Chapter 72
Dmitri
I stood in front of my penthouse, staring absentmindedly at the colorful pattern of the neatly arranged flowers that beautified the facade.
My mind strayed into a deep array of thoughts as I traipsed into the house with a heavy heart. Liora dashed toward me immediately I appeared in the doorway as if she had been expecting my return.
“Daddy,” She screamed in excitement while I swept her off her feet and held her tightly.
I’d been so engrossed with finding Ariel that I relegated my daughter to the background. It wouldn’t happen again though. Once Ariel returned, I’d ensure that they would never have the chance to miss me.
“Hey, baby,” I pressed my lips against her cheeks and proceeded to pepper her whole face with kisses.
She slid down my body and dragged me to the sofa. “Sit down, Dad. We have a lot of things to talk about but first, where’s Mommy?”
A knot tightened in my stomach and I looked away, unable to meet her prodding eyes.
She tugged at my arm consistently and I quickly implored a forced smile. “You’re not saying anything,” She pouted her small lips and folded her arms.
“Well, Mommy had to go on a short trip but she’ll be back soon,”
I felt guilty lying to her, but it was for the best, knowing how inquisitive she could be. Since my relationship with her wasn’t sure right now, I didn’t want to let her in on the situation of things.
“Can I call her? I don’t even have her phone number,” She slapped her forehead and shook her head in a playful manner that made me laugh.
I brought her closer and cuddled her. “You’ll talk to her tomorrow. She might be busy right now, baby,”
Liora picked up her coloring book and began painting. “Okay, but, don’t forget to call her for me. I want to make sure that she returns as soon as she’s done,”
I whipped her a surprised glance. “What do you mean? Of course, she’ll return,”
“No!” She responded sharply. “I had a dream that and it wasn’t good. In that dream, she was so mad at you that she began to throw stones at you. When you didn’t want to leave, she ran away,”
My chest closed up painfully as I slowly stood up. I cleared my throat and gulped. “You don’t have to worry, sweetheart. Your mom will return, I’ll make sure of it,” I assured her with deep conviction and steered to my room.
I was met with her black lace nightie that was scrunched up on the bed and I picked it up immediately, sniffing the soft floral scent that lingered on the fabric.
In that moment, it felt like the huge void in my heart had been filled up a little and just maybe I could form a plan to stop her from leaving, at least for the sake of Liora who couldn’t do without her.
I dropped the dress on the bed, took off my clothes and strutted into the bathroom to take a shower-a quick one that washed away all the sweat and made me feel like a normal human once again.
Feeling better and refreshed, I waltzed into my room unclad when I heard a chuckle. Without thinking, I rushed back into the bathroom and reached for my gun that was in one of the drawers near the door.
And then I heard my name and relaxed.
“You don’t have to throw that shit with me now, Vlad. I’m not in a good mood,” I muttered and dropped the gun on top of the bed stand.
He laughed hilariously and leaned backward on the backrest, his head on his arms. “And whose fault is that? None of this would have happened if you chose to believe your wife,”
“Bro, how did you get in here without my knowledge? I’m tired of seeing your face,” I whined and picked out a pair of briefs.
“Come on, don’t push me away. You know that I’m the only one you can come to for emotional support right now. You should be happy,”
“You don’t have a pussy so why should I be?”
“Then should I arrange one for you?” He wiggled his brows with a knowing smirk.
“Vladimirrrr!” I barked and he raised his hands in surrender.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” He grinned and I settled onto the couch instead of the bed because I wasn’t sure that Vladimir would leave this room alive if I sat close to him.
“How’s your girl?” I decided to change the topic.
His bright expression turned somber instantly and I suppressed my laughter even though it would be fun to taunt him.
He let out a sigh of resignation, staring at the ceiling. “I can’t say, Dmitri. We haven’t spoken to each other in days now and honestly, I’m not bothered,”
“You have to be, Vlad. Has she called?”
“Yup,” He nodded.
I clicked my tongue in disapproval. “And you haven’t called her back?”
“Well, I don’t feel like talking to her. We don’t even connect, our sex life feels forced…”
“Yet you don’t want to be with the only woman that makes you feel alive,” I interrupted him.
“Can we not talk about Guilia right now?”
“Oh, so you know it’s her?” I smirked as I reveled in his discomfort.
He sat up and pushed the pillow away. “I didn’t come here to talk about her,”
“And I know you didn’t, but you should know why you are with Marian. You chose to marry her so make sure you enjoy every moment of it and don’t spoil my business in the process,” I warned him sternly.
He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “So much for having a brother,”
“Why are you here?”
“We’ve been able to hack into her phone and we discovered something strange. I’m guessing that she has been working for someone, a woman named The Boss. And from the information we’ve gathered, Margaret was sent as a spy to you,”
I sprung to my feet, enveloped in a daze. “Her boss is a woman?”
“Unfortunately, you fell for her seduction,” He stated the obvious in a manner that further irritated me.
“I know that, okay?” I growled.
He got to his feet as well and dropped Margaret’s phone on the bed stand. “You might want to go through her archived messages. You might find some answers to your questions,” He patted my shoulder and left.
I’d barely registered everything he said when my phone rang.
“Mr Scuderi,” I placed the phone against my ear.
“Ariel is gone. I can’t find her anywhere,” He panicked while my ears tingled.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” I hurried to the wardrobe and took out a pair of jeans and a black tee.
His wife’s voice filtered into the call, pleading with him to relax. “We came back thirty minutes later after we felt that the both of you might have finished talking but we met an empty room. This isn’t my territory so I can’t do much, but we need to find her as soon as possible. She hasn’t even recovered,”
“Don’t worry, father-in-law, I’ll find her just like before, no matter what it takes. It’s my mistake and I’ll do everything humanly possible to fix it,”
With that said, I ended the call and tossed some clothes into my mini duffel bag. Finding her would be hard, but I kinda knew where to start since she hadn’t gone far.
Chicago.