Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask

Chapter 432: Chapter 28 Father Takes Control

Daniel’s POV

The transformation in Lila was instantaneous when her encrypted phone began ringing. The light in her eyes extinguished, her radiant smile faded to nothing, and her entire body went rigid with the familiar tension I’d witnessed countless times before. She began trembling slightly, a physical reaction that made my protective instincts flare.

”Damn it,” she muttered under her breath, glancing at the secure screen with unmistakable dread. ”It’s my mother again.”

I reached for her delicate hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze while scanning the apartment’s security monitors out of habit. ”Honey, you should answer. She’s obviously not going to stop calling, and you know how persistent Sullivan family matriarchs can be.”

Lila exhaled slowly, her shoulders slumping in defeat like a soldier accepting an unwinnable battle. ”I’ll take it inside the penthouse,” she conceded, gesturing toward our heavily fortified living space. ”I’m not going to the university today anyway. Professor Martinez canceled our criminal law seminar and sent a message to our encrypted group chat. That’s why I turned my phone on—to check the secure messages—and I forgot to switch it back to silent mode.”

I couldn’t help but smile despite her obvious distress, knowing how our world operated on such careful protocols. ”Well, that works out perfectly for me. I get to keep my little one safe in our fortress all night long.” I disengaged the apartment’s multiple locks, each one a testament to the dangerous world we inhabited. As we stepped inside, her phone began its insistent ringing once more, the sound echoing off the bulletproof windows.

This time, Lila answered with the decisiveness of someone raised in our unforgiving world. She activated the speakerphone with practiced ease, placed the device on our reinforced coffee table, and sank onto the Italian leather couch. The joy she’d radiated just minutes before had completely evaporated, replaced by that haunted expression I despised seeing on her beautiful face—the look of a daughter preparing for psychological warfare.

”Lila, who do you think you are, you ungrateful little brat?” The female voice that erupted from the speaker carried the venom of a woman accustomed to absolute control within her domain.

Lila’s response was quiet, resigned, but with an underlying steel that reminded me why I’d fallen for this remarkable woman. ”What is it now, Mom?”

”And you have the audacity to ask?” Rita Sullivan’s voice crackled through the secure connection. ”You’ve kept your phone off all day, closed your trust account, and got that incompetent accountant Tess fired from our financial operations. You’re such a spoiled, petty creature!”

”Mom, please stop,” Lila pleaded, but I could see her visibly fighting back tears while maintaining the composure expected of Sullivan family blood.

”No, I will not stop, Lila. You’ve crossed every line we’ve drawn. That money your grandfather left you wasn’t yours to touch freely. I don’t know why I didn’t transfer it from your personal account to the family holdings sooner.”

Lila’s voice grew slightly stronger, channeling the backbone that made her survive in our brutal world. ”You didn’t because you couldn’t, Mom. The money is mine. Grandpa left it directly to me through offshore trusts, not to the family coffers.”

”That cursed old man!” The viciousness in Rita’s tone intensified, revealing the true nature beneath her polished society facade. ”If he weren’t dead already, I’d arrange his permanent removal myself. All he ever did was spoil you and Beckett rotten with his sentimental weakness. Poor Justin didn’t receive a cent from that old fool’s empire. This money should rightfully belong to Justin—he’s the heir, he needs capital for operations, not some college girl. Who ever heard of a woman controlling that kind of financial power in our world?”

”Mom, enough!” Lila finally raised her voice with the authority of her bloodline. ”The money is mine. If Grandpa chose not to include Justin in the inheritance trust, that’s not my responsibility. Please, just let me live my own life.”

”Your life?” Rita’s laugh was ugly and calculating, the sound of a woman who viewed her daughter as a business asset. ”You’re going to abandon this university fantasy and return to the family compound immediately. I’m already in negotiations with Connor—I’m arranging your marriage to his youngest son to solidify our territorial alliance.”

Every word this woman spoke about my Lila being treated like a commodity pushed me closer to the edge. There was no way in hell this manipulative matriarch was taking my woman away or forcing her into some strategic marriage arrangement. I couldn’t maintain my silence any longer.

