Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“Did she run away?” I asked.
“Was she kidnapped?” Russo asked at the same time.
We both looked at each other then, my confused eyes turning lethal, his questioning ones turning into more questions. I turned to Dom.
“No, she wasn’t kidnapped.” He laughed sharply, taking out his cell phone.
The five of us hovered over the screen. Even before he pressed play, I felt something twist in my stomach because I knew that the hallway led to Giuseppe’s home office, and Lenora was at the end of the hall. He pushed play, and we watched as she hurried into his office. In the next clip, she looked like she was searching everywhere for something until she sat and sagged down into her father’s chair. Her body moved until she hit the floor, and there she was for a long time. From this angle, we couldn’t tell exactly what she was doing, but when she finally stood back up, she had two things in her hand: a notebook and something small.
“She stole my father’s ledger and USB drive,” Dom said, pushing the side button on his phone as he started to pace again.
I sat back in my chair.
Dean sat back in his.
Lorenzo and Gio both took a fucking seat.
No one spoke.
Stealing from Giuseppe De Luca was a death sentence, and I wasn’t sure how he’d apply that to his daughter, but considering that he’d killed his older brother with his bare hands, I didn’t like the odds. Would he kill her? Maybe not. Would he hurt her? Fuck yeah, he would. My mind raced, trying to figure out how he could hurt her and how I could stop it from happening. He’d already fucked up her life. The last thing she needed was for him to fuck it up more.
“Have you spoken to her mother?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Her phone is off. Her mom’s in surgery.”
“Hypothetically speaking,” Dean started. “I assume your father already has all his men looking for her. What will happen once he gets ahold of her?”
“Fuck.” Dom’s eyes squeezed shut as he sank into his usual seat. “I can’t think about that.”
“What about Adriano? Does he know about this?” Gio asked.
Dom’s eyes opened and formed slits. “As soon as my father realized what was missing, he called Adriano and told him she’d run away.”
“Fuck,” Loren breathed out, speaking for the first time.
I couldn’t breathe, let alone speak, so I stayed quiet.
“His men will go after her,” Dean said. “Adriano won’t let her make a fool of him.”
Dom’s phone buzzed. From the way his eyes widened, it could only be his father or his sister. He answered without indulging us. He listened. Nodded without saying anything. Listened.
“Okay,” was all he said as he hung up.
We waited.
He took a deep breath and let it out. “The USB drive has a tracker.”
“And?” I asked calmly.
“She’s in Florida.” He looked me square in the eyes. His were filled with a concern I hadn’t seen in a long time. “We need to get to her before they do.”
16
LENORA
I dropped my bag by the door, locked it, and let out a breath as I turned around and looked at the apartment. It was part of a hotel, a “room” she bought from the owner. All of their “rooms” were fully furnished apartments. Mom’s faced the beach. Deep down, I understood why my mother couldn’t share this with me, but it still hurt. How long had she had it? Who had she shared it with? I looked around, searching for answers to those questions. She had pictures of us in the bedroom: my fourth birthday, me with Aanya on the beach, and one with my parents at their vineyard as we toasted my graduation. I set that last one down and sat at the edge of the bed, thinking about how long it had been since I had seen them.
Some sort of code to my father’s ledger made it impossible to understand. I thought it was the initials of people who owed him money and the amounts, but I couldn’t be sure. I hadn’t even tried to look at what was in the USB drive. I was going to on the flight over, but I was terrified of what I’d find. My father was not a good man. I knew that better than anyone, but that didn’t mean I wanted proof. I’d taken this as a bargaining chip, not a way to throw its contents in his face. I stared at my bag for a long moment, weighing out whether or not I should look at what was on it.
I wondered why my father hadn't stored the ledger and USB drive in his safe, and I had two ideas: either he was so arrogant that he thought no one could ever steal from him, or he didn't trust anyone with this. All of us kids had the codes to the safes; Dad kept some money and business contracts there, things that wouldn't hurt him if someone broke into the home. Home invaders would have found the ledger easily, but they wouldn't have been able to interpret it. The USB drive he had placed so deep in the bottom of the desk that it would take too long to uncover it. I knew Dad wasn't stupid. He’d know it was me soon enough. I was counting on that, though. After my mini-deliberation, I took a deep breath, grabbed my laptop and the USB drive, and opened the files.