“Flavio could,” Giovanni said.
“Flavio is dead!” Rocco said.
“I know that! But he was a wealthy man. His wealth was spread out to his bastard children. She could have the resources. And more importantly she is Zia Isabella’s daughter. You remember how resourceful and bitter your sister was. How she tortured Lorenzo for years until her death. What is her daughter capable of?”
Rocco stared in disbelief.
“In the morning I want the lawyers to get information for me on Flavio’s will. Where his money was given, and then we find Isabella Mancini.”
Rocco left him. He sat in the parlor staring at the floor. Giovanni wiped his hands down his face. It had been over twenty-four hours since he lost his wife. And the worry and stress had already broken heart. Now he hears news of the deception in his family, and he has to wonder if his sins, his father’s sins, have finally caught up to him.
It took an extra surge of strength to stand. He hadn’t taken a drink but he had a desert-like thirst drying his throat. He walked past the stairs. He paused. He looked up. Giovanni was drawn to the stairs. He climbed them and walked the halls of his home. With his men scattered, and his family hurting, the halls were empty. Every useable resource was dispatched in search of a clue to where his wife could be. Though he knew it would be painful, he returned to his room. He pushed open the door and peered inside. A woman lay in his bed.
For a startled moment his heart leapt. The shape of her, the way she held his son to her chest, and his daughter lay on the other side of her with the covers kicked off, were all reminiscent of how he’d find Mirabella. After a long trip, he’d come home to his family waiting for him. Giovanni stepped inside of the room. His heart sank to see it was Catalina sleeping in his bed. He held a faint smile to his face. He had to think that this was a good omen. His wife would never leave him. He knew she’d fight hard to survive. He had to believe this. He closed the door. Giovanni covered Eve and kissed her brow. His daughter rolled over to Catalina. He left the room and gently closed the door.
Unable to sleep, he walked down the hall aimlessly. When he reached the stairs he climbed them and headed to the third floor. Above were closed rooms and his wife’s studio. Rarely did he venture up there. On a few nights when her insomnia took her from him, she went there to create. He’d find her sewing or sketching. He’d groan about needing her and she’d come back to bed with him. He smiled as those memories warmed his heart.
Giovanni went inside. The darkness engulfed him. He flipped up the wall switch and looked around. It was all Mirabella. In preparation for her big event in Milano, she had several dress Mannequins draped with garments she designed for the runway. Fabric rolls and cuts of material were spread over a table and two sewing machines.
He walked through the studio. He wiped his hand down his face. The further he went into the room the harder it became for him to breathe. The lungs in his chest shriveled. His heart rate accelerated. He nearly turned and ran for the door. Then he saw her sketchpad sitting on a chair near the window. Giovanni picked it up. He sat in the chair and flipped open the lid. The drawing was of a woman’s legs and next to it were notes on measurements for something he didn’t understand. He turned the page over and paused. The next sketch was of one of his sons. It was him seated on the floor with a truck in his hand. Giovanni smiled. He traced the image. When he turned the page again it was of Eve’s face. Just her face. But the detail was uncanny. His wife had the kind of talent he often took for granted. He flipped the page once more. A smile slowly moved over his face. She’d drawn him, waist up, shirtless, with boxing gloves and a punch thrown mid air. Giovanni’s hand was useless. Earlier Catalina or Marietta had sent for the doctor who confirmed it was broken and did his best to reset it. He used his numb fingers to trace the image. It was how she saw him. A fighter. No matter what, Giovanni vowed he’d never give up. He’d track them down to the end of the earth if he had too. He’d never let her go or give up.
Morning –
The morning rays warmed her face. She opened her eyes. The castle had no windows below their room. The tower she was in had several. She blinked awake and suffered blindness from the daylight. At some point he’d drawn the drapes open. Last night she had cried herself to sleep. Her head hurt as much as her heart did. She turned over. She sat up and looked out at Kei seated outside at a table sipping tea. The man who shadowed Kei was talking to him. She wished she could understand what they were saying. She never bothered to learn Kei’s language. And he had often tried to teach her a few words.
Mirabella lay on her back flat. Kei didn’t touch her. She was afraid all night with him in the bed with her. Several times she felt his hands in her hair. But he never went further than that. He said he loved her. He said he’d do anything to have her love him again. He was crazy with his obsession, and that madness could turn on her at any moment. She knew it.
“Morning, princess,” Kei said.
Her gaze dropped over to the left. He was shirtless again. The dragon on his chest drew her eyes.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
She swallowed. “Yes.”
“Breakfast is ready. Join me.” He tossed another satin robe at her. She’d love a bath and a toothbrush, but didn’t bother to ask. She eased on the robe and slipped off the bed. She walked out to the balcony. The temperature was warm and beautiful, as was the view. And to her surprise she could see the beach and sea from her room. Along the coast were fishermen boats. Mirabella stared at them for a moment. This was a remote area, but there had to be people nearby.
“Sit.”
She did as he asked. He did as he always did and fixed her plate. Kei’s black hair was brushed from his face and then combed into a single braid down past his shoulder blades. With it so long and straight he looked more Native American than Asian.
“Are you the Dragon?” Mirabella asked.
“I’m many things.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. He put food on her plate and then poured her coffee.
“You’re a hypocrite,” Mirabella said. Kei glanced up at the accusation. “How many times when were in Switzerland did you call Giovanni a thug, a murderer, dangerous, not worthy of me? How many times did you tell me to give Eve a better life rather than pine away for a criminal? Now you want to throw me and my daughter into your criminal life. Look at you, Kei!”
Kei smiled. “I was a different man then. You changed me,” he smiled.
“No. This isn’t all on me. You pretended to be different. This is who you really are. Isn’t it?”
