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The passenger door of his car opened up, and Sebastian Marconi hopped in. “It has been ages, man!” he said in excitement.According to Sebastian, ages was two weeks ago. He had known him for a long time, and in all these years, they had become best friends. “It has been two weeks, Sebastian.” his tone was flat, but he was excited to see him.Sebastian cackled loudly. He was a member of the mafia. Despite being the heir and son of one of the founding families, he had kept his dealings with them at a minimum. He was merely an associate; he ran a few errands for them, and because of his affiliations with the high and mighty, both criminal and non-criminals, he was privy to certain information which he gave to the family.He began driving. “Where were you this time around?”“Seychelles,” he announced. “A country in East Africa,” he leaned backward. “It was superb; the white sand beaches were amazing, and the resort I stayed at…” He sighed in sOrlando appreciated the silence as he drove her down to the family house. She was pretty shook by him shouting at her, and the increase of security guarding her door. He couldn’t care about that, he loved that she was quiet. He parked his car, and got out before letting her out.She had forlorn expression on her face. He led her through the doors of the hotel, he waved at the receptionist and not long after they were in the elevator. He could have sworn the ride lasted longer than it should. He was acutely aware of her standing in front of him, the soft sound of her breathing, his eyes fixated on her nape. He looked away and adjusted his tie, it had been a busy week.The elevator doors opened and he waited a bit, trying to keep even the slightest distance between them. She stopped and turned around to look at him. Of course, she did not know where she was going. He extended a hand out to her but she did not budge. He did not react.He walked ahead of her, the s
Imani stared at her reflection in the mirror, her dark curls were hidden underneath a silk hair bonnet. She rubbed a white substance into her skin.Until a set of strong hands wrapped around her waist and lifted her up. “Shawn…” she called out to him in between giggles. “You startled me”He planted a soft kiss on her head. “I needed to get your attention somehow, you looked lost.”She smiled but it did not quite reach her eyes.He planted another kiss on her cheeks. “What’s on your mind?”"It’s Elena, I am worried about her” she answered.“Why is that?” he caressed her arm gently. “I haven’t heard from her, I know I have been so busy and…”“Hey, hey, Imani don’t blame yourself at all. None of this is your fault. You have been swamped with planning for your exhibition. If there is anyone who should be calling it is her…”“She used to, she was actively helping me plan for it, we went over the pieces I am going to
Camila clutched tightly to her small bag. “I need to go, I need to go now. I cannot take it anymore,” she said in a tired voice.“I don’t think that’s a great idea…”“It has been days without Elena. No one has heard a word from her, no one has seen her…” She wiped at her eyes frantically. “Mr. Richardson is nowhere to be found.”“They threatened to hurt her if you made any move.”“For all I know, they already did. I can’t sit tight any longer. I have to at least do something.”The man who had spoken up nodded in understanding. It was a small gathering of the domestic workers at home. Everyone had been thrown into a frenzy when they saw the security men at the entrance passed out cold and a hysterical Camila. They had spent the next couple of days trying to reach Mr. Richardson, they soon realized he was truly an island, with no living relatives or existing friends. It was hard to get to him with his phone being unreachable.They had e
Camila tossed around in her bed. She was unable to sleep, even the medications were of no help to her. Thoughts of Elena and Richardson filled her mind. Her eyes were sunken and tired. She exhaled deeply; earlier in the day, she had gone to the cops with information.She had met a young man at the entrance of the police station, when he was sure she was not lost and confused, he took her statement and said he would help but…“Can’t sleep, huh?”Her whole body jolted in fright. It felt like her heart would leap away from her chest. She scrambled in the darkness trying to reach for the bedside lamp, but instead, her hands brushed against another hand, and then the light was turned on. She scurried away as quickly as her tired body could.There was a man sitting on the chair beside her bed. He was leaning backward, his hand on the table, and his forefinger resting on the trigger of a handgun. He had on black clothes, and the mop of hair on his head h
Orlando’s hands were tucked in his trouser pockets as he navigated through the crowd in the night club, he narrowly missed colliding with people. Some of the ladies smiled suggestively at him or winked. Some of the others went as far as trying to touch him. The music was blaring loudly. He stopped at the VIP entrance, it was manned by two burly men, but as soon as they saw him, they opened the doors and let him through.The VIP room was dimly lit, as soon as he shut the doors the sound of the music from the main hall ceased. Soft tunes filled the room. It was almost impossible to spot Romano Russo, over the sea of women around him. They were scantily clad and swaying their hips seductively.“Orlando!” Romano drawled out as soon as he spotted him. He leaned backwards and let out puffs of smoke, and chugged down the remaining content of whisky in his glass. “What are you doing here?”“I have important information for you.” He answered.“Come on then…” Ro
When Orlando descended the stairs the next night, he met her at the foot of the stairs. He checked his watch; it was a few minutes past 11 pm. She had on a sky-blue sleeveless dress, her hair was tied up in a ponytail. She had a wide smile on her face as he approached her.Merrill rushed in at that moment, “Sir, she said she had to come with you. I tried to convince her.”“What is this about?” he inquired.“I would like to speak with my father,” she answered in an eager tone.“It is late…”“I need to speak with him,” she cut him off, “I know you plan to talk to him already, but my father wouldn’t speak with any of you if he does not hear my voice. If he truly has taken something from you, he wouldn’t give it back without speaking to me. I am sure it will be beneficial to all of you if I can talk to him earlier so we can come to some kind of agreement…”“Elena.”“Please...”***He let her come, the drive ther
“What did you do, father? What did you do?”“I am sorry, my princess. I am really sorry. I did not mean for any of this to happen. I never wanted you to get hurt. I wanted to protect you…”“I think it is a little bit too late for that, isn’t it?” She replied in a solemn voice and wiped a story tear from her eyes.“What did they do to you, princess? Please tell me, are you hurting? Did they hurt you?” With every question, there was an increasing urgency in his voice.Instinctively, her hand went to her head. When she looked at her hand, she saw that she was bleeding. “I am fine.” she answered in a bland tone.He broke down. “I am really sorry, Elena. I did not mean to put you in harm's way. I tried my best to protect you from this part of my life. I really tried…”“They are the mafia, Dad!” she yelled. “You’re a part of the mafia!”He began to sob.“How could you? Why would you?”Tears began to flow unab
Elena flipped through the pages of the book in her hand, a blank stare on her face. There was a knock on the door, and then Luca’s head popped in. He flashed her his warm smile. If it were a few weeks back, she would be stifling a blush, her mind conjuring racy images of him.A lot could change in a few weeks, she mused.“How are you, Elena?”She did not respond.He pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “How long are you going to keep ignoring me?Surely you blame your father for this, but this is not my fault.” He leaned forward, his face barely inches away from hers. “I wanted to tell you, I always did, but it was not my secret to share. Your father warned me to keep quiet, and there was no way I could tell you my part in this without mentioning your father. He is an important member of the family.”“What do you want, Luca?”He smiled and bowed his head, his finger tapping rhythmically on the table.“You, I want y