Page 32 of Deadly Vows

I chuckle to myself as I think of her last words to me.

“I hope your last thought is my face telling you how much I hate you and how much I hope you die tonight, Luca Pasquino.”

At the time, they ignited a rage so dangerous within me that I would have killed her on sight. But now that I’ve had time to calm down, I find myself in a perplexing situation. I don’t want to kill her. All this time, I thought she was a docile woman who only acted as she was trained to her entire life, never having an original thought of her own. But it turns out she is much more than that—much smarter than that.

Chills form across my skin as I think of all the planning she put into attempting to kill me so she could escape. Elise is much more intelligent than me or her father gave her credit for. And now, I want her back. I want to show her what happens when she fucks with the wrong person—when the only reason she was able to accomplish her plan was that my guard had lowered for her, and I felt affection toward her. But not anymore. I see her for what she is, as conniving and untrustworthy as her family.

“I want a list of the accounts wiring them money and each location accessing them. And I want them decrypted and in my hand before I leave,” I say, standing.

Nicolai watches me in confusion.

“Leave?” he asks.

I nod. “I think it’s time I met my brother-in-law.”

I always knew never to trust Eli. Everyone in his business did. Unfortunately for Enzo Trovoli and his mother, no one warned them about the man he truly was. It’s evident that whatever money was being wired wasn’t enough to maintain the lifestyle his mother had established for them using Eli’s support. Otherwise, he wouldn’t resort to pickpocketing in the middle of a nightclub.

The club has private rooms that overlook the dancefloor, and I can see him easily as he bumps into people, quickly pulling their wallets out to rob them blind. I chuckle to myself as he disappears deeper into the crowd, continuing to pull in his haul for the night. It’s clear how the situation has turned. His mother has realized since the death of Eli that her life no longer has the possibility of what it did before. She’s holding her son ransom from the Trovolis coming after him, seeing who will give her the highest bid. She’s also pocketing the money wired to her, spending as she did when Eli funded her lifestyle, forcing Enzo into stealing for money to survive, it seems.

It’s a sick cycle she’s pushing her son into, not understanding the full extent of what hiding him entails for him. She’s isolated him from the people who would help him, and made him a sitting duck for those who would wish him harm, including me. She never saw him as anything other than her meal ticket, just as Eli saw Elise.

It’s no wonder the two of them got along.

I look down as my phone vibrates to see Nicolai’s message.

Five Million.

I chuckle, shaking my head at the offer. I knew she would want an exorbitant amount. The Trovolis giving her money are clearly strapped for cash, especially since they have me watching their every move. None have come up with enough to convince her to sell her meal ticket to them.

A knock sounds on the door to the private room, pulling my attention away from my phone. The door opens, and Romelo steps into the room with a frightened-looking Enzo Trovoli dragged in behind him, his lip bloodied from trying to escape.

I scoff at the sight, taking a sip of my drink as I watch my men drag him in and force him to his knees.

“Shit man, I was fucking hungry! I’ll give all the money back!” he says shakily as I stand over him. I can tell Eli never prepared him for this world just by looking at him. He’s soft and frightened, already giving in to his enemy without so much as a fight.

I look to my men.

“Search him,” I say.

I listen to his protests, studying everything about him as my men empty his pockets. He’s skinnier than a kid his age should be, clearly from neglect. His hair is oily and wild, and his clothes are dirty and much too big for him. This is Eli’s successor, whom he was going to kill his daughter for, and he looks pathetic.

One of my men holds out an ID, and I take it, laughing.

“So this is how you got in here,” I say, eyeing the fake ID. The name itself and all the information on it are fake. The security here must be lazy.

“I swear, I’ll never come back, I—”

“I don’t own this dump. I couldn’t care less what you do with that money,” I say, tossing the ID to the ground.

Enzo’s eyes widen as he looks at me, fear forming. I reach into my suit, pulling my gun out, earning a physical reaction from him.

“I’m afraid your father pissed off the wrong man,” I say, lifting the gun.

His eyes are wide as he looks down the barrel, trembling. He doesn’t speak. He’s scared speechless.

“Did you know your Dad? Did you know what he was into?” I ask.

“H-he said he worked in finance,” he whispers.

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