Chapter 22

May 31st, 2016.

Luke's POV.

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of Bryson Tiller's 'Don't' playing on the stereo.

I had completed a two-day errand early and instead of coming back to the mansion, I decided to take a detour. I hurriedly ordered cake online, then I stopped by the jeweler to collect the bangle I had custom-made for her and drove to the whorehouse. It was the only way I could see her, without drawing attention to myself.

The mansion gates swung open automatically. They must have seen my car from the security cameras.

As I maneuverd my car into the driveway, I thought about how I left without saying goodbye, she would be blowing a fit by now.

I packed in front of the mansion, got my backpack from the passenger seat and exited my car.

Nicholas was waiting for me at the front door. I threw my keys to the guy standing guard so he could park the car underground or in the parking lot.

"Good morning." Nicholas greeted, when I got close.

I only acknowledged him by nodding, I walked past him.

He hurried to keep up with my pace. "Boss says you should meet him immediately you get back, we've got news on Baddo."

I stopped walking. "What did you say?"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Big news on Baddo, meeting now, we were just waiting for you. Come with me." He led the way.

We walked side by side, from the corner of my eye, I saw Nicholas scrunch his nose, turn in my direction, then he leaned down to sniff me.

"What?" I barked at him.

"You smell...I don't know...girly."

I stopped in my tracks.

Fuck.

I forgot I used Ophelia's products this morning, I smelled like her. If I had walked into that room, Antonio would have recognised her scent and he would have known, without a single doubt, who I'd been with. He would have executed me on the spot, no questions asked.

Nicholas must have recognised the scent, but he obviously couldn't recall who it belonged to.

"Nicholas, I need to drop my backpack in my room and sort out some things before I see Antonio, I won't stay more than ten minutes." In other words, I needed to get rid of this smell, fast.

"No problem, we're in Antonio's office." He walked off.

I dashed off to my room. Immediately I got in, I dumped my backpack in a corner and rushed to my closet, chucking clothes out.

I stopped. A change of clothes would be too noticeable.

What to do? What to do?

I spotted my Cologne on my dresser, an answer to my prayer.

I created a mist and walked into it, choking as I sprayed more and more to mask her scent.

I sniffed myself. The Jasmine was still there but my cologne was now the predominant smell.

I left the room and walked at a leisured pace towards Antonio's office because I wanted the excess perfume to wear off.

Antonio's office door was slightly ajar. I put my hand on the handle to pull it open when something caught my attention.

"....and Luke?"

It was Antonio, I didn't get the first part of the statement but the last part was definitely about me. What was he talking about?

"Rowell called earlier to thank us for the transaction, it turns out Luke finished and left early but he didn't come home. So, I trailed him using the tracker on his car..."

Tracker on my car?!

"...he went to the place where we keep the girls. Looks like our underboss took a detour to have a little treat."

I heard snickers in the room, notifying me that there were others in the room. The speaker was Raymond.

The room fell silent for a moment.

"What about his call logs, is there anything I should know?" Antonio asked.

"Well, if we're looking at the timeline when Miss Antonio disappeared, then yes...."

No!

"....there has been frequent calls and text messages to two numbers. The first one has been disconnected, but the location was from his cabin in Tuscany, the second one is still in use. There's been a lot of communication on the line via text messages. The funny thing is, when I traced it, it led me to the same location he was yesterday. My guess is that, the second line belongs to whoever he went to see. If you like, I can send a detailed report concerning the text messages, once I get hold of his phone."

"Yes, do that. Tell him you have to install an encryption software if he asks, and call that number, find out who it belongs to."

"Yes, boss."

"Even though Luke is at the forefront of this search for my daughter, there is still some part of me that doesn't trust him. Ophelia hasn't surfaced in a long time, I know my daughter, she's bound to slip up, make a mistake that will lead us to her but she hasn't, which means she's getting inside help and only Luke can go the extra mile to please her. We'll let him continue, let him take the lead but from now on, we'll be watching his every move. Sooner or later he'll make a wrong move and take us to her, when he does...Dio mio, he'll regret the day he was born.

I'd heard enough.

I composed myself in two seconds and pulled the door open.

I walked to my normal seat besides Antonio and behaved like I hadn't heard a single word.

I looked around, studying the faces of the men on the table. Raymond, Victor and Alex, who had somehow wormed their way up the ranks, even Nicholas; I trusted him. They all had that innocent look like they weren't conspiring against me few seconds ago.

Such a poker face was required in the Mafia, the ability to hide one's emotion, and the ability to change moods and expressions within the blink of an eye. I mentally applauded them, it's good to know they were using their skills, even if it was against me.

And finally..."Antonio."

I greeted the boss.

