Matteo’s POV
I checked my phone for the umpteenth time, wondering why Aurora and Sofia hadn’t reached us yet. Giselle and Angelo who left after them were already at the hotel waiting for the party to begin.
Angelo approached me, one of his hands dipped in the pocket of his pants. “Why aren’t they here yet? Giselle is getting worried sick already,” He said and glanced at her.
“I think I need to speak with Demetrio,” I said and dialled his number.
Cold chills surged through me when I called him twice and did it go through. Something was absolutely wrong for Demetrio to be late and still not pick his calls.
“His phone isn’t reachable. I think we have a problem, Angelo.” I informed him and he dropped his glass with the waiter who passed by with a tray.
“What are we going to do?” He questioned.
“Send some men to check the routes that lead to this hotel while I try to track her. Something must have surely gone wrong,” I dished out orders and rushed out of the hotel room.
I passed a quick glance at Angelo who returned to Giselle and planted a light kiss on her. I was supposed to do the same with Aurora and probably go on my knees to propose to her later on, but my baby was nowhere to be found.
She might have been kidnapped or maybe she was still angry with me and decided to punish me for it. But I didn’t see Aurora as someone that could be cruel to do such a thing.
I was about to get into the car when I heard my name. I halted on my steps and turned around to find Giselle running towards me, her eyes filled with sadness and regrets.
“Don’t go yet, Matteo. There’s… there’s something I have to tell you,” She stuttered.
“You have to be quick about it, I need to find Aurora quickly.” I said hastily, wondering why the young woman stopped me.
“It’s about my niece.” She said almost inaudibly.
My eyes narrowed in slits as I furrowed my brows. “Niece? What niece are you talking about?” I asked, my patience running thin.
“Aurora.” She blurted, her body trembling as tears flowed from her eyes.
Those eyes of hers held several secrets that I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear. “Aurora is your niece? How’s that possible?” I growled, getting confused with everything.
“Oh God..” She sobbed and held onto her dress tightly. “She has done a lot of things…. But I want you to know that she loves you genuinely,”
My clenched fist connected with the door of my car. If she wasn’t my brother’s woman I’d have locked her in the car for making me go crazy with her uncoordinated statements.
But what appalled me the most was the relationship between Aurora and Giselle and why she hid it from me till now. I’d been feeling something strange about her for a while especially after the attack but I let my trust for her keep me in the dark.
“Tell me what she did, Giselle. I don’t have the time for all of this,” I hollered at her and Angelo came running to us, swinging his gaze from me to Giselle.
“What is going on here?” He asked with a scowl, apparently assuming the worst of me since she was crying but I didn’t care.
Something had gone bad and things would go worse if she kept her lips shut. “She’s just told me that Aurora is her niece, but something feels strange about it because Aurora isn’t one to hide secrets from me.”
“Relax, Matteo, I’ll ask the questions myself but in private,” He interceded and took Giselle away.
I didn’t have all the time for that, I was Capo and resources were available at my disposal. For the first time in my life, I had the urge to investigate Aurora.
Francesco was supposed to be at the party but he had other plans for the night. It would be no one else but Caterina whom he had grown to like so much just as I did with Aurora, and I hoped that she wouldn’t distract him from his work.
I dialled his number which was rang but there was no response. I hissed, raking through my hair in frustration.
“Pick up, you idiot.” I muttered and dialled his number again.
He picked and hissed with subtle moans in the background. “What do you need, Matteo? You just disrupted one of my best moments.” He sounded irritated, but he still knew who the boss was.
“No apologies for that and I hope it’s Caterina. I need you to carry out a thorough check on Aurora’s background and be quick about it.” I ordered.
“I’ll do that, but what’s the need for that? I thought you did that before employing her.” He said.
“Just do as you are told Francesco. I need answers in the next thirty minutes. And for your information, she’s missing.” I said and ended the call before getting a grudge for a response.
There was only way to track her which would be through the ring I’d given to her. I had inserted a tiny tracking device in between the stones which were fixed on the band for situations like this.
I made a connection and gradually began to get some locations. It was stressful at some point as the connection kept bridging until I found something definite. She was in Tremont, one of the most dangerous zones in Manhattan.
What the hell was she doing there?
“She won’t talk.” Angelo said, breaking through my thoughts.
“There’s no need, I’ll find out everything soon enough and apparently, she’s in Tremont.” I sighed.
“It hurts me badly that the woman that I love and trust doesn’t want to speak to me. She knows that I won’t extract information from her in our usual manner. She said that if we find out the truth, we’d be really hurt.” Angelo said, heightening my curiosity.
He faced me, squeezing my shoulder “what are we going to do? They could be in danger.”
“We are going to find them and when I see Aurora, I’ll look her into the eyes and ask her why she kept things from me.” My jaw ticked in resolve while I entered the car.
“Don’t tell me that you are going there on your own, you don’t know how bad the terrain is. You might need some back up.”
“I’ll call for one when I need it, Angelo. Just make sure that everyone is safe,” I growled and dashed into my car, driving out like a madman on a wild goose chase.
It was my territory and anyone who laid their filthy hands on Aurora would never leave to tell the story, no matter who it was.
Tremont was over twenty minutes away from Tribeca which meant that Francesco had less than twenty-five minutes to give me all the information he had gotten about Aurora.
Francesco called and my heart skipped a beat. “That was fast. Give me the news.”
He hesitated then cleared his throat. “I don’t have good news, Matteo.”
My hands tightened on the steering. “Just spill the damn news, Francesco.”
“Aurora Mancini is the daughter of the late Eduardo and Lucia Mancini. Her father was the former Capo of the Camorra who was killed by your father, Aldo Moretti. I looked deeper and discovered that Giselle and Lorenzo are siblings to the late Lucia.” He informed me and I parked the car roughly at one side of the road, almost colliding into a tree trunk.
I couldn’t believe the news. I’d been dining with my enemy all these while and I didn’t even have the slightest hint.