Page 148 of Capuleto

Yuri had sowed the chaos, made it germinate, flourish, and entangle me in thick, suffocating vines.

He was a ruthless bastard who didn't care about the harm he caused. In one of the images, he was seen having a phone conversation with Huang, the restaurant guy.

Korolev was negotiating Cheng's downfall behind her father's back. I doubted Jing knew about the Chinese man's and the Russian's intentions.

Yuri showed himself as he truly was, a calculating, ruthless, and soulless being. With a gaze avid for unlimited power, he sought to annihilate any obstacle that stood in his way to supremacy.

I confronted Irene furiously. I yanked her hair, and she screamed in terror as the fabric of the suit suffocated her.

"Tell me why this was hidden in your closet!" I bellowed.

I held it against her nose and mouth for a few seconds until her breathing became irregular. Then, I pulled it away and threw it along with the shoes.

"Please, Romeo, I swear that clothing isn't mine. Someone must have put it there, maybe your wife."

"Oh, really? Did Nikita know where you lived?"

"She could have found out, maybe sent that torturer to plant it."

"A thief believes everyone else is just like them. You made me think you wanted to help with my marriage, and look at everything you've done. You're a despicable being, a pathological liar, and responsible for a teenager jumping off a rooftop."

"It wasn't me, I swear. I've done wrong things, but I love you!"

"Of course, I forgot the new trend in love is to kill the loved one's acquaintances and lie to their face."

"It was them or me; I had no choice!"

"You had a choice! You could have switched sides and sold Yuri out to save me, but no, you chose the opposite." I brought my hand to her throat and squeezed. "You chose to distract me, knowing they were trying to kill Aleksa, and if it weren't for Andrey, my man would be dead." Her tears fell thickly. I pulled my fingers away, and she started coughing from the lack of air.

"I'm sorry, I promise. I regret it so much."

"You'll regret it more if you don't tell me where Yuri is."

"You think if I knew, I wouldn't have told you already?! Do you know what that savage has done to me?"

I didn't care what the Russian had put her through. I needed a damned clue, one that would lead me to them. Andrey had been relentless, staying by Irene's side and barely sleeping for days to infiltrate Korolev's house.

I let go of her hair and slapped her with all my strength. Her lip split, and small droplets of blood splattered onto my shirt.

"Talk!"

"I don't know where they could be! I told that pig everything I know. Didn't he explain it to you?"

"I don't care what you told him. I know you're hiding something, or maybe you're missing something. I have a hunch. Where does Yuri hide Cheng?"

That was another unresolved question. I had considered the possibility that the three were together. My men, my father's men, and Nikita's men had been combing the Costa del Sol with no results. Even Yuri's vacation home in Menorca had been raided by my uncle's envoy and some of our guys.

"He never told me. He didn't even take his men when he went to visit her. It was a secret only he knew."

"Think about the details; something must have slipped. No one is perfect enough not to make mistakes or overlook a comment. Try to remember. Did you find anything in his pockets after he visited her? A card, a matchbox..."

"I'm very tired, dirty, my whole body hurts. I'm thirsty, hungry, and sleepy. Let me go, and I'll try to remember, but I can't guarantee anything."

"How inconsiderate of me. I forgot to ask Andrey to put you in a suite with all the amenities," I responded sarcastically. "Try hard, and maybe I'll listen to some of your pleas." A sigh of frustration escaped her battered lips.

"Yuri doesn't smoke."

"And what about any scent on his clothes? You've always been good with smells." I had once joked that she was like a bloodhound. "Maybe a smell of... gasoline? Grease? Dump?" I suggested. Irene's eyes widened in surprise. She had remembered something because her pupils shot up, searching for a forgotten memory. "What is it? Say it!" I urged, shaking her. She grimaced in pain; she was too sore from the punishments inflicted.