LUCIEN
AFTER A LONG and arduous shower, which left my skin raw and bleeding, I flee to the sanctity of my office, locking myself inside.
My mind runs a million miles a minute as what Adeline confessed to me repeats over and over again in my mind like a broken fucking record.
She had told me that she'd been kidnapped at gunpoint and that she's engaged --- fucking engaged --- to a man named Giovanni. The name still has me reeling as I sit down in front of my computer and bring it out of sleep mode.
Scowling, I begin to pore over the notes I have on Giovanni Morello. Even though his emails are always encrypted and he attempts to cover his tracks, his offshore account to where I wired his money was easy enough to trace. Thus, providing me with a plethora of information on my supplier.
I frown when I don't find what I'm looking for in my files. I only have intricate details about his business dealings, contacts and activities, but nothing on his personal life. But then again, why would I? Why would I care about who he's fucking?
But now I'm intrigued. Now I must know everything and see if Adeline was really telling me the truth. I find it hard to believe that her fiancé is the same man who sold her, even if they do share the same first name. That idea in and of itself is so fucked up that I refuse to believe it until I see proof.
As I'm bringing up all my safeguards to keep me from being tracked by anyone while I search the web, I think back to the email Giovanni had sent me when we began this transaction. There was something that should have stuck out to me like a flashing beacon of light on dark waters in the middle of the ocean.
You will receive the goods once I receive the cash.
And I expect her to be released once you get what you paid for.
He never requested that the prior four girls be released; clearly having not given a shit what happened to the girls before Adeline. Someone must have informed him that I release the girls after I'm done with them. Perhaps one of the girls went back to Giovanni and told him what happened.
I start with the simplest of ways to garner information --- a Google search. Typing in the name Giovanni Morello and Adeline, a few hits pop up right away. Numerous photos come up under the images tab, photos that were taken at some kind of charity event. And when I see her last name in one of the captions, alarm bells start going off in my head.
Valenti.
Adeline is the youngest daughter of Salvatore Valenti, the mafia king of the east coast and the man I'm planning on taking down with a vengeance. As I change my search criteria and add the last name Valenti, my worst fears come true --- Adeline is engaged to her father's right-hand man, Giovanni Morello.
The bastard sold me his fiancé.
I sit back in my chair, trying to make sense of it all. What in the fuck would possess Giovanni to sell his boss's daughter to me? I'm pretty certain that Valenti would have no qualms about killing his future son-in-law if he knew the truth.
And then I begin to question all the possible motives behind selling Adeline to me. Was Adeline sent here to spy on me? Does she have a tracker on her that could lead them right to me?
Shaking my head, I think back to Adeline's confusion when she first arrived. Unless she's a trained actress or a pathological liar, there is no way on earth she knows who I am or what she's doing here. Besides, Jackson always does a thorough check for any foreign objects imbedded in the girls' bodies. And before they even get on the plane, one of my men removes any personal effects the women may have. I have too much to lose if anyone would find me, so I don't take any chances.
No. I think Adeline was kept in the dark about this whole thing, and that makes me angry. Giovanni knows the fucking rules. I want the girls to come to me willingly. I'm offering them a lot of money in return for what I want, what I need. And many girls are willing to offer me that. I've never had to take it by force.
That would make me truly a monster, just like the ones who hurt me in my past.
I search through article after article, digesting every piece of information I can on Adeline Valenti. She's a socialite, but also considered a recluse, only coming out of her white castle for social events run by her father.
Salvatore Valenti likes to put on airs frequently, and it looks to me like Adeline is more like a prized possession than his daughter. He likes to show her off and throw money around. He has so many crooked cops in his back pocket that he doesn't need to worry about the consequences of showcasing his wealth. In fact, he thrives at being able to brag.
I gather numerous pictures of her, pulling them from Facebook and various gossip magazine sites, and I stare at them for what seems like hours. Adeline is beautiful. No. She's painfully fucking gorgeous with long brown hair, jade-green eyes and a body that supermodels would envy. With a perfect smile and full, plump lips, she is a fucking wet dream, and the cameras love her.
However, the one thing that stands out the most in the photographs of Adeline is that she rarely smiles.
Judging on her expensive clothes and jewelry, her world may seem like a fairytale to most, but I have a feeling it's nothing more than a carefully crafted façade. Jackson had told me about the bruises covering her body.
Was Morello or Valenti hurting Adeline? I desperately want to find out.
The fierce need to protect her grows stronger by the minute, and I have to rein in these foreign emotions that are suddenly bombarding me.
After spending hours searching and finding everything I can about Adeline Valenti, I make copious notes about her in a Word document that I can print out and save for my files.
Her father is a scumbag. He deals in everything from drugs to guns…to the flesh trade, buying and selling women and children with no remorse for his actions. The latter is why I have been trying to gather enough evidence to bring his entire empire down.
I just have to wonder if Adeline knows what kind of a man her father truly is.
No. I doubt she knows her father's true dealings in the dark underbelly of society. He probably plays off his work as strictly moving money around, never revealing the true sources of his power.
Something strikes me as I glance over everything I uncovered. There are no articles about Adeline being missing. Her disappearance would most likely make headlines…or there would be some kind of inkling somewhere.
After more digging, I discover that Salvatore Valenti had booked a flight to California the morning of the agreed upon date that Adeline was to be brought to me.
One of the lines from Morello's email hits me hard once again.
And I expect her to be released once you get what you paid for.
What if Giovanni was desperate? And what if Adeline's father isn't aware of our dealings? Maybe this was all done without his knowledge. I do not believe that Salvatore would let his daughter be sold…especially the daughter who he clearly keeps under lock and key.
All signs are pointing to one fact --- Giovanni sold his fiancée to me, and he wants her back soon…before her father finds out she was ever missing.