Chapter 3

Ares' POV

The journey didn't take too much time and I couldn't be more grateful for that. I wouldn't say I was grateful though, I had everything I needed to make it happen, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

After Matteo had gotten into the limousine, I instructed him to give directions to the driver. I wanted nothing to do with the menial details, all I wanted to do was get my hands on that girl.

The limousine had driven to the airport in record time, and thanks to Matteo, we both boarded my private jet in less than five minutes. The town in question that held the orphanage was situated at the outskirts of the city. I was impatient, but I wasn't that impatient to spend two hours by road.

“We'll be there in forty five minutes.” I raised my head to the sound of Matteo's voice. He'd just come out from the cockpit, before settling into one of the sofas opposite mine. “Give or take.”

“And the orphanage?” I snapped,not pulling my gaze from my phone. “The jet isn't going to land in front of it, is it?”

“Of course not.” Matteo chuckled. “Arrangements have been made already. A car will be waiting for us the moment we land.”

And it was just as he'd said. The moment the helicopter touched down, Matteo whisked me into another vehicle, our final destination being the orphanage.

The drive was quiet, save for the rush of scenery outside. I wasn't one to care about nature, but what surrounded me wasn't a lot to take in. If anything, it looked like a fire had razed the entire place a couple of years ago and the areas were still adjusting.

“What do you think she's going to look like?” Matteo spoke up.

“I don't know, Matteo.” I huffed. “You do know why we're going after her right? I'm not interested in what she looks like.”

“So you would prefer if she was ugly then?” Matteo picked the worst times to joke and this was one of them.

I hated admitting it, but I was tense. I'd been after something for the past ten years, and my father had been searching for the same thing too. He loathed himself for it, but it didn't change the fact that he had failed to get it while he was Don.

Now, the reigns of responsibility had been passed down to me and I couldn't afford to fail. I would rather die than not lay my hands on it. That file and everything else was crucial to the tension brewing between us and the Russians. If the rumors were true, then we were toast if we didn't act fast.

I wasn't the only one after those documents, and I knew it. Those damned Russians were probably after it just like I was, but I liked to think I had an added advantage. I knew where to look.

The odds weren't a hundred percent in my favor, but they were there nonetheless and I was going to take it, even if it meant doing something totally off brand for me.

“.....that's all I'm saying.” I tuned back into Matteo's yapping at the last moment. “Are you even listening to me?”

“No.” I didn't care for any of his nonsense. If it wasn't helping to solve the dilemma at hand, then he could very well keep it. “How long till we get to the orphanage?”

“We're already here.” My glance fell on the outside world again, just in time to see the driver pulling into a small compound.

It was nothing to write home about and that was me being nice. I was never nice.

A small storey building sat in the middle of it all and as I stared at it, it only made me wonder how it hadn't collapsed, or how long it had even been standing for.

I hopped out of my limo the moment it screeched to a halt. I caught sight of a couple of kids playing around, but the second they laid their eyes on me, they froze.

Fear crept into their eyes, and I watched them slowly run into the house.

“Uh….” Matteo drawled beside me. “What the hell did you just do to those kids?”

“It doesn't matter.” I waved him off with a hand. “Let's go.”

The sole of my shoes kissing the ground was all the sound I heard for the next couple of seconds. There were cracks in the pavement, and even the water fountain at the center of it all didn't look like it had seen a drop of water in the longest time either.

We had just barely gotten to the little stairs that led up to the front door before someone rushed out.

“Hello, good afternoon.’ she was elderly, and worn out, if the grey hairs indicated anything. “Who are you please? How can I help you?”

“We're looking for someone, ma'am.” Matteo spoke, and we believe she just might be in your orphanage.”

“Oh.” She looked genuinely shocked. “We haven't had an adoption in years and…””

“We're not adopting anyone.” I cut her off immediately. Her eyes widened and she gasped so loud, I feared she might have suffered a heart attack or something. “We're looking for someone. A girl.”

“Let me handle this please.” Matteo was quick to jump in. He was better off with things like these and we both knew it. If I stepped in, it would definitely end with more dead bodies than he would like. With a reassuring smile in the woman's direction, he added. “Please ignore him, he's feeling rather cranky today.”

Her eyes still showed fear, but she nodded anyway.

“You see, we lost our sister a couple of years back.” Matteo started. “We searched high and low, but we never found her, until now. We got information that she just might be here.”

“Is that so?” That must have caught her attention. She had the speed of a sloth and while I didn't particularly like it, I didn't want to ruin whatever Matteo was cooking up. “What's her name?”

“We've heard that she might have changed her name over the years.” Matteo's face fell. “We were attacked and she had run away, so we understand that she was probably trying to save herself. She went missing about ten years ago though.”

“There's someone that falls into that description.” The elderly woman let out after what seemed like forever. “If you don't mind, you can come in and….”

“No!” I hissed, the exact same time Matteo let out a loud “yes.”

“Yes.” He nodded again. “We meant yes.”

She stared at us, but eventually ushered us inside. While we trailed after her, I didn't miss the glare Matteo shot my way.

If I had thought the outside was bad, the inside was tragically worse. Peeling paints stared at us from all sides. I had barely stepped inside and I already felt irritated. In what looked to be the living room, we bumped into the same kids from outside. However, they disappeared again just at the sight of me.

“You do know you're bad luck, right?” Matteo whispered in my ears and I swatted him away. “They're literally running from you.”

“I don't care.” I really didn't.

“I'll go get her.” The elderly lady offered us a seat before heading into one of the rooms.

“What is this nonsense?” I hashed out the moment she was out of earshot. “What the…”

“I told you.” Matteo rushed out his response. “If you had gone through the file, you would have…”

“Here she is.” She appeared almost instantly. I didn't see it at first, but after a few moments, I saw someone trail behind her.

Time seemed to slow to a halt as the young lady in question stood beside our host. They were polar opposites and I couldn't help but be drawn to her.

Her blonde hair seemed to have an almost ethereal glow and her eyes were the deepest emerald metals I'd seen. From the thin line her lips had formed, I just knew she was nervous.

“What's your name?” I asked. My anger levels shot up a bit when I got no response, so I asked again. “What is your name?”

More silence.

Matteo and I exchanged glances.

“Is there a problem?” It was Matteo's turn to ask. “She isn't…”

“Didn't you know?” The elderly woman spoke up. “She's mute.”

What the actual hell?