Page 6 of Unspoken Obsession

"Sir." There is a knock at my office door, pulling me from my thoughts. Lorenzo is standing there, waiting to be invited in.

"Come in, Lorenzo. Is there news about Daniela?" I ask, already knowing the answer. It will be the same answer as it was yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. For the last six months, we've found nothing - not a trace - not a clue - nothing that even hints at where my sister might be.

"No news, sir. Not about your sister. I've got a lead I am going to follow up on this evening - But I came to see you now because I wanted to update you on other business."

"Alright. I've got fifteen minutes before my next appointment." I say, gesturing for him to take a seat.

Lorenzo is my head of security at the casino and my right-hand man. He is the person closest to me and one of the very people in this world that I trust.

He grabs a chair and pulls it up close to my desk. His bulky frame makes him daunting, and very few people would dare mess with him.

He puts a printed document in front of me, showing growth charts for our distribution chain.

My businesses are growing. The underground ones and the legitimate companies that are there to wash the dirty money. If this interference underground continues, it will stall that growth.

Beneath my casino is a network of vaults and tunnels - all carefully designed to move illegal products. Anything you want - I can get it and move for you.

I've become more powerful, richer, and gained more influence - but none of it has helped me find my sister.

I still believe one of my rivals took her. The stronger I become, the more of a threat I become, and there are plenty of people in this city who don't enjoy having their positions threatened. Nonetheless - I will continue to push. The further my connections reach, the more chance I've got of finding her.

"This is great, Lorenzo," I say, thinking about Daniela. Dani is ten years younger than me. I always needed to keep my little sister safe from the world. That is my job. But somewhere along the line, I failed her.

In my heart, I don't believe she is dead.

I don't know if it's because I am connected to her, my blood, my family - or because I refuse to even consider the alternative.

"Alright, sir. That's it for now. I'll call you this evening if anything comes of that lead." Lorenzo stands and gathers his things.

"Before you go, I'll be heading underground to see what the hell is going on, around seven. Will you meet me there?"

"Will do. Yeah, like I told you yesterday–whoever is messing around in those tunnels is getting braver by the minute. We need to put a stop to it."

"Agreed. See you later."

I nod in thanks and when he has left the office, I stand, too. I am meeting with a powerful mafia boss, someone who owns a casino here in Las Vegas as well. He claims he wants to ally with me.

I want to hear what he offers and decide if he is legit or not. I tend to er on the side of caution when it comes to letting people closer to me. I am suspicious even of my allies. I don't trust anyone until they've earned it - and like I said - Lorenzo is the only one I trust.

I pull the collar of my shirt straight and shrug my shoulders to adjust my jacket, making it more comfortable.

I've been sitting down too long. I prefer to be on the move. I don't enjoy these mornings of admin - so I'm grateful it's over and I can get out of this office.

The weight of my Glock against my side beneath my jacket is a welcome security. In my work, I must be prepared for anything. And I've been pissing people off with my investigation - searching for my sister.

I head down into the elevator. The doors slide closed and I sigh.

Where would that little fox be? Who was she?

Fuck. She was so beautiful, even half covered by the mask. I shouldn't be so obsessed with her - I keep telling myself to let it go, move on, forget - but it seems to be impossible.

If I put proper resources into finding her, I could. But I should not be wasting time or energy on that when I haven't found my sister.

And, if that little fox wanted to give me her name, she would've.

So, it's respectful not to hunt her down.

I already wasted a lot of time in the past just trying to learn her name. I scouted the casino security footage, hoping to catch a clear image of her face so that I could run facial recognition on it. But she seemed to be very aware of the cameras and kept her face hidden from every one of them. It made me suspicious of her because an average person with nothing to hide wouldn't do that? And what reason could she have for hiding her identity?

---