Page 29 of Velvet Chains

Although I knew she couldn't run while in my territory, I still told Pietro to assign some of my men to accompany her. It was for her protection and it doubled as my insurance that she wouldn't just run off to the American Consulate.

Once she agreed to my suggestion, I nodded and left the table. There was a further discussion to be had with Pietro, but the matters were so sensitive I wanted to be in my study to discuss things.

So Pietro and I moved to my private office. It was usually very organized, but due to the investigation that I had been conducting for the past few weeks, it looked like a mess.

The large oak desk was covered in documents and files. I had collected everything relating to the investigation here and gone over it at least once and still, I had yet to make any progress.

The new material on my desk were in manilla envelopes, containing reports from our informants. The reason why I hadn't talked to the spy we had in Antonio's operation was because frequent communication with him would have exposed him. If he was exposed, we would be running blind.

Pietro stood beside me, reading the reports with me. With every page I turned, it became more exasperating. I hated to give Antonio credit for anything, but he was good at covering up his tracks.

“Antonio has covered his tracks well. Every lead we've followed so far has brought us to a dead end.” I said out loud, and from the corner of my eyes, I saw Pietro nod in agreement.

“You're right. But we can't let him get away with this. We need to expose him.” He responded, and I knew he was right. I had to get the proof, but I had no idea how.

“We could mine for new resources. Don Antonio's operation network is so big, I don't believe he doesn't have a weak link.” I finally said.

I leaned back to rub my forehead with my fingers. I waited until the headache had dulled before speaking again.

“We need someone who can give us solid information. Someone who is close to Antonio's inner circle and has incentive to betray him.” I said, and having to say more, Pietro opened a file and handed it to me.

“This is the list of those in his inner circle. I've been looking into it. There is a lieutenant who's been showing signs of dissatisfaction with the Don’s leadership,” he said.

I tapped the file before me, my fingers landing on the name of the lieutenant, Luca. According to the information before me, Luca had worked with Antonio for years, but had recently been sidelined. Ever since Antonio began expanding his territory, he had been taking on new, foreign associates. I was surprised to see that he had pushed aside an old loyal subordinate for a foreigner.

However, this was good news. No doubt Luca was feeling angry and betrayed. And according to the information, his wife had just divorced him and moved to America. The double blow of a setback in his career and personal life might have been just what we need to turn him to our side.

There was the risk that since he was an old subordinate, his loyalty to Antonio would run so deep that even his current troubles couldn't shake it. However, this was our best option.

“Great risk, great reward?” I asked and Pietro nodded. “Arrange a meeting, but do it quietly. We can't afford to tip off Antonio.”

My decision was made, there was no turning back.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

ISABELLE

Iwas surrounded by decadence.

I should have started getting used to it since my entanglement with Vincenzo had begun, but I still hadn't. The place I was standing in looked like something out of a movie.

Although Vincenzo had given me a card to shop with when I left the house, I had never thought of spending his money on designer clothes. To my surprise, I wasn't driven to a mall. Instead, the car took me down a street I had never even seen before.

“Where are we headed?” I asked.

“We're going to the Via della Libertà. If you're going to get something really upscale and not the crap tourists buy, that's the place,” the driver said. He was a Sicilian man in his forties, and he obviously knew the area, so I didn't argue with him. Not to mention, it would be beyond embarrassing if I ended up buying an overpriced knockoff.

Once the car pulled up and parked, I realized that the entire street was like an open ceiling mall. There were tall and stately buildings on both sides of the street, and at first glance, it looked like the row of buildings stretched out into the horizon and I could walk down the street for over an hour without reaching the end of it.

There were posh and elegant stores everywhere I looked, the clothes displayed in the some of the windows works of art. Even from a distance, I could see that the clothes were of high quality.

The stores that didn't have display windows had an understated elegance to them. It wasn't until I asked Michele, one of the guards, that he told me that some of them were boutiques that did fittings. I felt spoiled for choice, and I was dying to dive in, but I waited for Sarah to get there. I felt a bit awkward seeing all the stylish people walk by, it emphasized the type of people who came here, but luckily, I didn't have to wait long.

“Izzy!” A loud voice yelled as someone rammed into me. I got a deep inhale of Sarah's floral perfume as she clung to me like a koala.

“Sarah! Ease up a bit, are you trying to choke me?” I asked, but I had a grin on my face as I hugged my friend.

“Maybe. Imagine me having to find out from an article that you're dating a hunk. Came for the wedding, stayed for the hot guy, hm?” She instantly teased me, and I felt my face grow warm. Seeing Sarah was refreshing, like an anchor reminding me of my life before all this craziness.

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