Page 39 of A Game of Secrets

Heading towards the ensuite connected to my bedroom, I stretch out my upper torso pulling at the muscles across my back. Fuck I need a massage, I think to myself, feeling the knots tightens as I strip off my shorts and jump straight into a freezing cold shower, letting the icy downfall pierce my skin, quelling the unsavoury feeling beginning to brew in the pit of my stomach. After thoroughly drying myself and fixing my hair which doesn't consist of much. I was blessed with my mothers goodluck for it always looking so effortlessly perfect as it falls into place, I pull on a pair of loosefitting grey sweatpants and matching sweatshirt because like fuck am I donning a three piece suit at this time in the morning. I tuck my gun securely into the waistband at the back of my pants and pull the sweatshirt down to conceal it. Grabbing my phone, keys and pack of smokes on the way out. If anybody questions me, I’ll shoot them. It’s that simple, and it might even make me feel a little better.

As I make my way to the front door of the house, I pull up short outside of Alesso's bedroom and as quietly as I can, I open the door. The sight of his chest rising and falling as he sleeps so soundly fills my entire being with warmth and I can not help but smile. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for my son. The reason I do what I do is for him, God I can only hope he doesn’t end up like me though. I watch contentedly for a little while longer before pulling the door gently until I hear the latch click into place and continue my way out the front of the house onto the large gravel driveway. Praising myself for not bothering to park inside the garage when I got back last night, I slide into the drivers seat of my Ferrari and reach for my phone, quickly typing out a message to Silas and Cole who are still in the house.

Gone to the office. I’ll be back to take Alesso to school.

After sending the message, I release the handbrake and allow the car to creep slowly down the mile long driveway, the slight down slope making it easier. I don’t want to start the engine near the house in case I end up waking Alesso. As I approach, the wrought iron gates open automatically, recognising my car. Sufficiently far enough away from the house I start my baby, she roars to life like a demon. I put my foot down and floor it.

Arriving outside of the casino a few miles down the road, I pull into the reserved space marked outside the back of the building. Usually I would throw the keys over to the parking valet but if they took any longer than a minute to open my door tonight I might break their fucking hand off. Needing to bite back the urge to put my fist through something or someone I light up a cigarette before stepping outside of the car and pull the smoke deep into my lungs, throwing the packet onto the driver’s seat as I shut the door. The sudden rush of nicotine through my system sends an exhilarating shudder throughout my body and I have to shake myself to relieve the intensity of it.

As I lean against my car finishing off the last drags of my smoke I feel my phone start to vibrate in my pocket. Knowing it can only be a rare handful of people at this time I take a glance to see Silas' name flashing across the screen.

"Everything OK fratello?" he asks, his voice high on alert, definitely not just interrupted from his slumber. No doubt he was wide awake going through numbers and reviewing the recent shipment orders to make sure everything is up to standard, his standard that is.

"All is good Brother. I just need to get to the bottom of something." I say as I release another cloud of smoke into the air, and get to the bottom of it I will, I add on silently to myself.

I hear what almost sounds like a hint of relief in his voice as he replies, "Call if you need us. I will watch out for Alessandro."

I nod my head and although I know he can not see, he knows I would call if I needed to. I end the call and slide my phone back into my pocket and throw my cigarette butt to the floor before grinding it with the heel of my shoe.

I enter the building through the side entrance only ever used by the staff and I’m pleasantly surprised by how busy the place is. I glance at my watch and note that it’s almost 03:00 and the floor is still heaving with patrons as I make my way through the heavily packed bar area and back towards the private door leading down to the maze of corridors. I give a subtle nod to Dan as I pass by who's elbows deep in a large group of visibly drunk women on a hen do, shouting their cocktail orders over the bar at him. I receive an exaggerated eye roll in return causing me to laugh, poor bloke, he looks like he's about one cocktail away from a breakdown. I chuckle to myself and begin down the darkened stairwell towards the surveillance room housing my office.

Walking through the heavy metal door, Felix swivels in his chair towards me, a look of concern marring his usually somewhat charming face. "Everything alright Boss?" he asks. "Saw you pull up a few minutes ago and thought you looked a bit pissed."

I chuff at the remark. "Is my face that miserable?" I joke, pulling a bottle of beer from the fridge stacked in the corner of the room.

Felix grins at me. "Well not all of the time," he jokes, turning back to face the screens of CCTV footage.

"I've come in to do some more digging on the Holland girl."

"Jesus! Again Boss? You've looked through everything ten times over!"

"Well then I'll look an eleventh time," I quip, knocking the top off my beer and taking a long gulp, it's 5 o'clock somewhere right? "Any trouble this evening?" I ask, hovering behind Felix and scanning my eyes over the live footage in front of me, still smirking at the sight of Dan losing his shit with the hen party at the bar.

"No Boss, it's been a busy but uneventful one. Zack and Sully are up on the top floor making sure the girls finish their sets without any problems but they're regulars up there anyway so there shouldn't be any trouble." I nod, pleased at the thought that even without me I know my kingdom will run smoothly with my purposefully hand-picked men at the helm. I slap Felix on the back letting him know he's doing a good job.

