CHAPTER SIX

Marcelo's POV

The gates creaked open, but I had no patience in waiting to get to the end of the driveway. My head was pounding, my fists hungry for blood and vengeance, and that feeling was growing every passing second.

I opened the doors of the car and jumped out of it, oblivious to the muffled shock of my driver and bodyguards. 

I could spot Ryan at the entrance of the house, his hands already holding on firm to the door knob. 

I pulled my gun out of the leathered holster lodged in my jacket and I narrowed for the mansion with a glare no one dared to defy. Two days, and my Ella has not been found?!

“And what is this I'm hearing?” I asked Ryan as I walked past him, not stopping an inch as I stormed into the mansion. 

My men were already positioned all over the house as instructed, but it was hard to tell who amongst them was the traitor. My years of experience wasn't simply going to fish them all out.

“Ella still hasn't been found, s-sir,” Ryan stuttered. “But we found something on the CCTV's and —"

“I don't have the patience to look at a goddamn thing right now!” I thundered, registering the look of shock on the faces of my men. 

No one had knowledge of spy cams planted in the mansion. Ella had been of great help in the past when she discovered planted spy cams, so I had one in one of our mansions. 

Buh she had incited the idea of keeping those cams outside the periphery of our house, as that limited what our enemy clans could infringe on. A drug lord was attempting to break into our safe later that year; we had nabbed the assassin he deployed to the mansion.

All thanks to Ella.

"We saw Naomi on the cams, sir. She's definitely involved."

“What about Rose? I remember assigning her to Ella? Where is she?”

“She wasn’t seen on the cam. The last thing we saw of her was when she was running towards the garden, and Naomi was following.”

“She took her too,” I muttered, realizing what Naomi had done. Ryan walked down slowly to the assembly of my men, and I noticed his eyes were fixated on one of my finest guards. 

I knew too well what his smirk meant, but I mask my disbelief as he landed a kick to Mabel's guts, sending her down to the ground. “She was on the cams, sir. Way too frequent with cornering Naomi in dark spaces.”

The Raven, or whomever this twisted motherf*cker definitely punched the wrong buttons, and I was going to send a letter with them, and Mabel was going to be the ink. 

“Speak up, or I will have you diced up right now.” I growled, holding out my hand for the huge blade Ryan was holding onto. 

In Mabel's eyes, I could see that she was beginning to reconsider her next step, but it was no use; I’m going to kill her. 

All of her hidden accomplices would be shut dead on sight, for I made sure to come with more of my men whom I have thoroughly inspected.

“I ... I-I can't say anything,” she pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks, “I know nothing about this, I swear. I ..."

I was stunned about how she moved so quickly from Ryan's grip, and when her face was just a hair's length away from mine.

My eyes immediately darted towards the stairs, but it was too late. A gunshot went off, and Mabel landed on the floor with a thud, a pool of crimson red growing underneath her. 

My ears went out of focus, and I could hear Ryan yelling as my men covered me up in circles, aiming at the stairs.

"Protect the boss! Get an ambulance here. Now!!!"

***

Stacy's POV 

All it took for me to realize I was in trouble was when I couldn't get the little girl to wake up the previous morning. 

I had been so excited about asking her about how she got lost, where her parents were, keeping her in my mother's care while I dashed off to work that I forgot about how serious her injuries were. 

I phoned a nurse across our street when I remembered and in no time, she had made certain prescriptions. 

“I must say you're better at the job than I can ever be,” she had teased, smiling, “Don't worry. The girl just needs rest. Put her on these as soon as she awakens."

So when I rushed home, I had to call my boss, faking a sick call and I was sitting by the bedside, my gaze pleading to see the girl flutter her eyes open.

And she did.

I calmed myself with a smile, hovering over the girl as I caressed her face. 

She was still fluttering her eyes open and closed, but her eyes shone with fear when she focused on mine. She jerked back, and I was quick to protect her head from hitting the headboard. 

She swat my hands away, and from the corner of the room, I could tell my mom was beginning to grow paranoid.

I held up my hands to the sides, smiling, “I’m not going to ask you how you got to that alleyway, but if you're going to believe what I say, then it's the fact that I or my mom will never hurt you.”

It was hard to tell if she was listening to me as her eyes scanned the room, and I could feel her growing more distant the moment she saw my mom. “Y-you are with her?” She said with a worried expression.

I tried to make sense of her fears, but I assumed she got abused by a lady; maybe her mom? 

“I promise you; she isn’t here with us. She can't harm you anymore. Don't worry.” 

I could feel her tense shoulders relax, guiding her tiny body frame to rest against the headboard. “W-Water,” she called out weakly.

“Well dear,” my mom called out, approaching with a glass, "we knew what you'd ask for as soon as you regained consciousness, so here, let this chilled milk energize your bones quickly."

I watched her down the glass greedily, and for an unknown reason, I was still smiling. When she wiped her lips and handed over the glass, I noticed her eyes were still inspecting her surroundings. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Two days.” I saw the shock written on her face, but just before I could say anything, I felt her cold hands on mine, her eyes pleading.

“Can I make use of your phone, please?”