother.” Pedro shouted as he nudged his beloved towards the kitchen.

Athena could hear the clicks of Adrianna’s heels approaching her and within a blink of an eye swung the door open and fired two shots, both of them landing straight in Adrianna’s chest causing Pedro to scream out in horror.

“You were wrong, she’s no mother of mine.” Athena voiced as pointed the gun towards Pedro who was holding a dying Adrianna in his arms. 

“I’m going to enjoy killing you.” Pedro stood up and pointed his gun straight at Athena, the two seemed to be having a stand-off now but failed to recognise that Fernando had gotten himself free.

Fernando had snuck up behind his father and bashed a plate over his head before the two men exchanged fists, the brawl did not provide Athena with a clear shot of her enemy.

Somehow Pedro managed to overpower Fernando and was now holding him in a head lock in front of Athena, moments away from snapping his own son’s neck.

“Have any final words to say son?”

“I don’t think he does, but I do.” Pedro’s head whipped around after hearing a familiar voice which allowed Fernando to get out of his grasp and run towards Athena.

Before Pedro could respond, multiple shots were fired and his blood splatted against the restaurants white tablecloths like an artist had being painting his canvas.

As the bullets were being fired, Fernando gently pushed Athena towards the floor before joining her in hopes of avoiding any stray bullets. Once Pedro’s lifeless body fell to the ground and silence spread across the room, Dante shouted for his love.

“Athena, baby are you alright?”

“Dante.” Athena ran into towards him and was engulfed by his arms.

“Pedro sent his men after Alessio and…” Athena was barely coherent as her whole body shook against his, it was clear the shock of killing someone had gotten to her.

“Hush, it’s okay. I just spoke to Hendrik now, he and Gisele took care of things.” Dante whispered as he stroked Athena’s back in efforts to sooth her.

As the two lovers reunited, Fernando stood over his dead father’s body in silence trying to process what just happened.

“I’m sorry things had to end this way but he threatened my family.” Dante uttered as he looked at Fernando.

“You don’t have to apologise, I would have done the same for the woman I love. I just wish my father wasn’t such a monster that needed to be put down.”

“Thank you.” Athena whispered against Fernando as she hugged him while Dante ordered some of his men to clean the crime scene up.

“What for?” 

“Your part in saving my life.” 

“In some weird twisted way you’re like my little sister and I did what I needed to in order to protect you. Now I think you might have some news you need to share with Dante.” Fernando kissed Athena on the cheek before giving her some privacy. 

“What’s he talking about?” 

“My father did something terrible and I had to find out the truth from Pedro.” 

“Okay you’re scaring me now Athena, what did he do?” 

“I switched the results of Alessio’s paternity test, Dante you are his biological father.” Matias walked into the restaurant just in time to come clean with Romulus and Remus by his side.

“What? How could you? I missed the birth of my child and the opportunity to be there for his mother through it all. If Pedro hadn’t opened his mouth Athena and I would have still been in the dark, do you think that’s fair?” Dante furiously exclaimed before smashing a nearby glass on the floor.

“I’m sorry, I…”

“Father don’t, we’ve had a long day and emotions are running high. Right now, we need to go home to our son.” Athena emphasised the last part of her statement as she interlocked her fingers with Dante’s who immediately calmed down under his loves touch.

“What about the bodies?” Remus questioned.

“I have things covered, it will look like a double suicide.” 

“And as for Pedro’s goon that Athena locked up, well he will have to answer to me now. Afterall, I am to take over my father’s empire.”  Fernando chipped in.

“What are you going to do back at Mexico?”

“Burn everything to the ground.”