"I'll be in the office if you need me," I call, walking through to the adjoining room and closing the door behind me. Walking over to my desk, I crack my knuckles and roll my neck releasing the tension radiating through me. Right, even if this takes me all fucking night, I will uncover what our little love is hiding. Pulling up the file I've already accumulated on Lucille, I look through every document twice over just to be sure nothing has been overlooked. Discovering nothing we didn't already know, I open up the police database and search for her name, no previous misdemeanors or felonies.There’s a shock,I think running my fingers through my hair in annoyance. Next I search through city records, again without success.

Okay change of plan. I’m looking at this from the wrong direction so I load up the copy of Teddy's birth certificate and maximize it to full screen. I browse the document narrowing my eyes as I notice a slight pigmentation in the space of the birth fathers name. I look closer, hovering the magnifying tool across the area and almost choke on my beer as I realize the document has been edited.

"FUCK!" I shout, punching the air with my fist. "I fucking knew it!" The small glitch in the paperwork is completely unrecognizable to the untrained eye, that's why we haven't noticed it sooner. I note the fact that I need to submit the guys for explicit training in spotting fraudulent documents for later and excitedly with fumbling fingers, I open up a separate app used to turn edited photos and documents back to their original forms and load the copy of the certificate into the system. Waiting with bated breath, I take another chug of my beer working to quell the anticipation spiking through my nerves. Slowly but surely, right before my eyes, the copy of the birth certificate reverts back to its original form and the spaces that were made to look blank now hold new information.

Full name of child’s Father: Vincent James Holland

Fathers Occupation: Unknown

Fathers age at time of birth: 27

I double fist pump the air this time as I read and reread the information letting it sink in as I then slowly begin to realize that this has been covered for a reason. By who? I don't know; maybe Max? He would definitely have the know-how to be able to do this, but why? That is what is really bugging me. I type Vincent's name into the police database and press search. A list of previous convictions line the screen. Jesus! The guy's a fucking mess. He's been arrested for drunk driving, possession of drugs, assault, theft and has a restraining order against him from none other than, holy shit, Lucille Holland. Applied for and granted on 3rd January 2017. Shit, that would mean that, if I’m thinking about this correctly, he has absolutely no idea about Teddy being born, and I bet my fucking life on it that Lucille doesn't want him to find out either. I mull over my findings becoming more and more frustrated at the thought of this fucking sad excuse of a man giving Lucille a reason to run. I have to bite back the overwhelming urge to put my fist through the screen as I open his mug shot attached to his police file. Standing at 5’10’’ with dark hair, dark brown eyes and a scar running from his ear to his jaw he's not a bad looking bloke over all. A hard face and arms full of ink he looks capable of murder and I bet he doesn't like being told no. I snap at the thought and fly my beer bottle across the room sending the glass shattering across the floor.

Within a split second Felix flies through the door glancing between me and the broken bottle and eyeing me up very carefully. "Boss?" he asks, tiptoeing his way into the room and taking a glance over my shoulder towards Vincent's face. "Someone we should worry about?" he asks, tipping his chin towards the screen.

"Not for the minute," I say, through gritted teeth. "He should be very worried about me though," I add, barely above a whisper, balling my hands into fists and cracking my knuckles.

Felix stands quiet for a moment then turns to leave. "I'll call Andrea down to clean the mess," he says, then closes the door.

I'm sucked so deep in concentration flicking through files upon files of Vincent's past police records that I barely notice Andrea, a short, plump lady who always wears her thick brunette hair in the shape of a donut on the top of her head, tiptoe her way into the room to start sweeping up the broken glass behind me. Andrea is one of the only maids we let down into this section of the building, she poses no threat and we pay her handsomely for her indifference. I glance up and nod thanking her then turn my attention back to the screen having to do a double take when I notice that Lucille Holland is written down as spouse on more than one of them. What the fuck? I stand bolt upright and fist my fingers through my hair. WHAT THE FUCK!? I calm my breathing and go back to Lucille's file. Absolutely nowhere can I see any mention of Vinny or a marriage certificate for that matter. This chick has some serious explaining to do. I can’t say this is going to please Silas, knowing she's already taken somebody else’s last name before, but if he is truly as infatuated with her as he says he is, maybe it just won’t matter at all. I save all of the information I've gathered and email it over to myself knowing the boys back home will need to see it. Glancing down at my watch, I realize just how long I've been here, it's almost 07:00 and I need to get back to take Alessandro to school. Shutting down my computer and rubbing my eyes that are now beginning to burn from lack of sleep, I groan as I begin to stretch, kicking out my legs willing them to wake up after sitting for so long. I notice Felix asleep with his head on the desk when I walk back through the surveillance room and smile. Fucker never likes to leave. I decide not to wake him before I go, he works like a dog. The least I can do is let him get a couple of hours rest before he starts over again. I lightly tread past him as quietly as I can, and sprint back up the stairs to the now empty casino. The only people occupying the space now are the cleaning staff who I acknowledge with a polite smile as I exit, making sure to thank Andrea once more as I whisk past her on my way out.

As I pull back into the driveway, I notice the garage door is up and Silas' Porsche is missing. He must have left for the club already, it's been nonstop business for him since he returned. The fight night has been his only night off and he was still causing trouble even then, but the fucker enjoyed himself and got laid so who's complaining.

---