15. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Luca
I knew Elise was special the moment I laid eyes on her. She carried herself like a lady, exuding elegance as if it were second nature. She had the grace to play a difficult instrument, making it look like it was the easiest task in the world. And she was always very aware of her surroundings, whether she acknowledged that or not.
And once again, she has managed to outsmart me.
It’s been two weeks since she left me for dead on the side of the road. And we have no trail, no leads, and no sign that she’ll ever be coming back. The only mistake she’s made is pawning her ring in a city two counties away. When I bought our home, I made sure to do so with the intention of isolating her from the outside world. I never allowed her a phone or even to travel to the city without someone accompanying her, which makes it all the more baffling how she managed to get away with such a clean trail.
I’ve kept this between me, Nicolai, and Romelo, making the search difficult as I don’t have enough manpower. But they are the only ones I can fully trust with such a delicate situation. I can’t let it get out that my wife almost killed me and ran away. My rise as head of the family is still fresh; some would see it as an opening. But keeping this a secret is getting more difficult with each passing day. Especially since I was lucky enough to be found on the side of the road by a good Samaritan, but since they had to call the police, there are now records of hospital visits and questions regarding my wife’s whereabouts during the crash.
If anyone remaining in the Trovoli family learns of Elise’s disappearance, there’s no telling what will happen next.
I’m pulled out of my thoughts as a knock sounds on my door. It opens to reveal Nicolai. He’s holding a folder in his hand, a grim expression on his usually cheerful features as he approaches. I release an irritated breath, facing him to give him my full attention.
“What?” I snap.
Nicolai pushes the folder across the desk to me and only begins speaking when I open it to look at its contents.
“The Trovoli problem just got a lot more complex. Looks like your hunch was right. Elise isn’t the only offspring of Eli Trovoli. She’s got a brother. Just turned seventeen two months ago,” he says.
I silently study the picture of the newest threat to Elise’s life. This is why Eli was so confident in his plans. This is why none of his own would turn on him. It turns out Eli isolated Elise as well, but not for the same reasons I did. He did it so she would never know the truth of how her family saw her. It would have been perfect timing. Both of our deaths, followed by my father’s, would have left him and his son ready to take over our empire as the only plausible option. My father and I were both without siblings, leaving the problem in the air, choosing a successor if we both perished.
Eli not only hid this kid away in another state, but it looks like he was planning on using him as his successor. I chuckle to myself as I look at the kid’s picture. He and Elise look nothing alike, only sharing the color of their hair. But I’m curious if Eli ever told him about this world or even prepared him for it.
“Do we have eyes on him?” I ask, flipping the page to look at his school record.
“Yeah. We have him under surveillance. It looks like Eli left contingencies, should he end up dead. Someone’s still taking care of the kid and his mom,” he says.
I scoff. That isn’t shocking. To the Trovolis, this kid is their Messiah. He is what Eli gave his life for. They believed in this kid so much that they were willing to go against the Pasquinos for him. He probably knows about his father’s unsavory business but has no idea just how shitty everything has turned. It won’t be long before the Trovolis make their move and snatch him up, regardless of what he envisioned for his future.
“And his mother?” I ask. I laugh aloud, shaking my head as I flip to the page with her picture. She’s an attractive woman who clearly loves money. That must be why she agreed to have a kid for someone like Eli and all the consequences it entailed.
“Not much information on her. She takes what she can from those who offer it, but hasn’t let the kid out of her sight. She probably knows about Eli’s business. She moved a week after his death, and even the Trovolis are having difficulty locating them,” he says.
I continue to study her, and my distaste for her grows by the second. I am confident she knew everything about Eli, including the family he had before her. I flip back to the kid’s picture, studying him intensely as a plan forms in my head.
“Want us to take them out?” Nicolai asks.
I shake my head.
I need to handle this delicately. Elise knows nothing of her brother’s existence—she made that clear when I briefly mentioned it. And if what’s left of her family is flocking to him, then that means I’m not rid of them as a whole. They’re gathering to strengthen themselves for what’s to come. But what they don’t know is that Elise isn’t in my custody. And if anyone finds that out, it will make things much more complicated than they need to be. I have to try to get her back before that time comes. Before her family lures her to her death for the sake of Eli’s bastard.
I chuckle to myself as I think of her last words to me.
“I hope your last thought is my face telling you how much I hate you and how much I hope you die tonight, Luca Pasquino.”
At the time, they ignited a rage so dangerous within me that I would have killed her on sight. But now that I’ve had time to calm down, I find myself in a perplexing situation. I don’t want to kill her. All this time, I thought she was a docile woman who only acted as she was trained to her entire life, never having an original thought of her own. But it turns out she is much more than that—much smarter than that.
