Chapter 121 - The Dashcam you Couldn't Dodge

AdrianoLunch had come and gone in a blur. Too quiet. Too controlled. Like everyone was holding themselves together by sheer will.I passed the information Liam had given us to my government contact—kept it brief, precise. Now it was a waiting game.And I hated waiting.By the time I got to the study at 2pm, my father, Zio, and Zia were already there. Seated. Composed. Watching. It was odd to see my Zia there, but her presence was grounding. I took my seat, ignoring the pull of bruised muscle and the deeper ache sitting in my chest. The door opened behind me.Luca and Liam walked in together. Still strange to see. Still wrong in every way. But I kept that to myself.“I believe there has been some progress since earlier,” my father said. “Report.”Luca went first. “Mason has narrowed it down to five possible vehicles,” he said. “We caught a break with the dashcam—he’s analysing it now to eliminate the other four.”A nod from the seniors. “What else?” my father prompted.Liam stepped i

Chapter 122 - Unravelling the Thread

AdrianoThe drive to Boston was quiet at first.Zia was like that. She didn’t fill silence just for the sake of it—she *read* it. Knew when words would help… and when they’d just get in the way.Right now… silence was needed.Then—out of nowhere—she reached for the music console. A few clicks. And suddenly—*Celine Dion.*I barked out a laugh before I could stop myself. “Seriously, Zia?”She didn’t even look at me, just adjusted the volume slightly, completely unbothered. “Music for the soul,” she murmured.I shook my head, still smiling despite everything. “You would have loved her,” I said after a moment, my voice softer now. “Arianna. She would fight me for the music every single time.”The smile faded, replaced by something heavier. “But not with Denton,” I added quietly. “Those two… they had their own thing. He’d play something and they’d just—” I exhaled. “Like some silent conversation in the rearview mirror.”I swallowed hard. “In five years… I’ve never seen that man smile as mu

Chapter 123 - The Aunt I never Knew

Remi They had to sedate me. That’s how bad it got.After the dream, after *feeling* her—my readings spiked and refused to come down. Monitors screaming, doctors barking orders. After I flatlined andbthey revived me...the worst was still not over...Then came the call, the Doctors and nurses screaming at my Security. My stats spiking dangerously again. They were forced to sedate me but stood guard like I was about to bolt out of the damn hospital.Now I was lying on my stomach, jaw clenched, while two doctors hovered over me—pressing, checking, muttering under their breath as they examined the bruising across my back and thighs.Bruising that hadn’t been there before. Bruising no one here could explain. A medical mystery they called it. I knew exactly where it came from. I just didn’t say a word.The door opened. I barely turned my head, but I caught Aaron stepping in—with a woman I didn’t recognize. Older. Composed. Not hospital staff.“Remi,” Aaron said carefully, “your Aunt Maria i

Chapter 124 - Agent 76 Reporting from the Hamptons

DentonThe line clicked once. Secure. Encrypted. Silent for half a beat too long.“Identify,” the voice on the other end said—calm, clipped, authoritative.“Seven-Six,” I replied. “Double zero clearance. Confirm.”A pause. Then: “Confirmed. This is Control—Zero-One.”I exhaled slowly, tension held tight beneath discipline. “I assume you received my request.”“We did. And we’ve acted on it.”“Status.”“Assets have been deployed. Surveillance grids nullified across all known locations..” A faint shuffle of papers. “The girl remains unaccounted for—but we’re closing the net.”“How close?”“Days,” Zero-One said without hesitation. “Everything else is ready. We’re confident she’ll be secured within the next few days.”My jaw tightened. “She needs to be found, too many eyes on this”“We’re aware of the stakes, Seven-Six. You wouldn’t have come to us otherwise.”A brief silence settled between us—mutual understanding, unspoken.“Now,” Zero-One continued, tone shifting slightly, “regarding yo

Chapter 125 - A Rare Connection

Maria The ride back felt shorter.Not because the distance had changed… but because something had. There was movement now. Direction. A thread we were finally starting to follow.At one point, I reached over and switched the music again. This time—**Lionel Richie**.Adriano groaned immediately. “Zia… do you know any artists after 2015?”I laughed. Actually laughed. “Good music doesn’t expire,” I told him lightly.But the laughter faded as quickly as it came. Reality always found its way back in. He told me about the conversation he overheard at the front desk. The break-in. The connections forming.And then I told him about Remi. About the bruising. The placement. The timing. “Adriano…” I said quietly, watching the road ahead. “A connection like that… it’s rare.”I paused, letting the memory settle. “Years ago, the night Stefano - your dad was shot… in Chicago mind you - Luigi and I were at a restaurant. We left early because he suddenly clutched his chest, said he felt pain—exactly

Chapter 126 - I Rest My Case

Liam Maria didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to.The room bent toward her anyway. “I believe Denton has Arianna.”The words landed like a detonation—sharp, disorienting, impossible to ignore. A collective intake of breath swept through the room, chairs shifting, tension snapping tight like a wire about to give.Voices started rising immediately—“No—”“That doesn’t make—”“Why the hell would he—”Maria lifted her hand. That was all it took. Silence. Not forced. Not reluctant. Absolute. “Just hear me out,” she said, calm but unyielding. “Then we can debate whatever you think contradicts it.”And just like that… we listened.I leaned back slightly, arms folded, watching her—not just hearing the words, but studying the way she built them. Piece by piece. Brick by brick.“First,” she began, “he knew the location of that safehouse.” A nod here. A tightening jaw there.“Second—we have all agreed that the man who took her knew her… or cared about her." My chest tightened at that. Becau