Chapter 102: Chapter 16

NATE

Jessie and I head to the hotel room to meet with our security team. They’ve apparently uncovered some information about the person pulling the strings behind the scenes. As we enter the room, we find everyone already assembled, papers scattered all over the place.

“All right, let’s hear it. What have we found out, Paul?”

Paul starts to explain. “We’ve been going through all the documents and one name keeps showing up on the payment orders—Mark Carlson. It’s a pseudonym, but we managed to hack into the account and find out who it’s really registered to. It’s Antonio Brambilla.”

I’m taken aback. We’ve heard of him, but he’s always been very secretive about his dealings. He’s about my age.

How could he make such a foolish mistake? Why would he get involved in something like this? What’s in it for him?

I notice Mandy standing by the door, her face as white as a sheet. Tears are streaming down her face. I start to say something, but she bolts from the room, sobbing.

Why would she react like this to Antonio? How does she even know him?

“Do we have surveillance on him?” I ask.

“Yes, we do. We’ve also set up monitors so we can keep an eye on things. We haven’t seen much activity, but the place is heavily fortified,” Paul replies.

Paul shows us photos of the property, pointing out what they’ve discovered.

“Is there a way we can get in?” I inquire.

“There’s a shift change just after midnight. For about ten minutes, the place is unguarded. There are also doors that lead to the basement. We managed to question a cook who was out shopping for groceries. She gave us some information about the layout. We could sneak in and use a hidden staircase to get to his bedroom,” Paul explains.

“Can we trust this cook, Paul?” I ask.

“We paid her quite a bit,” Paul says.

“And we found out she’s his girlfriend!” Mark interjects.

“Shut up, Mark!” I snap.

“What’s her name, Paul?” I ask.

“Mary,” Paul answers.

“All right, let’s see these video feeds,” I say.

They flip open several laptop screens and we study the property from various angles. I can see the door they’re talking about and grab my phone to call my mom.

After a few minutes, she walks in and we quickly bring her up to speed.

“We’re going to need a lot of manpower if we’re going to do this, Mom,” I say.

“Do it and bring him to me. We have some unfinished business.”

I just stare at my mom, trying to figure out what she’s talking about. What does she mean by unfinished business?

EVA

That bastard! He’s been after my Mandy for years! He harassed her to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore and confided in me.

She met him before her ex, Craig, but as soon as we dealt with that problem, he started sniffing around. I knew I had to put a stop to it before things got out of hand.

Mandy begged me not to tell Nate or Caden. She didn’t want them to think she couldn’t be trusted.

I arranged for her to meet him at a certain place. When he showed up expecting to see her, he got a little surprise instead.

An SUV pulled up and when I jumped out, they tried to run. But within seconds, they were surrounded. His guards panicked when they realized they had nowhere to go.

He just stood there with his guards, watching as I didn’t say a word. I pulled out my gun and shot both guards in the head, right next to him.

“Come near my family again and the next bullet will have your name on it. I won’t warn you again,” I said.

He just smirked and huffed, thinking we were done. But then he messed with my family again. Now I’ll deal with him like I should have that day.

I know Nate is trying to figure out what’s going on, and I’ll tell him when the time is right. Right now, my main concern is Mandy.

I head to their room and can hear her crying from inside. She must already know. I open the door and the moment she sees me, she runs straight into my arms.

I promised her I would always protect her, and I intend to keep that promise.

“Mandy, we have to tell Nate. He’s going to find out and it’s better if he hears it from you than from that jerk,” I say.

“Eva, he’s going to hate me for keeping this from him.”

“What are you keeping from me? Why did you run out crying when I mentioned Antonio Brambilla’s name?” Nate asks.

“Nate, if you’re going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me. Mandy came to me for help to get him off her back. I thought I had made myself clear.”

“Why? Was he harassing her? What did he want?”

“He wanted her. Once he found out she was single—even though she was with you—he started pursuing her. He was texting and calling her, trying to get her to be with him. She came to me because she didn’t want you to think she was untrustworthy. I saw the calls and messages. So I met with him and killed his two right-hand men. Apparently, he didn’t get the message.”

“You’re my wife, Mandy! After everything we’ve been through, you couldn’t come to me?”

“Nate, I’m sorry. I was scared.”

I watch as Mandy runs out of the room, needing some space. I turn to Nate, disgusted by his reaction.

“Nate, she was scared. This guy is powerful and has connections. She didn’t want to add to your stress.”

I’m about to respond when we hear tires screeching outside the hotel, followed by the sound of gunfire.

What the hell is happening?

We grab our guns and race down the stairs, my heart pounding in my chest. We burst into the lobby to find guards lying on the ground, being attended to by other guards.

Ronald runs up to me, signing frantically. My heart sinks.

“They’ve taken Mandy!”