4

DIMITRI CASTELLO

“This better be important,” I shrugged off my jacket, receiving my phone from Chris. The damn thing has been ringing for hours.

This was the first break I had had since I arrived in San Francisco. So far it has been exhausting, to say the least, I've had a whirlwind of meetings, and photo ops, and I had the unfortunate fate of dealing with complete idiots as business partners. But the good thing in all of this was I was finally closing an important deal with the Sanchez's in two hours.

As I scroll through the endless list of missed calls, the only one that caught my attention was one from the mansion. I felt my entire body stiffen instantly at the thought of what could have possibly happened.

Elena.

That was the first name that snuck into my mad thoughts. 

I was about to call the mansion when a call came in.

“Yeah?” I brought it to my ears.

“Hello, this is Rose from JPMorgan Chase. Am I speaking to Dimitri Castello?”

“You are,” I rubbed a thumb across my brow.

“Great, thank you. There's been a suspicious activity reported on your account, I'm calling to bring it to your notice and ensure you are aware of it,”

I leaned on the table in a corner of the hotel room. “What kind of suspicious activity?”

“A recent transfer Mr Castello from your savings account today,”

I paused. “The amount?”

“Five thousand dollars, sir,”

What? My brows were crippled in disbelief. “You're kidding me, right?”

“That's why we're pulling a call across to you, it seems rather unusual,’’

Hell, it was fucking unusual for me to authorize a transfer of five grand no less.

I ran my tongue through my teeth. “It was authorized,”

It god-damned wasn't but I didn't deal with thieves through the normal channel. The Ford Empire kept to the right side of the law when it came to boardroom meetings and finances but when it came to people who tried to steal from me no matter how small it was, I had my own way of dealing with them which involved shattered bones and blood.

That was a universally understood language in my world.

“Thank you for letting me know, Rose,” I disconnected, turning to Chris. “Find out who stole from me,” I said to him and watched him leave the room, before returning the call from the mansion.

“Dimitri,” I heard Greta's worried voice.

There was a heavy thud in my chest, and my hold on my phone tightened. “What happened? Is Elena alright?”

There was a brief silence from her end, and that brief silence was like a torch that flicked on within me, burning my insides with a rush of several emotions.

“Greta!” I was barely yelling but the deadly tone of my voice could not be mistaken.

“She left the mansion, unseen. A few men have gone after her, but they haven't been able to find her yet—”

Greta was still speaking when Chris strolled back into the room and handed his tablet over to me. Instantly, I was staring at one of the footage of the bank and Elena was in it. She was the little thief who stole from me.

I checked the time in the footage it was four hours ago, right before she ran.

Quickly, I made a call. “Krane,” Without letting the guy breathe a word, I rasped. “Find my wife,” I paused the playing footage, my eyes boring right into Elena's. “She was at the JPMorgan Chase bank four hours ago. Check every bus station and airport. Hurry Krane, she's not well and could be in danger,”

“Give me thirty minutes,” He hung up and I slid my phone into my pocket.

I called my assistant. “Cancel all my meetings. There's an emergency in California. Call the Sanchez team and have our meeting also rescheduled,”

“Yes sir,”

I grabbed my jacket and turned to Chris. “To SFO now,” San Francisco Airport.

*****

I couldn't even pretend I didn't know the two places Elena would go, especially with no memory of the last two years. To her old family house in Texas and the second option was to that bastard, Tyler Whitman.

Whichever the case was, I didn't exactly fancy both options. I ran my palm over my face as I listened to Krane's voice. She had gotten on a plane to Texas. She had gone home. But there was nothing and no one waiting for her back there. The only thing she'd find there was the truth. The painful and saddening truth.

We'd change our course for Texas instead. Throughout the flight, my mind was filled with the thoughts of Elena. Like it always has. And as I kept watching the footage from the bank didn't make it any better.

Elena was simply my wife on paper. My flash marriage to her was something I never saw coming, but that didn't mean I never imagined what it would be to have her tied permanently to me. She was my father's best friend's daughter, Luther Duval. He was also my business partner.

What Elena didn't know now was that the life she once lived and the family she once remembered was all gone. With her parents dead, and her sisters still missing, most probably also dead somewhere, it had been two years already since the Duvals name and wealth burned to the ground. Luther's last request to me was to marry her. Keeping her safe and protected from those who wanted her dead. Whoever the fucking mastermind was. I still haven't found out but one thing was for sure, they were responsible for her parents’ deaths and sisters’ disappearance.

