Chapter 4

Vladimir:

“I take that you’re not in your best of moods” dad stated once he took sight of me walking into the house. My knuckles were filled with blood after tracing one of the men that would lead us to the woman.

It seemed like there was a call made by her to the man, and seeing as he refused to give me any answers; I was forced to take different methods. His eyes which were wide in fear eventually had him spilling out that the woman was Lorenzo’s mistress. She didn’t know that she was ONE of his mistresses, but it seemed like Lorenzo was punishing her for some reason.

“I really don’t feel like talking about my mood right now. If there’s nothing that you’re going to tell me, I’m going to my room” I said glaring at him. I knew that he didn’t approve of me giving Eliana to Lorenzo, and I did not want to have this conversation with him. He’s already shown his anger and annoyance by it before the auction. Therefore, I wasn’t in the mood for it.

“The kids called, I thought that you’d want to know” he said making my heart ache. The idea of them being away from me didn’t make things any easier. But I also knew that it was the best thing to do considering the circumstances. It was Eliana who suggested the safe house and knowing that things would only worsen on us; I knew not to object.

“They would be asleep right now, I’ll call them in the morning” I said walking up the stairs. I entered my bedroom and sighed. It has been over a week since Eliana has been sold to Lorenzo, and the worry in me only seemed to make things worse on me as I didn’t know anything about her. I knew that she would be sending me a message or some signal once she’s managed to get Lorenzo’s trust, but it seemed to have taken a bit longer than I expected.

I sat on the edge of the bed as I stared at my phone, waiting, hoping for a call; but I knew that good things took time. The two of us didn’t reach this far for me to expect things to be solved in a day or two. Putting my phone on the bedside table, I got from the edge of the bed and entered the bathroom to wash my face and clean my torn knuckles.

Walking out of the bathroom, I frowned in confusion when I saw that my phone had a message. One from an unknown number.

‘Step one’s done. Rest assured my love.’

I knew not to reply to the message. However, I couldn’t help but smile knowing that she was fine. Nodding, I plugged my phone in the charger and stripped out of my clothes.

“We’ll get through this, malyshka. I trust you”

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“For a mistress, the man didn’t bother spoiling her much” Luka stated as we reached the woman’s house. Beatrice Price, the woman was in her mid twenties, easy to fool, and single. Whatever the man had promised her being triple her age seemed to blind her to the fact that he could easily kill her.

“A man who has more than one mistress would have his ‘favorite’. I doubt this woman cared about where she stayed if she got money in return anyway” I said getting out of the car. The two of us walked through the wrecked street of where the woman’s house was. Having seen her in the house to confirm that this place was hers first, I was surprised that Lorenzo didn’t bother sending her to a better place after he was done with his ‘pleasure’.

I knocked the door twice, two of our men were waiting for us out front, while two men kept an eye on the backdoor. Luka raised an eyebrow when we heard fumbling inside the house. Whatever the woman was working on, she seemed to drop it almost immediately, creating a clatter.

“Lorenzo?” She said excitedly. Her eyes were wide in surprise, and the smile quickly left her face once she took sight of us. She wore nothing but a silk white rob, her bra and panties exposed for our eyes to see. The smell of perfume filled my nostrils, and judging by the smell of food, I could tell that she was initially cooking.

Her eyes studied our expression for a second too long, checking whether or not we had anything with us “he didn’t bother sending supplies either?”

She went to close the door. However, placing my hand on it; I kept it open before letting myself and Luka inside. Beatrice’s eyes widened in surprise and pulling out my gun, I motioned for her to stay quiet.

“Here’s how it’s going to be, Beatrice” I said closing the door. Luka smirked at the sight of the now frightened woman “I’ll be asking questions, and you’ll be giving me answers. I don’t want lying and I believe that you can already tell that I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot you if you chose to lie”

Her eyes were wide in surprise, but I wasn’t as blind as not to notice that she was pulling something from behind her. The woman raised her hand only for me to stop it midway, twisting it and forcing the knife out of her hand. She cried out in pain and I sighed before letting her go.

“You should be thankful that I don’t lay my hands on women”

“I don’t have any of your answers, go find someone else to frighten”

“Now, now, I didn’t even ask them to begin with” I said taking a step forward, forcing her to take one back “I think your food is burning in the kitchen. Go inside, turn off your stove, then we can talk”

I nodded at Luka to follow her. The woman had nowhere to go, I knew that; she wouldn’t be able to run if she tried. But I wasn’t in the mood for childish, idiotic moves that could end up giving me a headache. I placed my gun back in its holster, and waited for the pair to come out before we got things done.

Beatrice walked out of the kitchen, followed by Luka who had his arms crossed over his chest, clearly amused by the whole situation. She motioned for us to enter a room, walking inside first, and we followed.

“It seems like you believe that I’m now cornered?”

“No, you’re not” I said taking a seat on one of the couches. Luka stood by the door, watching the woman’s expression as he did. I nodded at her to sit down. Sighing, she did as instructed “I don’t corner women”

“And yet, you had the audacity to sprain my wrist?”

“Believe me, Beatrice, if I wanted to sprain it; I would have” I said looking at her hand “we’ll start with the easy questions first”

“I already told you, I don’t have your answers”

“I’ll be the judge of that, printsessa” I said leaning forward, keeping my eyes on hers “who’s Lorenzo D’Angelo?”