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"Stefano. You're awake. I was waiting for your call." He chuckles into the phone.
"Where are they?" I snarl darkly.
"You don't need to worry about that right now."
"Where the fuck are they?" I say again, more angry, as I pace up and down my hallway.
"Listen, man. I'm tired of living in your shadow - under your control. Always what you want and what you need before anyone else. I want my own life. I want control of my own business. It's clear you aren't willing to part with your empire, the casino, even to save your daughter's life - so I figured I could make my own money differently."
"What are you doing, Matteo? You know I will find you." I warn him.
"By the time you find me, I'll already have harvested and sold their organs on the black market. Piece by piece I'll make a fortune off both of them. Do you have any idea what I can get for a kidney? A heart? It's ridiculous how desperate people are. And we both know that the waiting list to go about getting transplants the legal way is a joke. Anyways. You won't negotiate with me, so I found my own way."
"Matteo, you fucking sick mother fucker that's my daughter. I will tear you to pieces if you touch a hair on her head."
But he's already hung up and I'm talking to no one. The phone line is dead.
I'm in shock. Utter disbelief. I didn't know Matteo was involved in or had connections to black-market organ trades. Who the fuck does that shit?
My phone beeps and a message comes through from him. He's just making sure I believe him. He's sent a photo of Elle lying on a bed, in the background I can see plastic sheeting and a makeshift operating table, bright lights, and faceless doctors wearing scrubs.
My stomach turns several times.
He's not joking. He's not bluffing.
He's willing to kill my daughter. His own family.
The front door opens, and I spin around to defend myself, but it's the fresh rotation of security guards, here to take over from the night guards - with them is James.
"What the fuck happened outside? It's a blood bath." He says, looking stressed, his gun drawn and held at his side.
"Matteo killed both of the night guards. He's taken Amelia and Elle. Get the team together. We have to figure out where they are."
"I'll start trying to track his phone but it's likely he's got protection against that. I'll also get my men to start questioning his associates. Someone has to know something."
"Good. I've got some phone calls to make too. I want to see if anyone knows where he might be." I say, walking towards my office.
The first person I phone is my stepmother and then my half sister. Both of them seem clueless. Neither of them knows about Matteo being anywhere but the casino. They don't know of any secret hideouts or additional properties he might own. I start to wonder if they would tell me if they knew. Maybe the entire world is keeping secrets from me. Maybe I haven't been brutal enough and my status is slipping.
I won't make this mistake again.
I start calling business associates who are known to work with both Matteo and me.
Call after call I hit a blank wall. No one seems to know anything. But one of them must be lying, and if I find out which, they won't live past that day.
I feel like I've almost drained all of my options, all of my chances to find out where they are. So I call Matteo again.
"What can I do for you brother?" He asks.
"Meet me. Let's talk."
"Are you willing to hand over the casino?"
"Meet me and we will discuss it."
"You know what, Stefano, I actually don't want to anymore. You had your chance to talk to me. You fucked that up."
"Don't be an idiot, Matteo. You know this won't end well for you."
