Page 44 of Kinknapped

Lucinda walked to the front gate, biting her lip to show more depth to her character. That's where she ran into two guards, but we planned for this. We had her story made, and it would work. We'd save my family and hers. I had to believe my talents weren't wasted.

Her hand waved in a friendly greeting, wearing a tiny skirt and tied top with stiletto heels. At least she already owned all the things for the look with a black wig to hide her auburn hair. She painted her face to make her brows match, wearing a red lipstick to taunt the men in front of her.

"Hi there! I'm Elena Carnelli!" She then went to whisper to the two guys, showing her anxiety for what she planned to do. "I just learned Valentino is my uncle. My dying mother told me last week, so I arranged a trip to come here and meet him. I was hoping he could tell me about my father, Ernesto. I know he's dead, but..." Luce began to cry. On cue, without being prompted like Vicki did for our ransom video. "I don't have anyone left."

Good. Most menhated dealing with a weeping woman. It bothered them because they weren't raised to be sensitive. Joke was on them because I had a lesbian for a mother. Being raised by two women made sure I'd be ready for whatever girl I picked, and mine sat inside, imprisoned by someone that wasn't us.

"I'm sorry." Luce fanned her eyes. "I thought I could get through this without emotions. I was just hoping I could speak to Valentino. I have proof I'm his niece."

The papers in her hold moved to theirs, and they flipped through the documents, knowing they couldn't be argued. Ha, I was just that good at forging them. One moved into the little tower to radio the house about it, and the other kept his eyes on his friend instead of the crying girl. The guy came out, waving her forward like I knew they would. Italians were all about family. I nodded. "Good. Just remember we only have just over an hour before the second part of my plan happens with the money drop. Be careful when you go into the lion's den."

She didn't reply, but she subtly placed her middle finger on the papers they returned for only me to see. I sat back and witnessed them take in my Trojan horse, and we were about to give them a true taste of their medicine. Luce fixed her outfit, playing the part of nervous niece to meet her only remaining family. At the front door, Valentino waited to greet her. His eyes raked over her body, wondering who he could marry her to for an in with another family. That's what women were to them, but they were still family.

"Are you Valentino?" she asked him in the most innocent voice, I wondered if she was a different girl than the one I'd been introduced to.

"I am, and you are someone I have not met?" he worded it for her to answer.

"My mom, Regina Dae, finally told me the truth about my family right before she died." Regina had been a fling of Ernesto's, so Valentino recognized the name immediately. "She said she was afraid to let you know I existed, but she gave me the choice. I told her I wanted a family, so I came to what I have left."

She kept up the charade well.

"I don't want too much of your time. I'm sure you're very busy. I was just hoping you could tell me more about my dad. Maybe what he was like?" She batted her long lashes at him, prepared to cry. He could see it.

Valentino opened his arms to her, and she stepped right in, placing the small bug in the collar of his shirt. Perfect. This would give meall the ammo I needed against him. Well, I hoped it would. "Of course, sweetie. Come in."

Luce cleaned her eyes and followed. She entered the home where there weren't other cameras to view her, but I had the one on her chest. My eyes kept following what she showed me, trying to see where the others were, but he played hard ball and kept them somewhere hidden. I'd find out through his bug.

"Just make sure you get near his computer, so I can hack the files with that device I gave you and put that paper near the top of his desk." They didn't know I hid another paper in the stack because they only verified the top ones. "Don't touch that one with your prints," I reminded her too.

"Why don't we talk in my office? I think I have some old photos in there." God, Valentino fit my profile of him all too well. He wanted Elena to be in his family for his gains, and he wanted to look good. Luce went in, taking her seat across from him. He spent the next twenty minutes talking about all the things he did with his brother and did better than the dead guy. Luce kept asking for more, thriving in her desperate damsel role.

"You sound like you loved him," she murmured, stroking over a real photo he dug out.

"He was my brother." Valentino bowed his head. That was when his radio signaled he was needed.

Luce waited for him to push the button to speak before opening her mouth. She wanted the others to hear her voice. “I’m so sorry I imposed. Did I arrive at a bad time?”

“Not at all. I just need to go check on something. Why don’t you flip through this?” He excused himself and handed her a photo album with more in it. Interesting that he kept it in his office, but he proved he cared. Luce hurried in her alone time to plant the device I gave her, plugging it into the USB port.

I did everything on my end as she randomly let the paper fall on the top of some of his other dealings. She didn't want to get caught, waiting for me to tell her I had it covered on my end. My fingers worked over the keys of my laptop with ease, diving into his financials and planting other files on his desktop for when the feds checked it later on. We needed to seal this deal, but Elena still had one more part to play.

"Got it," I said through the com before following the sound of what Valentino was up to. I recorded everything when he spat in Talon's face. Luce made herself comfortable in the chair as I damned the man even more. He'd learn he couldn'ttouch my family, but he'd also be given one kindness from me.

I paused my thinking, hearing Valentino renege. He wasn’t giving us the next four hours like we planned, so we had to improvise. “Luce, we have a problem. He plans to kill them when you leave.”

“But that’s not in our plans,” she worried but remained neutral in expression. “He won’t have time to watch the videos.”

“There’s not much we can do. We’ll have to figure out a way to send him a message when he’s arrested.”

She was only quiet for a moment. “I can handle it.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Lucinda was smarter than most led on, and I’d been picking up on certain things she said while we worked together.

“Um, I’m fucking like six cops and a wife of one! I can talk one into gaining me a private audience.”

“Give him the videos to have later. I might free his son first to know you speak the truth when you go in.”

“Just don’t do it until our people are safe.”

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