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
After Antoinette left the room, I turned to Hadid. "We have to go to this Oasis. Tonight."Hadid's expression was one of skepticism and what looked like genuine fear. "Emily, I don't think you understand how dangerous this is. We can't just waltz into that place unprepared. It's too dangerous."I noticed how uncomfortable and distressed Hadid seemed. It made me wonder what exactly she was afraid of.Pushing those thoughts aside, I reached for my phone to check the time, only to find it dead. "Do you have a charger I could use?" I asked.Hadid nodded, retrieving one from her desk drawer and handed it to me. I plugged it in and after a while, it came to life. Immediately, it lit up with missed calls and messages – all from Giovanni.My heart raced as I watched his name flash across the screen, another incoming call. I let it ring out, unable to bring myself to answer. What would I even say?A text message popped up moments later:"Emily, are you alright? Where are you? Please, just let
Marcus would suddenly release me and I fell to the ground, I quickly scrambled out of the way and watched as Giovanni and Marcus clashed, their confrontation escalating into a full-blown fight, I watched as they shot at each other. Marcus began shooting rapidly, bullets began to fly everywhere and I went down and took cover to avoid being hit. Suddenly I felt a hand grab my arm and I shriek. It was Hadid."We need to go, now!" she hissed urgently. Without thinking, I let her pull me away from the chaos. We slipped through a side door and found ourselves in a dimly lit corridor. The sounds of the fight grew muffled as we ran, my heart pounding in my ears. We burst out of the building and into the cool night air. Hadid's car was right where we'd left it. We jumped in, and she started the car driving quickly away from place. When we were at a safe distance away from the place. I finally caught my breath enough to speak. "Hadid, what the hell just happened back there?"She kept her ey
The next morning, I woke up with a start, my heart pounding. I quickly made my way to Hadid's room. To my astonishment, Hadid was not only awake but up and about, pacing the small room with surprising energy."Hadid!" I exclaimed, relief washing over me. "How are you feeling?"She turned to face me, a wry smile playing on her lips. "I told you, I won't die easily. It takes more than that to keep me down."I marveled at her resilience. "I'm glad to see you're doing better. But you should still take it easy."Hadid shook her head, her eyes gleaming with determination. "There's no time for that. I think I know a way to find your mother."My eyebrows shot up. "Really? How?""She sent me a message last month, just before she disappeared again," Hadid explained. "Now I have no idea where she is or what's happened to her, but that message might hold a clue.""What did the message say?" I ask anxiously.Hadid's brow furrowed. "Something about 'returning to the place where it all began' and 't
"What?! Is he alright? Please tell me he's alright. Where is he now? Who shot at him?" The questions poured out in a rush."I don't know all the details," Hadid said, tiredly. "I think it happened at the Oasis. He was also there at the brothel, Marcus must have led all of them there."I threw off the covers and got down from the bed "We have to go see him. Now. Where is he?"Hadid placed a gentle hand on my arm. "Emily, I don't think that's a good idea. It's not safe out there. You should try to get some more sleep."I shook my head roughly "No, you don't understand. I can't wait. I need to see my husband.”Her eyes widened in surprise."Please," I begged, ignoring her surprise.Hadid sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Emily, I'm sorry, but I don't think he's back at the hotel. I'm not even sure where he is."My heart sank. "Then where is he? We have to do something!""I know, and we will," Hadid assured me. "But right now, the best thing we can do is wait until morning. We'll