"For how long have you been.. Owned.. By Aleksandr?""Four years.."That same night, over at Don Fabrizio's mansion, Mercedes and Gio were cuddled up together in her bed. Don Fabrizio, having returned from the meeting with the capos, had rushed off to another appointment with a new cartel whose loyalty he was trying to win over in order to expand his organization, and when he'd gotten back from that, was so jaded that he'd gone straight to bed, retiring for the night. And so, Gio and Mercedes could be together without any fear, seeing as the mansion was huge, consisting three buildings, and Don Fabrizio lived alone in one of the buildings, so, it was impossible for him to come over to Mercedes's room without Gio having a headstart.Now, Gio and Mercedes were engrossed in one of their many deep, long conversations."Four years you've been stripping?" Gio asked, stunned.Mercedes chuckled. "No, I haven't been stripping for four years, that started just a couple years back.. But I've be

'48 SALT LAKE STREET. BRICK BUILDING. SECOND FLOOR. FOURTH DOOR ON THE LEFT'.These were the contents of the piece of paper that Gio had in his hands, which he had gotten from Mercedes. It was apparently where her sister had been hidden away.He was cruising in his Ghibli, driving slowly, something he rarely did while trying to locate the street by looking at all the signposts and street indicators, observing which one he was supposed to be on.His car was presently stocked with groceries and toys that he'd gotten from the store while making his way here. He'd heard that the girl was still 14 and had automatically guessed that she would most likely be fascinated by teddy bears and Barbie toys, so he'd gone and purchased a boatload of them. Now, he looked to his left and saw a brick building that looked exactly like the one Mercedes had described: Big, brown, and ugly."Yeah, this is definitely it," he said to himself and proceeded to get out of his car. He'd made sure to dress normal

Having finished the meals bought for her by Gio, Daniella was then sitting in the living room with her and Sensi, in full-blown, deep conversation."So, you've been in here, by yourself, all this time?" Gio asked. Mercedes had told him this before, but it seemed so surreal that he had to get a second source to confirm. "No friends? No people? Nothing?""Daniella shook her head gently, a sad look on her face. " Mercedes says nobody is to be trusted because Aleksandr has men everywhere in the city. So, I've been in here. No school, no friends, not even neighbors.. She comes to see me once every month, and she stocks the kitchen with food enough for a month until she comes again the following month."Gio's mouth hung open for a moment, as he imagined this much loneliness and depression the girl must have gone through.Daniella had more to say, though:"The door is always locked from outside, so I can't even go outside. Mercedes says I have to stay as silent as possible to make the house

"We used to spend hour after hour here.. Talking, planning, doting on one another... Those were incredibly...times."Don Fabrizio had taken Mercedes out of the room where she'd been stashed for weeks for the first time, and now, they were in his garden. Of course, there was a host of at least twelve men who were to watch her, prevent her escape, and take her back to her room when this was done, but, it felt immensely good to be out and under the skies and feel the cool of the afternoon. She had missed this."We would talk about anything imaginable; my obsession with politics, her obsession with fashion, our children, our home country, Italy, food; anything.." He continued.They were standing in the midst of the magnificent garden under the mild sunlight and breezy winter, and Don Fabrizio was staring into a space, a dreamy smile on his face, reminiscing on the past bliss he'd enjoyed with his late wife."But then... Cancer came and took her away from me... And even before she left, th

Detective Dan James sat in his Plymouth, which was parked by the roadside, in a brown jacket and shades, thinking long and hard while puffing on a stub of cigarette.His conversation with Agent Ruby the previous day, along with the evidence of Naomi, his protégé, walking into the building of Aleksandr Matiç, the man suspected of ordering the death of Mindi, had made him very sober.He had seen many double agents in his time as a serviceman, but he had never expected that Naomi would be one of them. Now, he could just go and confront her, but that would simply be a stupid move because:If she was indeed working with/for Aleksandr Matiç, confronting her would only make him appear as a threat, and then, it would endanger his life.If she wasn't working with Aleksandr Matiç and had been there on undisclosed business, then he'd simply be scaring her off and coming off to her as a mentor who didn't trust his menteeAnd so, to protect his life and his reputation, he was going to keep mute ab