The Man of My Prayers (Fitzmael 3) - COMPLETED

08: Four Wounds, One Heart

ADORN ZHARICK VALE

I'D JUST FINISHED talking to Erazius, letting him know that I had decided to accept the offer from their company. Without missing a beat, he told me I needed to fly to Italy before starting work. So, I made sure to wrap up all my pending tasks in San Tiago before leaving—mostly just paperwork, nothing too heavy.

It's been a month since Franco and I last spent time together. I thought with how busy I've been with work, I wouldn't think about him anymore. But somehow, even with my hectic schedule, he still crosses my mind. Sometimes, I catch myself drifting into moments of sadness, lost in thought.

"Adorn, are you okay?"

Novan's voice brought me back to the present. He was driving me to Bloom airport. Today was my flight to Italy, and since Hunter wasn't around—off on some other plans—Novan had stepped in to take me.

"I miss Franco," I admitted quietly.

"You haven't seen each other at all?"

I shook my head. "No. Not even a single text."

He didn't say anything else as we arrived at the airport. We walked towards a private plane, and as I stepped inside, I was greeted by two men whose faces seemed familiar.

"I feel like I've seen you before, but I can't remember where," I said to them.

"Hi, Attorney," one of the men greeted. "We're Franco's cousins."

My mouth fell open slightly. "So, you're the ones who were at Franco's house before?"

They nodded, chuckling. "I'm Imil. It's nice to finally meet you, Attorney," he introduced himself, extending his hand.

I accepted his handshake. "Imil, as in Maximilian? The owner of Axi's club?"

He nodded with a grin. "Yup. That's me!"

"And I'm Ren," introduced the man beside Imil.

My lips parted in surprise. "So, you're Ren?"

He looked startled. "You know me, Attorney?"

"Catmint mentioned you to me before."

He scratched his head. "Did she suggest that we'd be a good match and propose a date?"

I nodded, laughing.

"You and Franco are a great match, Attorney," he said with a smile.

"I'm so happy that you and Franco found each other," Imil said with a warm smile.

I returned his smile. "Thank you both for your support."

Ren excused himself since he was one of our pilots, leaving just Imil and me in the cabin. He sat across from me, his expression turning serious.

"LET ME GIVE you some basic information about the company," Imil began.

"Okay."

"The organization is called L'azienda. It's an elite and secret group. Every member of L'azienda has a code name. Mine is Zero, while Ren's code name is Cielo. The rankings are as follows... The Founder, The Superiori, The Managers, The Leaders, and The Special Agents."

I sipped my champagne and nodded.

"Cielo and I are part of The Managers. There are five of us in total, and each of us is assigned a specific region or continent to manage. Cielo handles Asia, while I'm in charge of Australia—and maybe Antarctica if needed."

"Since you're assigned to Australia, do you need to stay there?" I asked, curious.

He shook his head immediately. "The base of L'azienda is in San Tiago and Italy, so we don't need to stay in the regions we're assigned to. However, when it comes to decision-making, if it concerns Australia or Antarctica, I'm the one who decides what to do. No one is allowed to interfere unless I ask for their help. Cielo has the most work because he manages Asia, and sometimes he asks for my help. Asia and Europe are always the ones with problems," he said, shaking his head.