Page 56 of Vow to Me

Looks like I’m going back to New York, let’s just hope it takes my husband a while to find me, since I don’t think he’ll appreciate the message left for him.

Chapter Forty-One

Luca

For the second time this week, I’ve been summoned to my father’s office.

I knock on the door before opening it and walking inside, when he called me and asked me to come over, I figured it had something to do with regular business. Which is why I’m shocked as shit to see both of my brothers and my best friend waiting for me.

Alec has never even been to the estate before—other than the one time for my wedding. So, I’m confused as hell as to why he’s here now, unless this shit with Izzy is even worse than we first thought.

Fuck, what else could she have possibly been up to?

“Sit down, Luca,” Dad orders and I comply, taking a seat so I’m sat facing both him and Alec. The latter glances to my father, who gives him a nod.

“There’s some shit I need to tell you, and you need to keep quiet and listen,” Alec says with a pointed look.

Get the hell on with it,I want to say, but I refrain and give him a nod instead.

“When I built my company eight years ago, I did it with one goal in mind, building it up to the point it could be used as a front formy real plans. Two years ago, I put those plans into motion. Now, you know I’m good with tech, but I still needed help, which was why I reached out to one of the web’s best-known hackers,The Scorpion.They liked the idea of what I was doing and agreed to a partnership of sorts, and we’ve been working alongside each other ever since,” he says and swallows before darting his gaze around the room—seeming to focus on anything other than me.

“We created FreeThem, a platform in which we can track sex traffickers and trace their buyers. My company—while also doing what the public perceives it to do—is essentially a mercenary group focused on wiping the assholes who run the flesh trade from the face of the earth and helping the victims get back to their normal lives or giving them new lives altogether.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair before taking a gulp from the glass of whiskey that my dad passes him.

“What made you do all of this?” I ask since he’s never once mentioned any of this to me. In fact, now that I think about it, I know fuck all about his childhood. I know his brothers and his mom, but none of them talk about the years that happened before I met him.

“That part is irrelevant for now, what has this got to do with anything Alec?” My father interjects before a pained Alec can answer him and he lets out a breath of relief. Theres a haunted look in his eyes and it makes me wonder just how well I actually know my best friend.

What the hell happened to him for him to go to such lengths?

“Right…remember how I called you yesterday and asked you what Izzy does for work?” he asks, and I nod—still not understanding where this is going.

“It was because I noticed the signature used in the security systems on her laptop.”

What the fuck does that mean?

“Are you telling me that Izzy, my wife, is involved in the flesh trade?” I snap.

Jesus fucking Christ, it’s one fucking thing after another. She deserves some sort of fucking award because she really had me fooled.

“No Luca, your wife has been my partner in bringing them down for the last two years,” he states and even though I’m confused as hell, I let out a breath of relief, it’s bad enough what she’s done to me, but if she was trafficking women and children? I’d have no choice but to put a bullet between her eyes.

“There’s more…” I bring my gaze back to his face and he looks pained at what he’s about to say. “I hacked into security systems and cross checked the images that were sent and the video footage…” he goes on to explain how it seems as though it was all set up to incriminate Izzy and I feel fucking sick.

I’ve spent the last six fucking days cursing her out when it may not even be true, but that still doesn’t explain her little boyfriend that I’m going to stab in the dick for touching what’s mine. I may not own her heart like I thought I did, but she’s still my fucking wife. She bearsmyname, and it wasmycock that was buried deep inside of her every single night throughout our joke of a marriage.

“So, she’s innocent of betraying thefamiglia, that doesn’t mean she didn’t run off with her lover,” Marco quips, speaking up for the first time and voices what I was thinking while Enzo has been surprisingly quiet throughout this whole thing.

Alec rubs his eyes, he looks fucking exhausted, and I feel like shit because this has clearly been a lot for him, I really don’t know what the fuck I would do without him to be honest.

“The man in the video was her childhood friend, Alessi Donetti.”

“Impossible, he’s dead,” I say with conviction, but the doubts start to trickle in.Did she lie about his death to throw me off?The pain in her voice and eyes as she told me about him flash through my mind and I internally shake my head.She’s just an expert liar and manipulator.

“Luca… Izzy knew you’d give me her laptop. She sent me a message asking me to send a team to Chicago to stop a ring that’s happening over there and that…” he trails off again and leans forward resting his forearms on his thighs and clasping his hands together.

“And what?” I ask impatiently.

“From what I can gather, Alessi and Antonio Bianchi faked Alessi’s death to isolate Izzy so that when he had the chance to propose an arrangement between your families, she’d feel more alone and go through with it without a fight. Bianchi has moved into the skin trade and I’m guessing he needed your deal so he could send shipments in and out of the state without beingquestioned.”

---