“That’s a fucking big ask, don’t you think?” My voice comes out sharper than intended, but nobody flinches, almost as if expecting the response. “You want me to trust you, the man who put my wife in immediate danger in the first place? I don’t even trust a single word that’s coming out of your fucking mouth right now.”
“I left her ring on the ground in the gravel as a show of good faith. I could’ve thrown it into the fucking river.” He exhales, frustrated. “You have no idea how many families I’ve had to deal with because of my father’s hotheadedness. Do you know how many parents or loved ones I’ve had crying on my shoulder because of what my father forced me to do? Do you know how many of my father’s victims led double lives that nobody knew about? It made the ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ conversation so much more difficult. I thought by coming to you before shit got out of hand, you’d be thankful and eager for the help if it meant getting your little wife back in one piece.”
“‘My little wife’ has a fucking name, and I promise you she won’t be a part of your father’s game here. Whatever he has in store for her is nothing compared to what I plan to do to him when I find him.”
“So, you think you can find him on your own?” he asks with genuine curiosity.
“I trust myself and my abilities more than I’ll ever trust you and yours.”
“And I expected as much, but if you want to find her before it’s too late, you’ll at least hear me out.” I display a handout, allowing him to continue. “I didn’t get much out of her before she completely passed out, but she said something about someone named ‘Apollo’; I don’t know if that means anything to you.”
I nod. “It does, but I don’t understand. Did she mention anything else?”
“I told her I was sorry and I’d do what I could to help her, so she gave me information about you and obviously where you’re located to help me avoid the hassle of searching for you. All I can remember is her saying ‘Apollo’. There was no reason for her response.”
I drag my hands down my face and shake my head while exhaling a deep breath. She wants him involved, I know she does. I doubt he’d do it for me, or as a favour to me after everything I’ve done. But Liana is his sister, his own flesh and blood; if she trusts him enough to help get her out of this mess, I want to assume he’d jump at the opportunity.
“Maze, call Remi. Get Apollo and Savio here. Now.” He glances at me with confusion for a brief moment before nodding his head and sliding out into the hallway.
“Tell me more about your father,” I say, leaning forward and placing my elbows on my thighs as if it’ll help me detect if he’s lying or not.
“He’s a bastard,” he says, showing no emotion. “He definitely thinks the world revolves around him and will do anything to prove it. He believes that by choosing stronger targets that most of the other families distance themselves from, like yourself, he’ll eventually gain enough power and fear that he’ll be the head of one of the strongest organizations in New York.”
“And what do you think?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.
His eyes break contact with mine as he scans my body, sizing me up. He’s analysing me as if to get all the information he needs with a single glance. Locking on mine again, he says, “You’re stronger than he’s made you out to be. In his mind, you’re this weak little thing and he addresses you as such, but you’re not—though you clearly have some weaknesses, Liana being at the top of the list. In his mind, he has none, but if you search in the right place you’ll find them.”
“Are you insinuating you’ve found them?”
“He doesn’t hide them as well as he thinks he does.” His lips press together tightly. “It’s almost impossible to hide things from people who are programmed to see everything. And unfortunately for him, he made me this way.” He repositions himself, allowing Silas to perch on the arm of the couch. “I don’t know them specifically, but I know it’s something to do with his past. I know very little about him, and what I do know is very vague.”
“Just a second ago, you bragged about being able to read people like a book and now you’re saying you can’t? Make it make sense,” Silas chimes in, his annoyed attitude seeping through the cracks of his hardened expression.
The mystery guy scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Like I said, I know very little about him. He’s my stepfather and keeps to himself. When he married my mother, he programmed me into something of his own design; he turned me into a soldier to do his dirty work. To read people correctly, you must know the basics of them. There’s something about him that just doesn’t add up and without the background, I can’t put my finger on it. He does everything he can to make sure he stays indistinct in his everyday life.”
“What are you saying?” I ask through gritted teeth. “You need to be faster if you want us to trust you, as you asked.”
“He wants destruction, disguising it as a way to help people get stronger and be more resilient. He wants everything to crumble at his fingertips, whether it be families, allies or the underworld itself—nothing is safe from him and his wrath. In his ideal world, he’d destroy everyone and everything in his path to reconstruct it to fit his vision.”
“And what exactly is his vision?” Ciro asks, his palms digging into the back of the chair.
“To turn the stronger families into weapons that’ll stick by his side. And if that fails, he’ll wipe them out entirely.”
My blood immediately runs cold. I don’t know who this man is, but his father thinks he’s the big cheese. He wants to ‘wipe’ us out, to leave no trace of us? He’s one man against every person he’s ever harmed, my family and our allies. He’s got balls, I’ll give him that, though.
The mystery guy looks at his watch, his eyes widening before he masks his reaction with a calm face once more. “Look, I’ve got to get back, but I’ll be back tomorrow and we can talk strategy. This isn’t an easy task and it’ll take time, but give it… a week, tops, and your wife will be back at your side.”
“A week?” I ask, my features unable to hide their confusion and anger. “You know where he is and where he’s holding Liana, and you expect me to wait a week to get her back?”
“There are rules and uncounted factors at play here. If you want her back alive and in one piece, you have to trust me.”
“Again with the whole ‘trust’ thing,” I say with a deep sigh. “Without a name or a reason, that’s not at the top of my to-do list.”
“Vittorio,” he replies without skipping a beat. He shrugs. “And I guess there isn’t a reason to trust me. You have to take my word for it, I suppose… And yes, that involves trust, but we can’t keep going in a circle like this.” His eyes fall to his watch again. “I’ve got to get back now, but I’ll be back tomorrow at 7 p.m. sharp. I’ll have a couple of hours free to strategise and you can ask as many questions as you want.”
I nod, and he reaches his hand out for me to shake. “A handshake means trust has been earned,” I tell him, emotionless. “And it has not.” I turn to face Silas. “Show him out, would you?”
His face turns up in a wicked smile, and he says nothing as he leads the way, keeping his stride small. I watch as they leave my office, my head swirling with more questions than answers.