”You’re gravely mistaken if you believe you can force Lila into any alliance,” I interjected with the authority of both my badge and my bloodline. ”In fact, you have zero authority to control her decisions whatsoever.” I looked at Lila, who had gone deathly pale, and squeezed her hand reassuringly, trying to communicate both strength and protection through that simple touch.

”Who dares interrupt family business?” Rita’s voice turned glacial with the entitlement of old money and older power.

”Detective Inspector Daniel Martinez, NYPD Major Crimes Division,” I stated with professional precision. ”I’m Lila’s boyfriend and a sworn officer of the law. I strongly advise you to cease threatening Lila immediately. Being her mother doesn’t grant you immunity from harassment charges, regardless of family connections.”

”Boyfriend?” She spat the word like it was contaminated. ”I knew that little whore went to the city just to spread her legs for anyone with a badge. Well, I’m coming to collect her right now!”

Every syllable this toxic woman uttered made my blood boil with protective fury. ”You will stay exactly where you are,” I warned, my tone carrying the weight of both legal authority and family enforcement. ”Because if you show up here attempting to coerce Lila or force her removal, I will personally ensure your arrest and secure protective orders that will keep you away from my girlfriend permanently.”

”Listen here, badge or no badge, I don’t care about your threats. Now put that worthless Lila back on the phone.” The pure contempt in her voice was chilling even by our world’s standards.

Just as I was contemplating my next strategic response, a thunderous male voice erupted from the speaker with the commanding presence of a true family patriarch.

”ENOUGH, RITA!” The shout carried such power that Lila physically flinched beside me. ”GIVE ME THAT PHONE IMMEDIATELY!”

”Nathaniel, I—” Rita’s tone transformed instantly into something submissive and fearful.

”THE PHONE, RITA!” he commanded again with absolute authority. Then, addressing us with the measured tone of a seasoned leader: ”Good evening, who am I speaking with?”

I straightened, recognizing the voice of someone accustomed to respect. ”Detective Inspector Daniel Martinez, sir. I’m Lila’s boyfriend. And who might I have the honor of addressing?”

”Good evening, Inspector Martinez. I’m Nathaniel Sullivan, Lila’s father and head of our family operations,” he replied with unexpected diplomatic courtesy. ”I apologize, but this is the first I’m hearing about my daughter having a boyfriend.”

”I understand completely, sir. I regret you had to learn about our relationship under these circumstances,” I acknowledged with proper respect. ”However, your wife has been harassing Lila relentlessly today, and I couldn’t permit the situation to escalate further.”

”I appreciate your intervention, Inspector. Rita often exceeds her authority within family matters. I imagine Lila has briefed you on our household’s... complexities.”

”She’s shared very little, actually, but after witnessing this exchange, I can certainly understand the dynamics at play. Sir, I’ll be direct—Lila is an adult fully capable of managing her own affairs, but I will not tolerate anyone treating her disrespectfully, family included.”

”I’m genuinely relieved to know my daughter has found someone willing to protect her, even from her own mother’s overreach. Rita often forgets her place in family decisions. Can you tell me what triggered today’s particular conflict?”

”Dad...” Lila’s voice cracked as she finally found her voice again.

”Sweetheart, don’t cry!” Nathaniel’s tone immediately softened, displaying the genuine paternal affection that was clearly absent from his wife. ”You know better than to let your mother’s manipulations affect you.”

Lila proceeded to explain everything—the car purchase, the closed account, the threats about her inheritance. I listened carefully, filing away every detail about the family’s financial structure and power dynamics.

”Daughter, you acted appropriately, and I’m proud of your independence,” Nathaniel assured her with warmth that made me respect him instantly. ”Beckett will be pleased to hear you’re finally asserting yourself. You’re becoming the strong woman your grandfather always knew you’d be.”

I made mental notes about this Beckett person and felt a surge of satisfaction knowing I’d earned the approval of Lila’s father—a crucial victory in protecting the woman I loved from her family’s darker machinations.