19

Chapter Nineteen - Trickster

Cameron Quintana's P.O.V.

I stand watching the car my sister is in get smaller and smaller in the distance until it disappears. My heart races in fear for her safety yet it also aches at the same time because I wish I could go with her. I must end the Quintana empire once and for all though and that's what stops me. I'm not going to let Marcella and I live this life of pain and hopelessness anymore. I'm going to be brave and do better for my little sister to give her everything she deserves. To give myself everything I deserve.

The rumble of an engine behind me pulls me out of my thoughts and I turn to see another car approach. The doors leading up to Rodrigo's office open just as it stops before me and I watch two of my most trusted men bring Alejandra Santos down. Her dark brown eyes are wide as they meet mine and her caramel hair is a wild mess of curls falling against her back. Her bronze skin is littered with bruises, scrapes and bandages from what my father did to her. I gesture for them to back off before holding out my hand to her which she hesitantly takes.

"One of my men will take you to a private jet at an abandoned strip. From there you will be brought back home." I explain and her jaw drops as she stares at me in disbelief. "Quintana will be taken down soon so until then make yourself scarce."

"I-I thought you...what?" She mumbles in a soft yet confused voice.

"Me and my sister were brought up in this world but we never wanted any part of it. We are innocent and I'm going to put an end to my father's reign. I apologize for everything he's done to you." I put my hand on the small of her back and push her towards the car. "You must leave now. We don't have much time and I need to get back."

She turns around to face me with a vehement shake of her head. "How many numbers do you have?"

"Around a thousand people."

"I will send a thousand more. You know how to reach me so all I need is a location and time." She states firmly and I move to protest but she cuts me off. "Don't you dare resist Cameron. You will need the help so take what you are offered."

The fire in her eyes quirks my lips upwards and I nod. "Thank you. I'll let you know when the time is right. Now, go."

She nods but hesitates and I frown at her in confusion. Her eyes meet mine and she shoots me a small smile before hugging me tightly. I suddenly realize that she fits perfectly in my arms and close my eyes briefly over the rush of something unknown yet so right coursing through my veins. I barely hear her soft "be safe," before she gets in the car with a wave. Closing the door after her I tap on the top of it before they drive off. Just as they disappear I turn and make my way back up to Rodrigo's office with the men.

"Move quickly." I order them as we walk up to the third floor where I was being kept in a spare room.

They tie me up again before I nod at them to let my father know that I'm awake. It only takes a few minutes for him to get here but when he does I pretend to struggle with my restraints. He sighs heavily as he drags a chair across and sets it in front of me before sitting down. I glare at him but confusion grows within me as he pulls out an envelope from his coat pocket.

"Why did you shoot Marcie?! Where is she?! And why am I tied up?!" I seethe as I stop struggling to get out. "Let me go right now!"

"Leave us." He commands and I watch the men file out of the room before the door shuts.

"Untie me! I want answers!"

"I will only let you go once you've listened to me." He states calmly and I release a heavy breath before nodding. "Marcella is a traitor. She's working with Judah and whatever security team he has."

I pretend to look shocked. "W-What? You're lying! She would never –"

"I have proof mi hijo." He states smugly as he takes out pictures from the envelope. "She's been fucking Judah Jackson no doubt. I suddenly start losing millions of dollars and our shipments go wrong after she comes back. That's no coincidence. She's been working with them all this time providing intel on our operations."

I curse mentally at the pictures of Judah sneaking into Marcie's hotel room from outside. And then I feel like throwing up my lunch at the thought of my baby sister being intimate with a man. Gross, I think to myself. A heads up that you met Judah would've been nice Mar.

I look back at my dad with wide eyes before shaking my head vehemently. "S-She would never! I know Marcie and she wouldn't betray us! She's loyal to us – to you!"

"She confirmed it herself in my office when I confronted her."

I inhale sharply before pretending to look disgusted and angry. Again, gross! I didn't need a confirmation dad! I think to myself. "She confirmed it?"

He plays a recording of what she said in his office and I'm not even surprised that he has his own office bugged. His eyes meet mine and glint with satisfaction when he sees me become upset and horrified. I pretend to not know what to say or do before letting my body go slack as if defeated. A smug smile blooms across his lips as he begins to untie me from the chair. I rub my wrists and stare at the ground in mock confusion while pacing the length of the room.

"How could she?" I murmur to myself questionably before looking up at him again. "How could she do this?! I protected her countless times! I-I fought for her!"

"Cameron..." He trails off before squeezing my shoulder and bringing me close. "She never agreed with our ways of surviving in this world. Marcella was never grateful for the life I provided her...for the safety and protection you brought her."

"That doesn't mean she betrays us at the first opportunity!" I snap as I shove his hand off me. "We have an image to uphold dad! I have always been loyal to you and she should have been the same!"

"I know Cameron." He soothes albeit awkwardly as I slump into the chair. "This why I chose you to take over my empire."

"She doesn't deserve it!" I snarl heatedly as I clench the handles. "I can't believe I used to side with her. I can't believe I cared for her and thought of her as my little sister. She's dead to me!"

"Let me handle Marcella. I need you to focus on eliminating Judah while I get our shipments in order." He walks around to stand in front of me.

I can literally feel how happy he is at my anger and disgust. He doesn't fail to hide his wide smile and the victoriously evil look on his face. I breathe a little easy now knowing that he's bought my act. Rising to my feet I nod at him with a smirk of my own.

"She's going to regret this." I chuckle darkly and he grins in response. "Have you dealt with her already?"

