Chapter Five

Gabriella dragged herself off the bed as her alarm rang and the morning sun came peeping through her window. She rubbed the weariness from her eyes as she made her way to the bathroom to get herself started for the day.

As she sat down to relief herself on the toilet, the weight of her busy week came crashing down on her with full force.

The endless meetings, visits to orphanages and office work had left her drained, with barely enough time for a decent meal or a full night's sleep.

Yet, despite the exhaustion, her mind still occasionally wandered to the mysterious man she met at the last ball she attended.

She could still vividly picture his face, his eyes and how he effortlessly conversed with her though they had only met that evening. Somehow, everything about him just intrigued her and somewhere in the quiet space of her mind, she hoped they met again.

"Get your act together Gabby", she muttered to herself, a familiar line she had used to chastise herself these days. "You really do not have the time to be daydreaming about a man right now" But no matter how frequent this call to order had been, her mind had shamelessly refuse to cooperate with her.

After a few minutes more of mental chastisement and her mind's failure to work with her, she was successfully able to move her thoughts to the upcoming musical event and the excitement of the children. She could never get enough of their squeals when they had big programs such as these. The joy and happiness the children felt makes her so happy and content; the major reason she loves her job.

The annual musical event which was a major program held by her organization was fast approaching. The less privileged and orphaned children would come together to showcase their talents ranging from singing to playing different musical instruments, and Gabriella had been working tirelessly to ensure its success.

As she stepped out of the house making her way to her first appointment of the day, she felt a sense of purpose. This event wasn't just about raising funds; it was about giving this children a voice, a sense of belonging and wings to soar. If luck was on their their side like it was at last year's, a few of the children would be sponsored abroad to further develop their skills by some of the invitees. This thought alone made her mentally do some flips but outwardly, she just smiled warmly as she walked down.

.............................

Alejandro's eyes narrowed as he received the text.

For one who does not panic even when in grave danger, he felt his instincts flare up. He had to protect her. His conscience could not take someone getting in harm's way because of him. Specially not someone he barely had any relationship with, and definitely not someone he's been trying to figure out what the disturbing thoughts he had concerning her was all about.

"Find out who is behind this" he instructed his team, his voice low and sharp.

"Get me everything about the person or people who were bold enough to conceive this thoughts. When I say everything, I mean everything from where they were born to the last meal they had, leave no stone unturned" He concluded quietly.

As his team scattered to get information. His mind was raising with possibilities. He knew the life he led made him a constant trouble magnet, and danger lurked in the shadows of his every step. But he also knew he had to clear headedly go about this.

His thoughts raced back to the event he met Gabriella at. While he conversed with her, he remembered he felt eyes on him but since he didn't see anybody after scanning through, he waved it off as him being paranoid.

"Could it be then?" He asked himself quietly. "It must be, I only met her that one time." He responded to himself

If his speculations are right, he knew he had to tread extremely carefully. "Whoever this is might be using Gabriella to bait me" he reasoned.

His brows tightened as he continued. "They must be trying to figure out if I have any relations with her depending on how I react to the threat."

"I really have to stay focused and ensure her safety" he said aloud to himself this time.

Alejandro's phone buzzed with an update interrupting his thoughts. "We have a lead" His grip on the phone tightened "Let's meet up" he responded.

.......................

Alejandro team's investigation had led them to believe that Gabriella's daily routine was being monitored. He decided that they stake out Gabriella's neighbourhood with the hopes of catching a glimpse of the person or people behind the threat.

With the plans of the stake out being made, he had Lorenzo spear head the mission with his guidance behind the scenes. He specially had to be very careful with everything about this. If his father ever got wind of this, that would spell the end of the mission before it even had the chance to see the light of day.

He hired skilled professionals outside of the mafia to work with Lorenzo, some of which were ex military agents of the US special forces. If Gabriella was being watched, this would definitely mean he was also being monitored. He had to throw their scent off him by staying physically far away from her as possible.

By the third day of the stake out, they had mastered Gabriella's routine. She walked down the street every morning, grabbed a cup of Cappuccino at what seemed to be her favorite cafe. Then she'd move on to the bakery get some doughnuts and grab a cab.

Alejandro had his men stationed everywhere she seemed to frequent. Some made their watch as staff of the cafe, others as staff of the bakery, cab drivers and so on.

After a couple of days, Lorenzo's team had gathered intel and secured surveillance footage. One morning, they noticed a suspicious individual hanging around the cafe where Gabriella usually grabbed her Cappuccino.

The individual was dressed in casual outfit, but Lorenzo's team noticed that they were lingering around the area watching Gabriella from afar. They took note of the individual's description, vehicle and license plate number.

..................

Blood splashed as Don Lorca threw the glass he was drinking from at Victor.

Don Lorca spoke angrily "You're trying to tell me that you failed to retrieve my territory, Hernandez and his team got away unscathed while three of my most skilled are dead, four severely injured and three in police custody?" Don Lorca chuckled dryly as he continued "You really must be a comedian Victor"

Victor quickly got on his knees "I'm really sorry Don, I know I deserve to pay for this with my life but give me a chance to remedy this."

Don Lorca looked away from Victor as he continued "It took me time to report this because I've already started putting things in motion to correct this failure and I plan on seeing it through to success, please boss" Victor was almost stuttering at this point.

Don Lorca leaned back on his seat as he turned to look at Victor "Let me hear what you have"

Victor worked the Don through his plans on using Gabriella to get to Alessandro. Ricardo didn't seem too impressed "I dunno but have you met Alessandro? Except it's on business terms, that guy does not meet anybody and you're saying he has a girl he'd be willing to protect at a cost?"

Don Lorca chuckled heartily this time" Victor! Victor! You really do have a knack for comedy so I'll just gladly let you know that it's all settled with you then"

His tone was becoming serious as he spoke "You'd better start practicing how to be skillful with your speech and body language on a stage Victor, because I'm kicking you to the theatre if you fail this time. I believe you understand"

"Yes, I do Don" Victor replied low spiritedly

As Victoria exited Don Ricardo's building, he muttered to himself "Damn Hernandez! You better watch your backs because your heads will go in place of mine "