In short, Elena had a big target on her back.

Why? I still didn't know. Even after two years.

And the identity of the real mastermind was still a mystery to me.

Nothing made sense. Not the Duvals’ deaths, the absurd lies concocted against Luther and his company, nor her sisters’ disappearance, not even her accident a few weeks ago. Nothing made sense. 

The only thing I could do right now was ensure Elena remained undead since that was exactly what this unknown mastermind wanted. And she would remain alive.

Trust me, it hasn't been an easy task in the last two years. Betrayed by everyone she trusted and shunned by those she truly needed, Elena's attempted suicide on her life was longer than any endless shopping list.

Her grievance and hatred against me was something I didn't give a fucking care about, but like I promised Luther, I'd keep her safe.

The car stopped right in front of Dallas station a few minutes after we landed. Krane's men had Informed him she was arrested by the cops right in front of her family's old villa. 

As I stepped inside the station, everything faded away. The gruesome noise, the chaos, and the annoying whispers, and my eyes searched around for her.

“Mr Castello?” I heard someone say and quickly, The COP instantly rushed to me. “What are you doing here—”

“My wife, where's she?” I inhaled slowly, watching the rest of the cops exchange confused glances.

“Your wife? Mr Castello… That's impossible. We would never—”

“Elena Castello,” At my words, one of the cops had a knowing yet frightful look.

I pinned my deathly stare on him.

“She’s your wife? Miss Elena… We didn't… I didn't…”

“Where's she?”

I was led through a narrow hallway that led to the cell. I didn't have to look too hard, from a mile away I spotted her in the third cell, against a corner of the cold walls. She was neither wearing my jacket which she'd been wearing in the footage, nor was she wearing any shoes.

My jaw clenched hard in fury, as I took slow strides and stopped right in front of her cell. She had her knees lifted against her chest, hugging them while her head was dropped down. Slowly, she lifted her head, turning her face to me and my eyes instantly fell into her teary honey-brown eyes.

She knew. She fucking knew about her family. Staring into those teary sad eyes, I saw a fragment of the real Elena. The old Elena. The one that was broken by everyone and life itself. The one who blamed herself for everything and hated her own existence. 

I felt something within me crack at the sight and then when I saw the bruise on her face, I lost it.

She was hit. They had fucking hit her.

Blackness snuffed out my vision. When they returned a split second later, rage drenched the room in crimson.

I swallowed a hard painful lump. “Who did that?” I could feel the deathly chill of my own voice. 

“Mr Black—”

“Who hit her?” I asked again with a clenched jaw. If these bastards made me ask again then someone would definitely be dying tonight.

As if reading my mind, one of the cops —the one with the knowing look— dragged himself forward.

“It-It was a mistake, sir. S-She didn't want to come with us and—” 

Before he could finish his mumblings and I knew what I was doing, I sent a hard blow to his face. There was a sharp cracking sound, I must have broken his jaw but he was fucking lucky I didn't have the branded pistol in my car's console with a bullet with his name on it in my hand.

I went into the cell, and picked her off the floor, carrying her in my arms. Surprisingly, her arms wrapped around my neck and she didn't pull it away, not even when we got into the car.

She was shivering, like she'd be out in the cold rain. And her eyes never stopped sending out more tears.

Chris got into the driver's seat and started the car.

“We have to go back,” She spoke suddenly, still in my arms, barely even lifting her head or moving a muscle.

Chris sent me a glance through the mirror.

“Keep going,” I ordered, and my words caused her to pull a little from my arms.

I didn't like it one fucking bit. But I didn't stop her.

“No. We have to go back to my house. I need to find my sisters and my parents. That woman… she had to be lying. There's no way… They can't be… dead,” She choked in tears. “I need to understand what's going on. Turn the car around,”

Chris sent me another glance, and I shook my head against his stupid thinking. 

“Keep going,” I ordered.

“No. We're going back. I need to find out what's happening. Why did that woman lie to me? I need to understand what's going on,” She yelled between sobs.

“There's nothing much to understand, Elena. And there's nothing to go back there for. That woman didn't lie. Your parents are dead. Your family is gone. And that's the truth,” I said coldly as I threw the saddening truth right at her face.

Her body stilled instantly in my arms, and as fresh tears pooled in her eyes,she threw me a look that I knew she was hating me all over again for the second time.

But that didn't matter. I had always been the villain in her story anyway.