Angel's Mafia (gxg) ✓

XXXI | Two Traitors

The title seems to be foreshadowing a little...

WHEN I WAKE UP, ANGEL IS GONE.

I know last night we spent tickling each other and kissing and giggling, and I don't remember falling asleep but I know I did. This morning, when I wake, her side of the bed is cold. She must have went back to her room.

Dressed in my pyjamas and slippers, I tiptoe through the hotel hallway and knock softly on her door.

No one answers. I try the handle, and it's unlocked. Is this an invasion of privacy? I'm too tired to care as I go inside.

The room is a match to mine, but much neater. The clothes are folded and everything is neat, but on the floor, I spy a fallen phone, the screen cracked. It looks like Angel left in a hurry. Where did she go?

I open the door into the bathroom, and suddenly remember the fact that I made a revelation yesterday.

The Jewels. I know where the Jewels are.

This entire adventure could have been over last night if I'd only remembered. But then, maybe I hadn't wanted to. Maybe the thought of Angel and I, gallivanting through the world, thrilled me. Maybe I don't want this to end.

But at the same time, I know why it must. Angel never even told me why she needed all that money, all of those millions, but it must be important if she could uproot her life and kidnap me for it.

I also know why I need the money. Nathan. All that wealth could make him disappear, could take him far, far away from me. Forever.

But . . .

But I'm not scared of him anymore.

Either way, even if I don't need the money, Angel does. So I rush into the bathroom, hoping to find her. There is a note taped to the mirror instead.

CADENZA, DOMINIC, MARIA. TODAY, I NEED TO FINISH SOME BUSINESS. I'VE ORDERED A PLANE TO BE THERE FOR YOU AT EIGHT A.M. THERE IS A PAINTING I WANT FROM THE MUSEUM BACK HOME AT SANTA LUCIA. IT IS CALLED THE FIELD AND I NEED IT TONIGHT BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

SOON. ANGEL.

I read the large, loopy handwriting, wondering at what it is she had to jet off into the night for. I grab the note and knock on Maria and Dominic's doors, letting them see it.

It's 7:32, so it's about time to go meet that plane. It's likely a five hour flight back to Sicily, so I prepare myself accordingly to set off.

When we're on the plane, I say, "I know where the Jewels are."

Dominic chokes and Maria spits out her water.

I wait for the shouting and shock to subside for I add, "They're in the tower room where they were stolen. Maurizio put them back the same way they took them out. And nobody has ever looked for them there."

"Where in the tower?"

I think back to the ruby. "You know we have the ruby, that's the only piece he took, and in order to put it back on the Crown we'd have to put it in the center. I think it's a metaphor. Maurizio hid them in the heart of the room, so likely in the middle of the floor."

Nobody asks if I'm wrong. Nobody doubts me. I know with certainty that this is true, and-

"Does Angel know?" says Dominic, hushed. He looks like he is aware of something I'm not.