5

Walking out of the room and towards my office, I realized that I forgot one thing. I forgot t ask their name. I debated on whether to come back or not, but seeing how they were ready to take a rest, I decided to just ask tomorrow.

I passed by Emilio and Romero along the hallway and motioned for the to come to follow me to the office. We enter and I took a seat on the office chair behind my desk as the two take each seat placed in front of the desk.

"Need anything, Boss?" Emilio asks.

"Try to find where the kid came from. Dr. Silvano didn't mention any tattoos or brandings on them." I reply.

"What for? We can't exactly meddle with their business, boss. That was an agreement. We don't mess with small-time gangs, they don't cross us." Romero says.

"Did I say that we'll do anything to them? I just told you to find where the kid came from." I say, sending a glare at Romero, demanding he challenge me.

Romero averts his eyes and replies, "Will work on it, Boss."

"Anything else you wish for us to do?" Emilio asks. "Or perhaps buy anything for the kid? You picked the kid up naked, I doubt they have anything."

I ponder for a minute and pull out my credit card and hand it over to Emilio. "Don't buy shit that we don't need. You're not fucking ten anymore." The last time I lent him my card, he bought a giant inflatable slide. Being in the mafia you would think that these men are hardened criminals, but give them a bouncy ball and they'd turn into two-year-olds.

Emilio grabs my card and gave me a mock salute before sauntering out of the office. I leaned back before rolling up my sleeves and unbuttoning the top few buttons of my shirt.

It was common for trafficked victims to have some sort of branding or tattoo somewhere on their bodies once they've been bought. The Osos were notorious for leaving dead bodies around the area where I picked up the kid, and it's making me wonder why they've left them alive. Though their state was on the brink of death, it was interesting how they didn't make sure that the kid was dead. They probably did it on purpose, or not.

I usually don't meddle with businesses that are ranked below the mafia on our turf, but they made a mistake leaving the kid alive. The kid is now my property and I'll make sure to find out who was responsible for their suffering.

Besides, I haven't had fun in a while. Nobody has dared to cross or even try to wage a war against me these past few months and it was getting boring. I needed a reason to shed blood. I feel like I'm getting rusty at the age of 27.

The thought of visiting the kid again flashed into my mind but I ignored it. I pulled out my laptop and looked up missing cases for the past decade. Knowing the extent of the kid's injuries, they must've been there for a good number of years. I attempted to sort out the age and gender of the missing persons during the last years, trying to pin down any information that I could find from the boy. After hours, of sorting through case files, I failed to find any missing report case that could pinpoint the kid's identity. I closed my laptop and leaned back against the chair with a sigh. I rubbed my face in frustration, hoping that Emilio and Romero can find more than I was able to.

I laid my head back, resting my left arm against my forehead as I closed my eyes when one of the maids knocked on the office door, alerting me that dinner is ready. I stood up from the chair and exited my office. As soon as I reached the dining area, almost everyone is there, chatting about their day. A few of the missing people are Emilio and Romero. I'm guessing, they're still out finding information. As I was about to take a seat, I saw Alex carrying a tray of food.

"That's for the kid?" I ask.

"Yeah, it is. And no, they're not a kid man. They just look like one." Alex says, rolling his eyes.

I swear to God if he wasn't my cousin I would've put a bullet in his head. I walked over to him and grabbed the tray from his hand, causing the other men in the room to pause their chattering.

"You can start dinner without me," I said, making Alex give me a knowing smirk. 

I send him a glare and made my way over to the medical wing of the mansion with the tray of food in my hand. I looked down and grimaced at the sight. It looked like something that you would feed pigs. It was just porridge and a glass of water. I understand it was necessary for their diet to not eat solids as their body was starved and may not adjust well to a sudden influx of calories. I let out a sigh and enter the medical wing. Pushing the curtains aside, Dr. Silvano was checking up on the kid. 

"We'll slowly have to introduce you to eating regular amounts of food again so we'll start with something that is low in calories. You don't have to finish it, but eat as much as you can." Dr. Silvano says as she adjusts the bed into a sitting position.

Dr. Silvano also places a bed tray and motioned for me to place the food on the tray. She looks at me to ask a question, but I cut her off, knowing what she was going to ask. "I'll help them eat," I said as I placed down the bowl of porridge and glass of water.

Dr. Silvano nods and exits the room, not without saying goodbye to the kid first. I grabbed an empty chair, placed it beside the bed, and took a seat. I looked over at the kid and find that he was avoiding my gaze.

"When I told you earlier that I'm not gonna hurt you, I meant it." I tried to reassure him once again. They only gave me a meek nod.

"Who's them?" The kid asks to which I raised an eyebrow. 

"You," I answer, making his eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"I'm only one person." They answered.

"Well, we weren't sure if you preferred to be male or female." That sentence made him freeze. 

I looked them over, waiting for them to say something.

"I'm a man."  He whispers.

"Is that so? I'll call you he then?" I say as I pick up the spoon. "But there's more to it isn't there?" I ask, trying to coax an answer out of him. "Dr. Silvano told me that there's something about you. Mind telling me what it is?"

I tried looking him straight in the eye but his eyes are fixated on his lap. I noticed that his hands are shaking once again. "I'm not gonna hurt you, but my patience is thin. Just answer my questions and I'll be out of your hair." I say, trying to keep my annoyance at bay.

He opened his mouth a couple of times, trying to speak but nothing comes out, which irritated me even more. I took a deep breath to keep myself from blowing up in his face, knowing if he had another panic attack, it'll take longer for me to get some answers. 

"You could sell for a lot of money," I say, making his whole body tremble. "But you're lucky I'm not interested in that business so I suggest you make yourself useful in this mansion or you'll end up in the same position as I found you," I said in a low voice as I move closer to him, in which he replied with a weak nod.

"Now, eat. I'll help you finish all of it. I don't like food being wasted in this house." I scooped the porridge with the spoon and held it against his mouth. He slowly took the spoon, his gaze not wavering from his lap. 

My focus went unto his lips, seeing now that it's more plump and red than it was from the time I picked him up. I put the spoon down and reached for his face to wipe off the porridge on the side of his lips but it only made him flinch.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, stop making me repeat myself," I said, in a less than reassuring way. He was testing my patience.

I waited for him to swallow his food before asking another question. "Where did you come from?"

"I don't know," he answers.

I slammed my fist on the side of the bed, slowly losing the little patience that I have. "Why can't you ju-"

I was cut off by Dr. Silvano entering the room again. "Don't scare him, Val. You already gave him a panic attack earlier for fuck's sake." 

I let out a huff and stood up from my seat. "We're not done talking," I say to the kid, pointing a finger at him.

"Val! Get out!" Dr. Silvano yells at me.

I sent her a glare and she rolled her eyes and left the room. I stomped my way out of the medical wing and onto the main mansion with people trying their best to avoid me seeing my angered state. Emilio and Romero were entering the hall, but as soon as they saw my face, they turned and walked in the other direction. Tsk.

I heaved out a sigh and walked toward my room. I entered and sat on my bed. 

Fuck. I forgot to ask his name again.