[1] A War of Blood and Hearts | ✔️

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

CRYSTAL

Crystal grunts as she receives another punch. Every time the Russian mafia hits her, she imagines cutting of a different organ from his body. Sadly, she knows when to pick her fights, and she would rather be beaten up than be dead.
Her plans are all ruined when men walk into Lorenzo's office with Camilla, Leora, and Mila. The three women scream off their lungs as if the harder and louder they scream the sooner the mafia men will let them go.
"Ah, perfect, just when Crystal over here started to get a little dull." Ivan pulls the Brazilian woman to his chest and kisses her cheek.
"It gets better." Dante emerges into the room.
"I found Milo's son. Although I doubt we will have to do anything to him, he will die on his own." The man who played the role of her father for years gives her a sadistic grin as Zaire's hospital bed into the office.
"That does not mean I will not have pleasure in doing this." Dante pulls a gun out and points it at Zaire's head. Ivan pulls his head backwards as he laughs out loud.
Crystal looks around the room; she studies her surroundings; the furniture, the mafia men, and the three weeping women. Therefore, she knows she does not stand a chance at fighting. Due to the panic, she pulls Ivan's hand off of her and stands between her little brother and the gun.
"I told you she knew all about Milo and his son." Dante turns to Ivan as he mocks the Brazilian woman's actions.
"And how did you figure it out? I never took you to be the smart type." Crystal speaks up before the Russian mafia boss can reply. She knows she is playing a dangerous game; angering the man with a gun, but Dante has never scared her even with a weapon. He is implosive; a bad quality to have when you are part of the mafia.
"Actually, that is my fault." A brunette muscular man enters the room. Crystal glares at him as she watches him approach her.
"I do not think we have ever had the pleasure of officially meeting. I am Brent, the American mafia boss." His words do not surprise the Brazilian woman. After all, some of the men in the house are American.
"I have to say, your looks do not match you reputation. You are a serpent disguised as a flower. Your beauty is almost overwhelming." He tries to get a reaction from her, but she does not grant him the satisfaction.
"I thought you desired to know how your secret got exposed. So, why not ask me?" Crystal manages to keep her composure even as she imagines throwing a block on his face causing all his white teeth to fall from his mouth.
"Alright, fine, I will tell you." Brent rolls his eyes.
"About a year ago, I was walking through the streets of New York minding my own business when suddenly, I saw an old man who looked insanely similar to Milo. I have never met him but I saw countless of pictures of him in my mafia's archives. I have to admit, he has aged well, unlike his brother." Brent gives Dante a wicked smile before turning to Ivan who chuckles at his partner's words.
"Anyhow, Milo was walking with a young woman, I could not see her face, but I could see how close she was to Milo. A spark ignited within me; I have always been obsessed with the last mafia war. Thus, I pulled my phone out and I took some pictures." The American mafia boss lets out a breath in exaggeration. Crystal looks at Zaire who is dying with every second that passes. He can be dead for all she knows. Immediately, she buries that thought in the deepest part of her brain. She cannot think like that, but she has to do something before her little brother does die.
"I believe you know what happened after that." Brent looks her in the eye.
"I had my men run the photos through the facial recognition program. The results obviously confirmed my theory. All I had to do after that is figure out who that woman was. For two weeks, I searched for a female that matched her appearance, or what the photo demonstrated from her appearance. Alas, I found nothing. Therefore, I went to my spies. It took them about a month, but eventually they learned who she is; you." As he talks he takes huge strides towards her until he there are a few inches between them.
"I knew that I cannot just go kidnap you and force you to tell me where Milo was. I had to be smart. I needed some pack up. So, I went to Ivan and Dante. I shared my discovery with them. Needless to say, you have accomplished the impossible; three mafia men from three different mafias stand together to achieve a mutual goal. That has never happened before." The American mafia boss gives Crystal's cheek a little squeeze before he turns away from her and walks towards Zaire. The Brazilian woman watches him like a hawk as he walks around the hospital bed.
"At that point we still did not know that your little brother was alive. Killing your father was enough for us. However, once we learned that he did not die in his mother's womb, we thought that that was just life giving us motivation to find a solid plan." Ivan speaks as he walks to the window and lights a cigarette.
For the very first time, Crystal finds herself regretting being a smoker for two reasons; the first is that she has something in common with the Russian mafia boss; the second is that the sight gives her unpleasant chills in her bones.
"We made a solid plan, it was simple, but its probability of succeeding was really high. However, you were smart enough to go to Nicholas." Dante says her big brother's name with distain.
"Thus, we had to figure out a new plan after Dante was idiotic enough to think he can take you from Nicholas' home." Crystal can see that Dante and Brent do not get along.
"What do you get out of this Brent?" Camilla asks the American mafia boss with a whimper.
"I think you already know the answer to that Camilla."
"Ignazio." The older woman whispers with horror in her eyes.
"That is right." Brent gives her a satisfied grin. Crystal makes a mental note to ask about Ignazio's connection to the American mafia if she and her brother get out of this house alive.
"This is becoming rather boring." Ivan mutters before he takes the gun from Dante's hand and points it at Crystal. Before the Brazilian woman has the chance to react, she hears a gun shot.