“And what does that make you? A lover of criminals? First Cedric, then me, and now the great Don Giovanni?”
“Is that what a Dragon is? A Don?” she asked.
“Don? Hmmm? I guess you can look at it that way. A Don is a boss, right? And your husband is the boss of all bosses.” Kei chuckled. “Like
la Camorra
there are many bosses in the Triad. I am the Dragon and I am a descendant of the White Lotus Society. I come from a legacy of warriors. Our children will have royal blood in their veins that can be traced back to the Xia Dynasty.”
Mirabella opened her mouth to tell him she couldn’t have more children, and then thought better of it. She needed to feed his delusion to keep him calm. It was the best plan she could come up with until she found her escape.
Kei leaned forward. He looked into Mirabella’s eyes and made sure he held her stare. “I am the head of the Dragon, but I have more legs than your husband. My family legacy goes back further than the Mafia.”
“Do you love me?” she asked.
He sat back. “Yes.”
“Why?” she asked.
The question must have surprised him. He stared at her for a moment with a sad smile. “Because I do. I know you.”
“And if you know me, if you really love me, why do you think any of this will make me love you?” she tried to reason.
“Because I’m like your husband. I’m like Cedric. We all want what we don’t deserve.”
Mirabella had enough. There was no use in trying to reach the man she once knew. Kei was right. That man was gone. Instead she looked out to the sky and the sun. She thought of her husband and children waking to this day to find her gone.
Was Giovanni in jail? Were her children vulnerable? How did Kei plan to get past an army of men to snatch her baby girl and force them into his life? Why hadn’t he bothered to mention her boys? Did he plan on kidnapping them too?
“Eat, Mirabella,” Kei said.
She picked up her fork and forced herself to do so. Kei sat back and watched.
**
Giovanni returned to his room. He’d fallen asleep in the chair in Mirabella’s studio. Catalina and the children hadn’t woken. His gaze switched from the bed to the wedding photo on the night table. He walked around the bed and picked it up. Mirabella was in her veil. Blue rose petals were scattered around her feet. She smiled so beautifully into the camera.
“Giovanni?” Catalina said in a hoarse whisper.
He set the silver frame down. He glanced to Catalina. She rubbed her eyes and eased up to rest her back against the stack of pillows. “Mira? Any news?”
“Not yet. But I have a plan. I’ll find her.”
Catalina’s eyes glistened with repressed tears. “Do you think she’s okay? It’s been over twenty-four hours. Gio, I know what they do to people they kidnap. If we don’t find her in a couple of days—”
“She’s strong, Catalina. Very. She knows I’m coming for her.”
Catalina nodded. “They miss her,” she said. She rubbed Gino’s back. “They don’t understand. Mira is never gone from them for too long.”
“I’ll find her. You have to help me. Keep the kids happy. Entertained.”
“We spoke to Kyra. Renaldo is hurt really bad. The doctors say it doesn’t look good. I spoke to a couple of other family members calling to ask for help. What are you going to do, Gio? What about Domi—”
“Stop asking questions,
piccoletta
.”
Giovanni wiped his left hand down his face. He had little time to think of the fate of his men. Dominic was in jail. His
consigliere
had never ever been put behind bars. And then there was Carlo who was charged with the murder of Chao Lee. He had no clue as to what Lorenzo and Nico were doing behind bars. The news on Renaldo was dire and already shared with him. If he did come out of his coma, no one could predict if he would be the same man again. All of it weighed heavily on him, but he couldn’t focus there. Finding Bella had to be his only priority.
“I need to shower,” Giovanni said.
“You should eat. It’s important to eat so you don’t make yourself sick, Gio. Have you been drinking?” Catalina asked.
“Again with the fucking questions!” He was at his dresser looking for his things. He glanced back at her. She looked hurt by his outburst. He softened his tone. “You sound like Bella when you asked that.”
“Have you?” Catalina asked.
“Feed me. I’m hungry,” he winked. “I’m not drinking.”
Catalina grinned. Giovanni went to the bathroom to shower. When he closed the door his smile had faded. He closed his eyes. By the end of the day he’d find Isabella and his wife. He swore it.
**
Mirabella roamed the halls of her prison. Kei had meant it when he said she would have free reign of the place. She visited every room on all three floors in search of a way out. There was none. She was reminded of Eve’s books of the princess Rapunzel. After an hour of searching she gave up. She returned to her tower. She tried watching television but very little else was reported on the arrests.
The only solace she found was on the balcony. She walked out and looked at the ocean once more. There were fishermen with nets cast out on the shoreline. Mirabella thought to yell to them, but movement drew her gaze downward. Men were walking around in the forest between her prison and the sea. None of them looked up, but there were more than a few. She imagined they’d patrol and behave like Giovanni’s men.
“Nǚshì,”
A man spoke.
Mirabella’s head turned. The one who shadowed Kei stood there staring at her. He stepped out to the balcony.
“I am Bao Zei,” he bowed his tattooed head. “May we speak?”
“Where’s Kei?” she asked. The look Bao gave her was familiar. She knew that look. It was the way Santo used to look at her when Giovanni’s back was turned.
“He has a visitor. This is the only time we can speak freely. If you want to see your family alive again you will listen to what I have to say.”
Mirabella nodded.
“I am his brother. We were orphaned as kids and raised by our uncle Dao.”
“Kei never said he had a brother.” Mirabella frowned.
“Our mothers were the whores of Xing Yun. Since we were male children we were taken in by Hyogo until our father died. We are brothers, but there is no honor in saying so.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Mirabella asked.
“Kei is uncle Dao’s favorite. He is older. Smarter. He was sent to America to be successful. Uncle Dao was very angry when he shamed the family. And that was because of you.”