"Luke." He greeted me back, in the same fashion, he even smiled at me. "How was the trip?"

Two could play this game. I smiled back, "Perfect, just perfect."

All I had to do now, was wipe out all the text messages between me and Ophelia off my phone. If they wanted to call her, I had no problem, they won't be able to get through. Ophelia's phone was a one way kind of phone, programmed with contingencies. Only I could call her, she could text me but she couldn't call.

After that, I'd have to give her a heads up, the net was closing in on us everyday, she'd have to move to a new location soon. Finally, I would have to bug Antonio's office. If he could put a tracker on my car, then I could listen to his conversations and none would be wiser. I would know what they were planing and always stay a step ahead of them.

Oh Antonio, you messed with the wrong guy.

I leaned back on my chair and put my hands behind my head. "So, what's the big news on Baddo?"

That question relived the tension in the room.

"Right. Over to you, Raymond." Antonio replied.

"This is bigger than anything Baddo has ever done, we really have to think and act fast before the situation gets out of hand..."

I rolled my eyes at Raymond. "For the love of God, just get to the point." I cut him off.

He gave me a brisk nod. Though, I could tell he was miffed because I ended his monologue.

"A few days ago, James Baddo had a meeting with some of the lower cartel bosses he had formed an alliance with. In that meeting, he shared a photograph of your daughter with only the cartel heads and put up a huge reward for whoever catches her. The ball is no longer in our court, as I speak to you, more than five cartels are searching every hotel, motel, relaxation home, even alleys, anywhere a person can hide..."

There goes my plan of moving her to a new location.

"A photograph? A photograph of my daughter? That's impossible, no one apart from the people living in this house know what my daughter looks like."

"That's not what my source says. I got the photograph he shared with the Mafia bosses and I assure you, it's Miss Antonio."

Raymond passed the picture to the twins, they passed it to Nicholas. From the look on their faces, I knew Raymond was right.

Nicholas passed the picture to me. The picture showed a young woman sitting on a bench in a park, smiling at the camera. Brown hair, beautiful brown eyes, definitely Ophelia.

"It's Ophelia." I said, as I passed the picture to Antonio.

He looked at the photograph for a few seconds. He balled his hands into fists, his face became a mask of emotions I could not describe: it was a mixture of anger and sadness. His eyes were filled with nothing but hate. He put the photograph on the table and looked me dead in the eye. "That's not my daughter, that's not Ophelia."

What?

I picked the photograph and looked at the picture with keen interest.

It was true.

They had the same features but the woman in the photograph was either five or maybe seven years older than Ophelia, it was really hard to tell her exact age but looking at the picture again, I knew it was not Ophelia. I couldn't explain it, I just knew.

"If it isn't Ophelia, then who is she?" I asked Antonio.

"None of your business." He stood up from the table.

He unknowningly confirmed my suspicions. He knew the person in the photograph.

Who was she?

To be honest, I had my doubts if Ophelia was really Antonio's biological daughter. Everyone knew he had a wife but after a while no one heard anything about her. He also stopped wearing his wedding band. I was too young to remember what happened, only my mother would know, but she was dead.

What I do remember, is him bringing a little girl home one day and mum saying something about him vowing to stay off women.

Was she be adopted?

Stolen?

Kidnapped?

Was that her sibling in the picture?

How did James Baddo know about this mystery woman?

Something wasn't adding up, and Antonio knew what was going on.

I looked around to see the dumbfounded expressions of every other person in the room, no one understood what was going on.

"James Baddo has crossed the line. He clearly doesn't want Ophelia just for marriage."

That's what I had been trying to tell him for weeks. I had to find out more about the woman in the photograph.

"Then, why does he want her?" I asked, studying his reaction.

"He wants her to...spite me. He wants to open up an old wound." He clenched and unclenched his fists as he spoke.

That didn't help. There was no information in that statement at all.

He turned to Raymond. "Follow up on your sources, I need to know Baddo's every move, his every decision concerning my daughter."

Maybe I didn't hear him correctly, was this not the part he was supposed to cancel the deal between him and Baddo, concerning his daughter?

"Yes, boss."

Antonio was seriously hiding something.

He sat down. "You're all dismissed, Raymond, cancel all my engagements for the day... in fact, turn everything over to Luke. No one under any circumstance should disturb me." He buried his face in his hands, lamenting in Italian.

Everyone stood up and left the room murmuring in low tones. They needn't be told that everything we discussed in that room, stayed in that room, to avoid little birdies giving news to Baddo.

I walked to my office. My first priority was to delete all evidence of my communication with Ophelia before Raymond could get it...

Emails were coming in from Raymond, all contained Antonio's work.

....then I had Antonio's work to keep me busy for the rest of the day...Bummer.