Page 39 of Saving Scarlett
There was suddenly another reason for me to escape. I had to confront my father and demand the truth.
Victor was watching me closely, gauging my reaction. Hoping he wouldn’t see how deeply his revelation had cut me, I did my best to smooth my features into a mask.
Later. I would deal with it later. At that moment, I needed to stay focused. I needed to learn what I could and look for any chance to escape.
Shrugging as though I didn’t care, I lifted my eyes to meet Victor’s cold gaze. “Well, that’s all ancient history now. What exactly do you expect me to do about it?”
Victor’s eyes glinted, his smirk telling me he didn’t buy my facade at all. “You’ll find out soon enough, princess.”
His smug expression made my skin crawl, but I hid my disgust behind the mask of indifference. If there was one thing I was good at, it was hiding my true feelings.
“So, what’s next for me in this little melodrama?” I asked, keeping my tone bored. “More threats? Maybe demands for ransom? Really, this whole captivity thing is getting tedious.”
Victor chuckled, reminding me of a television Mob Boss. “All in due time, my dear. For now, let’s get you something to eat. You must be famished. “Lighting a cigar, he yelled over his shoulder. “Miguel! Bring in some food for our special guest.”
Moments later, a young man entered through the open doorway, detaching himself from the shadows. Of all the hulking brutes holding me captive, I hadn’t expected one so average looking. He kept his eyes downcast as he approached, his dark curls falling over his forehead. His slender frame looked out of place among Victor’s thugs. “Here,” he mumbled, handing me a plate of eggs and toast, his fingers trembling as they brushed against mine. Our eyes met for an instant before he looked away. But in that moment, I glimpsed the fear in his gaze, and something more. Compassion.
Perhaps I had found my one potential ally among the criminals who’d beaten the man I loved and kidnapped me, but I realized it would be dangerous to trust anyone in that warehouse. Still, I couldn’t help wondering if Miguel could be the key to my escape.
Chapter 34
The Savior
As I waited for Phantom to gather more information, I paced my apartment, my thoughts consumed by Scarlett’s plight and how it was my fault. She could be anywhere, and I had no way to find her until Phantom hacked into the security cameras along the route and told me what direction they’d gone. Images of her haunted me—her dark brown eyes filled with fear—her once-strong spirit broken by the monsters who were holding her captive. I couldn’t shake the feeling that time was running out, and the thought of losing her drove me to the brink of desperation.
Fury coursing through my veins as much at myself as at the assholes who’d taken her, I slammed my fist into the wall of my office. Plaster and drywall exploded from the impact, wooden shards splitting my knuckles. The pain was only a fraction of the agony in my chest. Just as I swung my arm back to hit it again, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Heart hammering against my ribcage, I answered the phone before the second ring. “Anything yet?”
“Not yet, Boss. But I’m digging through everything. Traffic cams, security feeds, encrypted messages… you name it. If there’s a digital trail, I’ll find it. I’ll find her. It’s just a lot of files.”
It took everything in me not to fall to my knees from the blow. Scarlett had already been gone more than a day and that was a day too long.
“Hey, open up your email and check this out,” he said, excitement seeping into his voice as his fingers clicked on his keyboard. “This email chain between Joshua and Victor Delacroix—looks like they’ve been in cahoots for some time now.”
“Victor Delacroix?” My eyes narrowed, more rage simmering beneath the surface. He was the head of a rival Mob organization, and his name carried a lot of weight in the criminal underworld.
“Yep,” Phantom confirmed. “It seems Joshua’s been receiving payments from Victor in exchange for certain... favors.”
“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath, grabbing a rag out of the kitchen and wrapping it around my fist that had begun to seep blood on my keyboard.
“Boss, there’s more,” Phantom added, his tone turning serious. “Based on these communications, it looks like Scarlett’s kidnapping is part of a bigger plan orchestrated by Victor. He’s using her as leverage to get what he wants from Ivy. I’ve accessed files on Joshua’s numerous shady business deals, and pieced together a web of illegal activities, from money laundering to drug trafficking. It appears that Scarlett is just caught in the middle.”
His words sent a chill down my spine, and my grip on the mouse tightened. To think that Scarlett was caught up in such schemes sickened me. Unlike them, and unlike me, Scarlett was good and had an innocent heart. She didn’t deserve anything she was going through.
Running my fingers through my hair, I blew out a breath, trying to calm my rage. Scarlett needed my actions, not my emotions. My only advantage, or at least I hoped was still the case, was that Victor’s men didn’t know I was still alive, and they didn’t know my true identity. If they did, I had no doubts they would have already kicked the door down of my apartment. The fact that they hadn’t told me that I was still an unknown to them. That was something I could use.
“Phantom, we need to act fast. These people are ruthless.” The urgency flooding through my veins rushed like a tsunami behind my eardrums, the need to run out into the city and tear it apart to find her testing my sanity. If I went out there without a plan, I knew I could get her killed, so although I needed to do something—anything—to get to her, I stood from my desk and returned to my weapons, making sure my magazines were filled. Just because I couldn’t find and shoot Victor yet didn’t mean I couldn’t shoot something. If I didn’t get answers soon, someone would find my gun against their temple until they told me what I needed to know.
“Get everything you can on Victor and his organization. I also need to get to a safehouse—somewhere I can bring Scarlett once I find her.” For a moment, my thoughts went to my sister and niece, who were unknowingly in danger in the hospital. The hospital had security, but if the Mob discovered who I really was… I pushed the thought away, my mind much too panicked to add more onto my plate. In the meantime, all I could do was hire someone to watch over them and give my sister a head’s up. I’d done it before when dealing with powerful people, so I knew exactly who to call.
Phantom hummed as he worked on his laptop for a few minutes, my mind so busy I barely paid attention. When he did clear his throat, the sound coming through the earpiece I’d nearly forgotten was in my ear, my head jerked up with how wired up I was. “Understood, Boss. Do you need me to find you a safehouse, or do you have somewhere in mind?”
As he waited for an answer, I darted back into my office, scrolling through documents on my laptop to make sure what I was looking for was still available. “No, I’ve got somewhere I can go. I just need to get some things packed up and squared away. What’s most important is finding Scarlett.”
“Absolutely, Bane, but we’ve dug up something big. From the documents I’ve hacked into on Ivy’s end, it appears as though there was a falling out with Victor and Ivy many years ago, and Joshua’s alliance with Victor may be what triggered the hit Ivy put out on Joshua. It’s basically a gang war, although Ivy’s involvement has definitely lessened over the past year.”
My mind raced, trying to process the tangled web of deceit and betrayal Scarlett had been unknowingly ensnared in. It was no wonder she was so guarded, so closed off. The people who were supposed to love her were using her as a pawn in their twisted games, and although she didn’t seem to know all the facts, she still felt the backlash of their feud.