Page 110 of Fortress of the Heart

It’s all looking fantastic as I walk through the main foyer; it’s a sight to behold, if I’m honest. The colossal crystal chandelier dangling from the forty-foot ceiling sparkles with the morning sun hitting it at such an angle. That cost a fucking mint, but I can see it was worth every penny. The marble floors sparkle to perfection.

“The last of the slot machines were installed over the weekend,” she goes on. “All the tables and chairs are finally matching.”

“That is a fucking relief.” I’m not even joking, given that there are over three thousand of them. There is every slot machine known to mankind, plus the one hundred and forty-five gaming tables. “Thank God someone came to work today.” She’s also used to my cussing.

She beams. She’s been working her ass off, and while we have had some hiccups, Helena has been teaching her well.

Perhaps I’m in a better mood than I thought.

“I have to discuss some security details with Enzo first, so I’ll meet you in the conference room shortly,” I tell her when we approach the grand staircase.

“No problem, Mr. Medici.”

The boardroom and everything I consider holy is finally finished. I skip the elevator because I want to see how it feels walking up the opulent staircase and taking in the casino floor from the balcony that loops right around for a 360-degree view.

I’m also relieved to hear my Penthouse has been carpeted and is ready to occupy.

I’ve moved part of my wardrobe up there already, as I figure I’ll be staying over in the short term until things get off the ground.

My phone buzzes in my pocket as Georgie heads to the boardroom, and I stop mid-step to read the message with Enzo right behind me.

When I glance at the screen, I see it’s Vaughn. It’s not uncommon for him to call me, but he’s been tied up lately with tracking down the captors in this kidnapping situation, which took some extra work. The encryptions were so well scrambled that it took him twice as long as usual to break through the firewalls.

“Vaughn,” I say as I swipe across to answer.

“Can you talk?” he asks.

“Of course.” He knows as well as I do that my cell can’t be traced. Even he couldn’t hack into it after he set it up.

“Good, we need to talk.”

“Is this about Vladimir?”

Yes, I had Vaughn dig into the archives as soon as I found out about this betrothed nonsense with Katiya. I want to know every damned thing about this fucker and what his story is.

“No, it isn’t. While I do have some information, this call isn’t about him.”

Too fucking bad. “What is it then?”

He clears his throat, and there’s a lengthy pause.

Enzo is looking at me quizzically, as I shrug. I’ve no fucking idea why he’s being so cryptic.

“Out with it, Vaughn, I don’t have all day.”

“I found the hacker…” he says.

“What fucking hacker?”

“Angelo told me to dig deeper after Mia’s kidnapping. Whoever set this up did an almighty job. He wanted to know who it was, how they managed to scramble everything and make it almost impossible for me to break. And I found them … or should I say …her.”

“Her?” I run a hand through my hair. Not unusual but also not common.“Vaughn, is it someone we know?”

“I don’t think it’s anyone we know, but you’re going to want to see this.”

“Does Angelo know?”

“Not yet. I don’t want to bother him while he’s on a break, so I thought I would run it by you first.”

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