Page 88 of Unspoken Obsession

"I'm just down the road. I can come through now if it's convenient."

"Good. I'm here. Come straight up."

Lorenzo arrives and we sit at the dining room table.

"There are two matters to discuss. First, this—" I push the evidence towards Lorenzo with my finger pointed at my sister's name. Lorenzo knew Daniela well. He worked with me for so many years that she became as much family to him as she was to me.

He stares at her name on the manifest and his eyes grow dark and serious. I wait. Because I know how he feels seeing that. Words don't come. His body is raging even though he is sitting dead still, his eyes locked onto her name.

After a long while he looks up at me.

"What do you need?" He growls, deadly quiet.

"I need you to take a team to New York to have a brief visit with this Bernard Lux. If my sister is still alive - bring her home. If not - make him pay."

"When do you want me to go? With everything happening here, don't you need me here?"

"No. I can handle Antonio. And I don't trust anyone else with what I am asking for here." I tap my finger on the documents sitting on the table.

Lorenzo nods. "I'll do whatever it takes."

"You can leave tonight, but before you go - I want you to help me strategize a plan of attack against Antonio."

"I'll just message the team now and tell them we are going to New York. I'll take four men and the private jet. We will have plenty of time on the flight to plan what we need to do. Once I've sent this message, I am all yours for the afternoon." Lorenzo stands up to handle the New York team and takes a deep breath. Things are happening. Everything is going according to plan. It's all going to work out as it should.

All afternoon Lorenzo and I discuss our plan. We put together something so solid and well thought out that I'm confident that taking down Antonio Musetti is going to be a smooth process -- with the help of the detective who owes me, of course.

We rally our allies, telling them our plan, bringing them together for a massive attack against a man that none of them like. They are eager to move the scum he is from our city.

We might be dangerous people; we might do dangerous things - but none of us approve of or will tolerate human trafficking.

I don't want to kill him.

I want him to sit in a jail cell for decades, bored out of his mind, eating shit food, thinking about the life he used to live and the freedom he used to have. I want him to suffer - day by day - wasting away in becoming a shell of who he used to be -- a shell of a man who used to have power. It will break his ego down, and bring him back to the earth and dirt from where he came.

He doesn't deserve death. He doesn't deserve that peace.

It is late in the evening. Lorenzo left a while ago to catch his flight.

Sitting down on the sofa with Frankie in my arms and Damion fast asleep in hers – it feels like the calm before a storm.Brushing my hand across Frankie's cheek, tucking a stray curl behind her ear, I smile. It is all worth it.

Everything that I had to go through to have her back in my life - it is worth it.

I will fight for her.

And for my beautiful little boy.

We sit together on the couch watching a movie. I don't even care what's on. I just know I feel like this is what home should be. When I see Frankie has fallen asleep as well, I lift both her and Damion in my arms and carry them each to bed.

Damion snuggles into his blankets, not even flickering awake for a second.

Frankie mumbles something and when I climb under the blankets to lie next to her, she stirs awake and pulls herself right up against me.

"I am in love with you, Dante." She mumbles.

My heart races at her words.

"Frankie?" I whisper, trying to figure out if she is awake or not - but she is breathing deeply and doesn't realize she said anything at all.

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