Suspicions I

Flashback: The day of the funeral...

"I don't like her," Cara confessed, and Adonis raised an eyebrow at her.

"You don't even know her."

She pursed her lips.

"I don't have to know her to not like her. Call it female intuition." 

"Well, good for you. I'm going to bed."

He replied before walking back into the room, and she stared after him with a dissatisfied pout.

Adonis found it weird, too, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

What was Natasha doing here? 

He hadn't seen her in a while since when Luca said she'd come over with extra men to help out during the break-in. Honestly, things hadn't been the same between them since their engagement was called off four years ago, so he wondered why she always visited the mansion with one excuse or the other.

Her father didn't say a word about her coming over when he saw him at the funeral so why did she come over?

Adonis closed his eyes, relaxing into the bed, as the stress of the day finally caught up with him.

Whatever she was here for, that'd have to wait till the next day. Right now, he needed some shut-eye.

That was the last thought on his mind as sleep claimed him. 

****

"I just saw Natasha." Luca burst into Adonis's study with a confused look. "What is she doing here?"

He was sitting comfortably on his swivel chair and had his eyes closed in deep thought. 

First, she came to his estate uninvited, and now, his room?

The shock from seeing Natasha in his room earlier in the day was still lingering in his mind. 

She had always been a clingy and obsessive person; it was unintentional, like an unconscious habit, but this time, it was different.

Adonis could feel it was deliberate.

He agreed with Cara, just not in the same words that Natasha was acting out. 

He wouldn't have thought twice about her breakfast-in-bed charade, but her offer to assist him in his search for Antonio made him curious.

Luca snapped his fingers by Adonis's ear when he didn't get a reply.

"I said, What is Natasha doing here?" 

Adonis popped one eye open.

"I don't know." Then closed it back. "Cara doesn't like her." 

Luca snorted.

"Obviously. No one likes Natasha. She's a spoiled brat."

One could tell he was speaking from experience. 

The few months Natasha spent as Adonis's fiancée were miserable for everyone at the mansion. She was either complaining or demanding. It was like she couldn't do anything else but those two.

"I also find her visit suspicious."

His brows shot up in surprise. That's something worth debating.

"You too? Should we keep an eye on—

His speech halted as Adonis's eyes flung open, and he placed a finger at his lips, his eyes trained on the study's huge doors.

Luca's eyes followed his movement, and he waited quietly, but nothing happened.

He scrunched up his face at the space but saw nothing. He didn't hear a knock, so that meant no one was at the door. Even if there was, the room was heavily soundproof, and they wouldn't be able to hear a thing.

Except the person was in the room.

His eyes widened, and he whipped his head towards Adonis to meet his warning gaze.

"Do not talk." 

Adonis mouthed and then tilted his head in the direction of the door once again.

Luca squinted his eyes at the door for a minute but saw nothing again. He was just about to give up when a slight movement caught his attention.

The doors had been pushed back by an inch, and on the floor, in between the two sides, sat a tiny recording device.

It'd take a lot of peering to see it clearly, so whoever was on the other side was very cunning.

How exactly did Adonis pick up on the sound?

He snapped his head back to Adonis, who encouraged him with a nod, and Luca switched topics immediately.

****

Flashback: After Cara left the movie room...

Luca pulled his fiancé closer to his side, placing a small kiss on her temple as Cara rushed out of the movie room. 

They'd had a small argument before coming over to the mansion that day.

As usual, Cecelia had brought up the discussion of the wedding again, and he'd shut it down. Luca had always been scared of change. He knew he loved her enough to give his life, but what if things became different after marriage?

When everyone said it was time to ask her to marry him, he agreed, thinking she'd be satisfied with just that for a while, but it didn't end up as he hoped. 

Being in a relationship for a long period isn't as easy as everyone portrayed it to be. Especially when one person is ready for the next step and the other isn't. 

He would never admit it, but he envied Adonis. With complicated emotions like his, he still was able to jump into it without looking back, and now, Cara was starting to look like the best choice he'd ever made for himself.

His friend was expecting a child and would finally build the family he had always wanted, with the right person by his side. She might be younger and less experienced than them, but Luca had come to know that Cara was a smart woman.

How else would her suspicions about Natasha be on point?

Her last question replayed in his mind.

'Have you guys noticed anything missing since then? Nothing at all?'

Even to him, it was still a marvel. With how skilled their men were, the search had been dragging on. Where they were allowed to, they had searched thoroughly, and where they weren't, he had personally searched, but nothing seemed to be missing.

It was like the break-in never happened. The perpetrator wasn't caught, and their only lead was the truck driver who got away. When they questioned the spy they caught, she knew nothing about it and it turned out that she was only given access to limited information. 

He recollected the conversation he had with Adonis a few days ago in his study.

They had talked about topics that weren't really a secret but were important enough to catch the spy's attention. The moment the recording device was taken away and the door closed tightly, Luca had shot to his feet to trace whoever it was, but Adonis's words halted his movement.

"Don't bother. It's Natasha."

"How do you know?" 

"Call it female intuition." He replied with a smirk, making Luca confused, so they ended up deciding to keep an eye on her and be careful with their words for the main time. 

If she truly was working with Antonio like Adonis suspected, it was better to let her think she was in charge and lead him to them. For this plan to work, Adonis needed to act the total opposite of himself. 

Submissive and Slow.

It was the reason why he kept encouraging Natasha's sly behaviours, but they couldn't tell Cara that. The more the ears, the more liable the plan was to fall. 

Suddenly, Luca sat up, startling an unknowing Cecelia.

"What is it, baby?" She asked worriedly, but his mind was far away. 

Maybe they hadn't found anything missing yet because they were searching the wrong place. The answer had been in front of them all along.

How could they not have seen it? 

Trust.

Trust was the reason. To be the closest ally, one must build trust. That was why they never suspected. 

Natasha was the only outsider present in the mansion that day. 

If they could suspect her now, why can't she be a suspect for the break-in?

Cara must have realized this first!

Holy sh*t.

He shot up to his feet. 

What if she messes up their plans? 

He looked down at Cecelia.

"Come on, baby, we have to stop Cara."