"A little but –"

"You do not kill her without letting me teach her a lesson for betraying my trust." I order and he stares at me proudly for a moment before nodding.

"Don!" Two guards run in with a panicked expression. "Marcella and Alejandra are not in their cells! They've escaped!"

"What?!" My father roars at them before rushing out of the room. "Find them immediately!"

I follow him down to the basement where Marcie was being kept. Dad makes a noise of frustration once he finds it empty before racing to a room on Rodrigo's office floor where I assume he was keeping Alejandra. When he finds that empty too he yells furiously as he punches the wall before turning to me with a crazed look in his eyes.

"How the fuck did they escape?! Our base is fool proof!" I snap as I follow him up to his communications room.

"I don't know! There must be a traitor amongst our men!" He huffs angrily while I close the door. "There's no way those two could have escaped without our cameras catching them!"

I take a seat as he scrutinizes every camera screen recording every angle of the numerous buildings on our base. He goes back to when he put Marcella in the basement and pulls up the footage from this morning of Alejandra's room. I clench my jaw and cross my arms to hide my fists as I endure the recording of him torturing both women. Sadness tugs hard at my heartstrings when I see my little sister crying and passing out from the pain only to be woken up again for another round of cruelty.

"What the fuck?!" He thunders and slams his fists on the desk when the footage skips to empty rooms, clearly tampered with.

"Who has entry to mine and yours' comms rooms?" I ask angrily while he checks to see who came into this room only to come up empty handed.

"Nobody! Only our fingerprints are entered for our own rooms!" He runs a hand through his hair in frustration before turning to me with a frown. "Where's Rodrigo?"

"Got a nasty cut this morning when he was bringing some guy in that owes us money. Fucker didn't go down without a fight and had hit Rod quite hard in the head too before he was restrained. I sent him to the medical unit." I reply before nodding at the screens. "You can pull the footage for that."

I watch him do it to confirm that I'm telling the truth. Knowing how paranoid he is though he walks out and I follow him down to the medical unit. Rodrigo sits there on the bed with a drip in his arm and a bandage on the other according to my plan. He frowns at us in mock confusion before rolling his eyes with a nod to the nurse writing something down on a clipboard.

"Are you alright?" My dad asks him with a hint of concern since Rodrigo is one of his most trusted men...or so he thinks.

"I'd be better if I was let go." He huffs in frustration before glaring at the nurse. "Tell her to get this shit off me so I can get back to work Don."

Dad shakes his head but still has that pensive look on his face. "Take the day off and rest. Where's Benjamin?"

Dad knows about Rodrigo and Ben dating under the condition that it doesn't affect their work. I watch as Rod pretends to be confused before opening his mouth to protest. I step forward with my hand held high to stop him before fixing him with a stern look.

"This isn't the time to ask questions. Where is Ben?"

"I'm pretty sure he's been down at the transport offices all day. Unless Bruno told him to drop a shipment then he's probably out. I'm not sure." He shrugs but his puzzled gaze flickers between us.

"Rest up Rodrigo and listen to her." Dad replies with a nod to the nurse who smiles smugly.

"Seriously Don?!" We hear him call as we walk out of the room and the medical unit.

"You think Ben might be involved?" I ask as we rush towards the transportation offices.

"No but I want to rule it out."

We reach the offices in no time and dad calls Bruno over. I step closer to the windows as they talk behind me. Bruno is on my side too and as planned he tells dad that Ben's been out dropping a few shipments since ten in the morning.

"Look, he's just pulling in on time too!" Bruno chuckles as we make our way downstairs and onto the ground outside where numerous lorries and trucks are being loaded. "All shipments delivered without a hitch! At least I can count on Ben unlike some lazy fuckers in this place!"

I lock eyes with Ben who jumps out of the truck with a wave. He smiles at Bruno praising him before nodding to dad in greeting. My father glances at me and I meet his gaze while his body relaxes slightly, telling me that he doesn't doubt Ben anymore now that Bruno's confirmed his whereabouts and Ben has come back to base.

Dad makes small talk with Ben and Bruno about the shipments before we bid goodbye. We make our way back to his office and I silently watch as he gets more men to check every inch of our base as well as the surrounding areas to find them.

"You remember Mauricio? We formed an alliance last week with him." He asks and I nod in agreement before he continues. "I can get some more men off him for a while to help in finding Marcella, Judah and Alejandra."

"I'll check all the flights for today as well as any hotels, motels or other accommodation they could have gone to." I stand and meet his furious gaze. "Gas stations and stores nearby them too in case they were able to get a car."

"No. You just focus on Judah –"

"We have two major shipments going out tonight. If Alejandra is on the run I have no doubt she'll get in contact with her men and order them to tamper with the trucks." I explain and he curses angrily once he realizes I'm right. "Focus on that first. I'll make some headway on those three then you can take over."

"Good idea." He nods before logging onto his computer and pulling up shipment details as well as transportation routes. "Go and make a start then. I'll join you once our shipments have been delivered successfully."

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything." I reply before opening the door but just as I'm about to step out he calls me. "Yeah?"

"Judah and Alejandra can be caught dead or alive but tell our men to keep Marcella alive. I want her to spend her last few days on this earth suffering at my hands." He states with a wicked smirk.

I feel like throwing up when I pretend to smile. "Sounds good. I'll make sure she's brought to you alive."

"I'm proud of you mi hijo." His voice fades as I close the door and start walking down the hall.

Not for long dad, I think to myself. I'll do anything to keep Marcella safe. Even if it kills me.

Update schedule is: once a week whenever I find time!

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