Chills form across my skin as I think of all the planning she put into attempting to kill me so she could escape. Elise is much more intelligent than me or her father gave her credit for. And now, I want her back. I want to show her what happens when she fucks with the wrong person—when the only reason she was able to accomplish her plan was that my guard had lowered for her, and I felt affection toward her. But not anymore. I see her for what she is, as conniving and untrustworthy as her family.
“I want a list of the accounts wiring them money and each location accessing them. And I want them decrypted and in my hand before I leave,” I say, standing.
Nicolai watches me in confusion.
“Leave?” he asks.
I nod. “I think it’s time I met my brother-in-law.”
I always knew never to trust Eli. Everyone in his business did. Unfortunately for Enzo Trovoli and his mother, no one warned them about the man he truly was. It’s evident that whatever money was being wired wasn’t enough to maintain the lifestyle his mother had established for them using Eli’s support. Otherwise, he wouldn’t resort to pickpocketing in the middle of a nightclub.
The club has private rooms that overlook the dancefloor, and I can see him easily as he bumps into people, quickly pulling their wallets out to rob them blind. I chuckle to myself as he disappears deeper into the crowd, continuing to pull in his haul for the night. It’s clear how the situation has turned. His mother has realized since the death of Eli that her life no longer has the possibility of what it did before. She’s holding her son ransom from the Trovolis coming after him, seeing who will give her the highest bid. She’s also pocketing the money wired to her, spending as she did when Eli funded her lifestyle, forcing Enzo into stealing for money to survive, it seems.
It’s a sick cycle she’s pushing her son into, not understanding the full extent of what hiding him entails for him. She’s isolated him from the people who would help him, and made him a sitting duck for those who would wish him harm, including me. She never saw him as anything other than her meal ticket, just as Eli saw Elise.
It’s no wonder the two of them got along.
I look down as my phone vibrates to see Nicolai’s message.
Five Million.
I chuckle, shaking my head at the offer. I knew she would want an exorbitant amount. The Trovolis giving her money are clearly strapped for cash, especially since they have me watching their every move. None have come up with enough to convince her to sell her meal ticket to them.
A knock sounds on the door to the private room, pulling my attention away from my phone. The door opens, and Romelo steps into the room with a frightened-looking Enzo Trovoli dragged in behind him, his lip bloodied from trying to escape.
I scoff at the sight, taking a sip of my drink as I watch my men drag him in and force him to his knees.
“Shit man, I was fucking hungry! I’ll give all the money back!” he says shakily as I stand over him. I can tell Eli never prepared him for this world just by looking at him. He’s soft and frightened, already giving in to his enemy without so much as a fight.
I look to my men.
“Search him,” I say.
I listen to his protests, studying everything about him as my men empty his pockets. He’s skinnier than a kid his age should be, clearly from neglect. His hair is oily and wild, and his clothes are dirty and much too big for him. This is Eli’s successor, whom he was going to kill his daughter for, and he looks pathetic.
One of my men holds out an ID, and I take it, laughing.
“So this is how you got in here,” I say, eyeing the fake ID. The name itself and all the information on it are fake. The security here must be lazy.
“I swear, I’ll never come back, I—”
“I don’t own this dump. I couldn’t care less what you do with that money,” I say, tossing the ID to the ground.
Enzo’s eyes widen as he looks at me, fear forming. I reach into my suit, pulling my gun out, earning a physical reaction from him.
“I’m afraid your father pissed off the wrong man,” I say, lifting the gun.
His eyes are wide as he looks down the barrel, trembling. He doesn’t speak. He’s scared speechless.
“Did you know your Dad? Did you know what he was into?” I ask.
“H-he said he worked in finance,” he whispers.
I can’t help myself; I laugh. And once I calm down, I speak.
“Your father was a coward who risked everything on your existence. And I’ve come to extinguish it before anything else gets out of hand,” I say firmly.
Shock washes over his features as he kneels before me, eyes wide. He looks frightened. I can’t help but wonder why Eli never revealed to him the truth about his life and why he kept his successor in the dark.
“When’s the last time you saw him?” I ask.
“A-a few months ago,” he whispers.
“And what did he say to you? Anything you think I’ll find significant?” I ask.
He shakes his head slightly but stops to respond. “Just that I’d be moving with him soon…and that he would show me the ropes,” he says.
I laugh at that. It must have been when he thought Elise and I would be as good as dead.
“Has anyone else from his side contacted you? Contacted your mom?” I ask.
“She won’t let me talk to anyone. Everything goes through her,” he says softly.
I nod.
Of course.
“Are you still going to kill me?” he asks, pulling my attention. Before I can respond, Romelo perks up from the doorway.
“Boss. They got her trail,” he says.
I look at him in confusion, my heart fluttering slightly as I take in the meaning of his words.
“You don’t mean…”
“Yes. They found Elise.”