Dinner with the Mafia ✔

Chapter 8

"Dad, I need to talk to you about Atlas," I said as soon as I made sure he went home, not eavesdropping on our conversations.

"Me too, I just don't feel at ease when he's around," dad replied, and Pheobe came closer. She was sitting on the hospital chair.

"Why is that? He seemed nice to me," Pheobe commented, and I sighed.

"He does seem nice, but the key word here is 'nice,' Pheobe. We don't know anything about him, yet he was present in all my near-death accidents. This is unsettling me, dad. Do you think he has anything to do with all of this?"

Dad nodded. "The only way to confirm is to check the videotape from when you fell into the lake. This will put an end to our suspension."

"It does seem like a good idea, but the tape is in my room."

Pheobe got up and grabbed her bag. "I am on it. I will bring you extra clothes since the doctor is keeping you for a few days to check on your recovery. I will be back in an hour. Do you need anything else?" she asked as she looked at dad.

"Yes, bring me extra clothes too and my laptop, please. I will be working from here, next to Bambi. Thank you, dear."

"No problem, see you in an hour or so."

"She is an angel!" I said after she left, and dad agreed. "What if Atlas did initiate all of my accidents? Or the last two because the first one was proven to be an accident."

"Then we go to the police; he's like a stalker in a twisted way." Dad sat next to me on the bed and kissed my forehead. "Either way, I will do anything to protect you. You will always be my little protected Bambi."

"Speaking of, how did you come up with this nickname?" I asked as I looked into his eyes. His expression changed, and I sensed sadness in him. "You don't have to tell me, though."

"No, it's okay. It's just that your mom was the first to call you Bambi when you were born. You didn't get to know her, and she didn't get to spend more than an hour with you. She used to call you her little Bambi even when she was pregnant. I am sure she'd be proud of you and your journey so far. You are so precious to us. I would sacrifice my life for you if I had to. You are our little gem."

"I love you, dad... I love you, mom." I sniffled and pressed my head into his chest.

"We love you too, Bambi. Now sleep for an hour, and will go sort the documents for the hospital and the bill if possible. Rest, and I will be back." He got out, and I looked at the ceiling.

What is the purpose of my life?

I have been studying and working on getting to where I am today, but is this truly what I want? Don't I want anything else?

Well, of course, I do... I want to share my happiness with someone. A man I could trust, love, and rely on.

My missing puzzle piece is a man. I never thought I would yarn for a relationship, but I am still a human.

Where will I find him, though? I am in the company all the time, and most males are either too old or too young for me.

I should travel and live an adventure where I meet a kind man like in books.

Joe, snap out of your fantasies. It must be the poison talking...

I do not need a man... but I want a man.

Damn it, I am confusing myself. I should just sleep for a bit.

~~~

"Joe, wake up." I heard Pheobe calling, and I slowly opened my eyes. "If I was not curious about the tape, I would have let you sleep more. Sorry, now let's watch it. Mr. Dante, can I borrow your laptop?"

"Of course, here." She took it and did her thing. I saw a black and white video, and all she needed to do was press play. "Come on, click." Dad urged her, and I fixed my position on the bed.

"Here goes nothing..." she started the video, and I swallowed. I was nervous about finding out the truth. I looked at the screen and saw myself standing near the lake and looking at the sky.

"Here it comes. It should be in the next few seconds... Here!" A figure came closer to me, and when I saw Atlas' face, I slammed my fist on the bed. He pushed me and pretended to save me. "I knew it! Atlas is a freaking damn stalker and attacker."

"I am calling the police," as soon as dad said that, his phone lit up. "Private number?" he muttered, and I looked over his shoulder. He opened a file filled with pictures. "Oh my God. What is that?"

I felt pale. "Dad... who sent these?"

"Atlas. He knew we got the tape, and he's blackmailing me with your intimate pictures," dad replied, and I snatched the phone from his hand.

"What intimate pictures?" I scrolled through the file and saw a few photos of me taking a shower. I was naked, of course, but how did he manage to do that? "Okay, new plan... we are not calling the police."

"Are the pictures that bad?" Phoebe asked, and I showed her. Dad was waiting patiently for me. He did not want to see what were the private pictures. "Oh, man! Now you can't call the police if you don't want your naked self all over the internet."

"Her what now?" dad yelled as he jumped from his chair. "Good thing I didn't scroll further down, but that's bad. How did he know that we got the tape?" Atlas has no problem with sharing my pictures with the world. I was sweating, and I felt dirty all of a sudden. A man I barely knew saw me naked.

"Let me check your laptop and phone, dad." I grabbed them, sat on the chair, and put them on the table. I placed my new phone next to them and started my magic. Dad and Phoebe waited patiently. "I think he hacked us." I was also pretty sure he did not use his phone or laptop to send dad these pictures.

"Why do you think so?" dad asked.

"Because I always ensure the window and the curtains in the bathroom are closed, and I usually listen to music on my phone while showering. And there are two ways for Atlas to know about the tape. One, he saw Phoebe taking the videotape. Two, he hacked dad's laptop and installed a listening device on his phone. Or, he did all of those. So, I am checking if there is malware or anything unusual in the systems."

"How do you know how to do all that?" Phoebe asked, and I smiled.

"I learned coding along with my degree. I did not think that it would come in handy."

Dad looked at me with astonishment. "Why didn't you tell me you had this talent?"

I shrugged and typed a few things. "You never asked," I replied, and dad rolled his eyes. I pressed Enter, and I sighed. "That son of a bitch, I found the bug. He hacked into our devices and is probably listening right now. So, Atlas... we will not call the cops, but you should pray to not come face to face with me because I will end you." After talking, I removed the bugs and put a more robust protection firewall on our systems. If he was the world's greatest cyberpunk, I was the world's greatest white hat hacker.

Game on, Atlas Ford.