The King's Executioner | Mafia Dark Romance | Book 2

37. The precipice of everything

Sofia

A watched pot never boils and a watched phone never rings.

The news of Alejandro's abduction spread like wildfire in the family. With our allies already getting out of control over lesser profit from the business, there wasn't much hope from them. We had no other option but to rely on the help of a trusted few.

Antonio decided it was in everyone's interest to not let Maria know about Alejandro. Informing Carlos meant it would only be a matter of minutes before Maria divulged the information from him. So we decided to keep Carlos too in dark about his second son's well-being.

The rest of the family sat in Antonio's study.

None of us spoke a word. None of us was ready to acknowledge the blow from an old enemy - Mateo.

Though Valentina had interacted more with Mateo, it was only Antonio and Gabriel who knew his deepest, darkest secrets. Or at least we assumed they did.

The doors to the study opened and creaked shut. Everyone turned to Gabriel walking in. The fear on his face - crooked eyebrows and worry lines on his forehead - spoke volumes.

"We are trying to trace Mateo," Gabriel sat in a corner near the entrance, his gaze burning the floor. "But it seems like he is using a burner phone."

Antonio rested his chin over his knuckles, dwindling in some deep thought. "Mateo is trained. He's from the intelligence agency so he'll always be one step ahead of us."

Val, who sat next to me, rose from her chair and lent me her hand. I took it without any questions and walked out with her.

Outside the heavily carved doors, she plunged her hand into her pant pocket and fished out her phone. Without saying anything to me, she dialed someone.

"Hello there..." The call went through and in came her smile. "Can I talk to him?"

My feet tapped on the marble floor, waiting for her to state who she was talking to.

After a brief pause, Valentina's smile reemerged. It wasn't her usual smile - one displayed when she was truly happy. This smile - a crooked one - was a pretense. A façade, drawn to reveal our well-being to whoever was on the other side.

"Nico, how are you?" That name caught my attention. "I need your help, brother. I'll text you the details. The thing is, this information is sought on priority."

Unaware if Nicolas had accepted or rejected her request, I stood with my arms crossed across my chest. In a way, it was my way of self-preservation. A means to protect my fragile heart from beating to death, wondering about Alejandro.

I wondered how none of my training ever prepared me to not fall victim to the weakness of love.

I had no information about Alejandro. No idea if was indeed alive. All I knew was Mateo had plans for him.

Valentina tapped on her keypads with both her thumbs. A swish from her phone, then a chime.

In the wake of her conversation with Nicolas, I tried prodding her.

"How will Nicolas know about Mateo?"

Val held my shoulders and dipped her head in front of me. The usual strong, fighter lady looked defeated. My heart launched into my mouth. My thoughts ran wild.

"Val, do you know something about Mateo that I don't?" With her silence, our positions shifted. I was in command now, gripping her shoulders and pulling her fallen face up. "Tell me, Valentina. My husband's life is at stake."