"I should get going," I say to Anastasia abruptly, needing to escape the already suffocating room. "But I'll be in touch soon about...Las Vegas."She studied me with those unsettlingly astute eyes, as if seeing straight through my flimsy attempts at composure, before giving a curt nod "Be careful out there, Emily." I offered no response, simply turning on my heel and walking out the mansion to my car. Once behind the tinted windows, I exhaled a shuddering breath and fumbled for my phone. With trembling fingers, I reconnected the call to Mark."Emily? Are you alright?" His concern was palpable even through the tinny speaker."I...I'm fine. What's the situation? How bad is the damage? I knew things like this were very serious and could possibly damage rivera’s shipping reputation. What had Donatella done."A weighted pause before he responded. "I've already informed Giovanni, and the livestream was cut, but...millions had tuned in by that point.This isn't going away quietly." He says.
I stared at Giovanni intently, trying to read his expression. “Are you serious?”I asked cautiously. “Yes” He said. I couldn't believe my ears, the company was finally fully mine. Giovanni wouldn't have his reigns over it anymore. I had dreamed of this moment but now that's it's finally here, I didn't feel so thrilled. He met my gaze steadily. "You're also not going to Las Vegas with me, Emily."I felt my temper flare. "You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do. I'm going, and you're not going to stop me." I crossed my arms defiantly.Giovanni studied me for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly. "Is something wrong, tesoro? You seem...tense."I let out a harsh laugh. "Oh, besides my uncle trying to jeopardize my entire company on a livestream, everything is just peachy," I said sarcastically. "About that..." Giovanni began slowly. "Donatella has been arrested. The livestream situation has been taken care of."I blinked in surprise. "Oh. Alright then." My uncle's antics were
After the disastrous interview, I knew I needed to get back to the office and address my employees. I couldn't have rumors and hearsay tarnishing their view of me as their CEO. The next day, as soon as I arrived at the company, I called for an all-staff meeting in the main conference room. One by one, my employees filed in, their expressions ranging from curious to concerned. I took a deep breath as I stood at the front of the room. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice," I began. "I'm sure the recent incident with my uncle has raised a lot of questions and concerns. I want to reintroduce myself as your CEO and assure you that nothing my uncle said on that livestream should be given any merit." I paused, making eye contact with as many people as I could. "My uncle has struggled with mental health issues for years. His allegations about me and this company were baseless and delusional. I am still fully in charge here, and it is business as usual moving forward. Does
Luigi turned his full attention to me with a predatory gaze. "Well, well...look at you. So brave, so fierce." He rose from the sofa, slowly circling me like a shark. "You should leave that idiot D'errico behind. A woman like you deserves a real man at her side."I smiled stiffly at him, as he openly leered at me. "I barely know you and you wouldn't want someone like me, you barely know me”.He chuckled darkly. "Oh, but I know all about you, Emily Rivera - heiress to the Rivera empire. Your father's one of the richest, most powerful men in the world. He had dealings with us in the past too." His eyes raked over me greedily. "Just imagine what we could build together..."I recoiled slightly at the mention of my Father ”That was my father, now he's dead. I'm the owner of the company now and I'll do with it as I wish”."My father's holdings stretch from Las Vegas to Macau - hotels, casinos, racetracks, you name it. One day, it will all be mine to rule over. Just think of the power, the we
As we sped away from the casino, Giovanni's turns and looks intensely at me. I stare back at him before turning my head away. "Emily, what did Luigi say to you back there? Did he hurt you?I swallowed hard, trying to gather my thoughts. "No he didn't. He... he was just trying to convince me to leave you for him. He talked about his father's empire, how it would all be his one day." I let out a chuckle hoping to lighten the mood, of course I wouldn't tell him the other things Luigi said. I didn't want Giovanni knowing I was interested in the Sigerna. "Giovanni," I say softly, "Did you see who shot Luigi? It all happened so fast..."He shook his head grimly. "No, I didn't get a clear view. By the time I got back to the room, it was chaos."I nodded, then a sudden thought struck me. "Oh God, Giovanni – what about all those people in the casino? Will they be alright?"He squeezed my hand reassuringly. "They'll be fine, cara, just breathe”.A moment of silence passed before another questi
A sharp knock at the door interrupts us. “Who is it?” Giovanni asks gruffly. revealing two men in dark suits. "Boss," a deep voice calls out from the other side of the door "We need to speak with you. It's urgent."Giovanni glanced back at me, his expression tightening then he sighs "I'll be right back, tesoro. Stay here, alright?"I nodded, watching as he opens the door and walks out, closing the door behind him. I hear their voices, there were two other people talking, I tried to listen but I couldn't hear anything anymore. I lay back on the bed, the silence in the room felt oppressive noq that I was alone. Somehow I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.Several minutes passed before another knock sounded making me jump. Giovanni must be back! Hesitantly, I got up approached the door. "Who is it?" I called."Room service," a female voice replied.Confused, I opened the door to find a woman with cropped, dyed blonde hair standing there with a cart. She didn't look
As I sat in the car, I wondered what was going to happen. Should I find a way and go back to the hotel?Before I could think of what I wanted to do, I saw a building ahead. It was fairly old, with weathered red brick walls. Overall the building seemed well maintained. A neon sign with the word “Destiny” stood proudly at the top of the building.I noticed a steady stream of men entering and exiting the building. They'd make uneasy glances around and their pace was hurried. The car pulled to a stop in front of the building and hadid got out, speaking briefly with the driver and passing him something I couldn't quite see. Then she turned to me, gesturing for me to get out too.As we entered into the building, the smell of perfume hit me like a ton of bricks. The scent was so strong it made me feel slightly nauseous. Blinking to clear my head, I took in my surroundings and my eyes widened in surprise. This was a brothel.Scantily clad women lounged on plush sofas and leaned against the
Hadid leaned back in her chair and exhaled heavily. "I think we both need a drink after all that," she said, reaching for a small telephone on her desk, she quickly spoke into the phone and asked for some refreshments, then turned back to me."You'll need to stay here tonight," she said to me. "I've got a spare room you can use."I must have looked horrified because Hadid burst out laughing. "Don't worry, the room I'm putting you in has never been used for... business. I keep it for very special guests."Before I could respond, there was a soft knock at the door and a young girl entered, carrying a tray with two glasses of what looked like fruit juice. She couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen, with pale skin, rosy cheeks, and an innocent face. She was very pretty and definitely did not seem like she was meant to be in this kind of place. "Thank you," I said softly as she set a glass in front of me. She gave me a small smile before leaving the room.As the door closed beh