THE MAFIA’S HEIR

BIANCA’S POV

“Massimo.” I muttered in disbelief. How??? How was all he just told me possible? I thought he… I never knew that the lady he talked about was Francesca. Oh, my world! I felt soooo sorry for him. How could a human being be so unfeeling and selfish? How could she think to keep Massimo’s baby away from him and try to pin it on my own man?! I was literally going crazy here.

“I know! I messed up and I’m sorry. But I couldn’t keep it inside anymore. The guilt was eating me up, and after the attack on my life yesterday, I…”

“Massimo, you are not guilty of anything!” I yelled out, hoping I would be able to put that deep into his senses. “You are not guilty!” I repeated. “You fell in love with a woman who doesn’t value love or bond. For all we care, Manuel was no longer with her when you finally acted on your feelings for her, and that was only because she seduced you. And what is this attack you just spoke of? Massimo, is all well?”

“How can all be well?” He looked like he was about to yell out in frustration, but tried to keep himself together. “I am heartbroken and in regret. Not only did she try to keep me away from my child, she sent someone to…. kill me.” He whispered, sounding shocked and looking so…. disappointed. It made his statement sound like a question. He couldn’t believe it. Even I, couldn’t.

“What?!” I stood from my seat in shock and walked around my seat in a mix of anger and disbelief.

“And that is the major reason why I am here. I really didn’t come to give you a pathetic story of how I stupidly fell in love with a woman that could never be mine. I came to talk about something more important, but it could not be discussed without letting you know the genesis of it all. I think the Ferraris might have a hand in the abduction of the Don.” He seemed reluctant to spill, but did nonetheless.

“You do?” I asked, my attention being pulled so easily. God knew how despearate I was to get my husband out of that hell hole he found himself.

“Yes.” He sighed. “Yesterday, I was attacked during the early hours of the morning. I had almost been killed because the coward had come at me in my sleep.” He sighed in irritation. “Thankfully, I got up before he had the opportunity to suffocate me with a pillow. We fought for a while, after which I finally overpowered him and shot him dead. Thanks to the pistol that always laid at the headboard of my bed.”

“Thank God.” I whispered.

“The shocking thing though, was that I recognized this man who had come to kill me.”

“What? You know him?”

“I suppose.” He shrugged, his eyes pinned on the wooden desk in Manuel’s study. “It’s a man I had seen around the Ferraris quite often. He works for Francisco Ferrari.”

“Francisco….” I muttered his name, my guts nudging me that something was just not right. I had this strong feeling in my heart, that this had a lot to do with the man; Francisco. God help me! “Massimo.” I called.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Today is our Nonna’s memorial.”

“Oh? It is?” He asked, clearly wondering what that had to do with anything.

“Yes….” I trailed off, trying to arrange my thoughts. “She died as a result of a car accident, same with my husband, several years back.”

“Yes?” He replied.

“Then, my husband gets missing again after his car got into another accident, not so?”

“Yes.”

“And Maria Rossi, late wife of Francisco Ferrari died in a car accident that was allegedly planned by the Russos. This incident is what was recorded as the main cause of the feud between the two families.” Now! It was starting to make sense now!! Oh God, how could we have all been sooo blind? Massimo’s eyes widened in realization and he tapped on the desk furiously. “Are you thinking what I am thinking?”

“I am!” He answered immediately, standing from his seat.

“So what’s going on guys?” The door flung open and Alexander walked in, eyeing the both of us carefully. He had probably just gotten here, and the rest of the family must have told him about the private meeting I was having with Massimo. I knew the look Alexander gave me, and I was a bit disappointed that he would have the slightest thought that I would betray my husband that way. I didn’t blame him though, Manuel would have filled his head with a lot of wrong notions. This issue of Massimo allegedly being in love with me, was going to be trashed later. After my husband had been rescued. For now, he had to focus on catching the rat we had probably sniffed out already.

“Alex.” I managed a small smile. “Massimo and I just stumbled upon an extremely coincidental truth.” I said and he heaved a sigh, probably realizing the situation was far from what he may have painted in his head. The last thing I was gonna do was to get busy talking about whatever with Massimo, when my husband was out there suffering.

“Same here.” He blew out some air, before making his way towards me. The next minute, he raised up a little device for us to see. At the moment, another thought came to my mind and I raised my hand up.

“Hold up. What about Bella?” I asked, wanting to be sure she and the baby were safe now.

“Nonno just confirmed she has safely gotten to him in Sicily.” He supplied, making me release a sigh of relieve.

“Great. Please go ahead.” I pointed to what he was holding. “What’s that device in your hand?”

“It was one of the new devices that Dito had newly designed some time last month. He had given a pair of it to Manuel and I.” He looked at me and noticed that I wasn’t quite following. “This comes as a pair. This particular design comes as pairs. The full kit comes with a body installed chip. Now, this single one I am holding and the one that Manuel was given, are already linked to each other. It is a tracking device that makes it possible to know ones location, with the help of the body chip being installed on our arm.”

“Really?!” I asked, hope filling my mind. “Really?” I asked again, but frowned when I saw how disturbed he looked. This was supposed to be a good thing, right?

“Well,” He cleared his throat. “Dito is our high profile hacker, and he has always had the flair for designing tech devices. Though he has really done well as a profile hacker, the success rate of his designs for the past years have never really crossed 50 percent.”

“So there is a possibility this device may not serve its purpose?”

“Hmm.” He nodded sadly. “Although, my own device has been beeping since yesterday. That is how I knew something wasn’t right. He had most certainly turned on his device to notify me he was in danger, and it worked. That counts for something right?” He asked, a hopeful smile on his face and I nodded in agreement. It does count for something. “But even if it doesn’t work, we would do everything we can to find and rescue Manuel.” He assured me, a new look of determination on his face. That really encouraged me.

“Yes, we would.” I nodded stiffly, trying my best to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes. ‘No space for weakness’, my subconscious reminded me and I nodded in agreement, blinking back my tears. “Actually, we may have found the person we have been looking for.”

“How do you mean?” He asked, not breaking eye contact with me.

“I mean, we may have found X.” His eyes widened the moment I called the name which was probably familiar to only their men.

“The love smitten bastard.” He chuckled sadly. “Manuel told you everything he could. Please, who is your finger pointing at?”

“Fracisco Ferrari and probably his daughter.” I muttered, unsure deep down.

“Ferrari?” He asked, looking a bit surprised. “Why?”

“Here’s why. Or rather, part of the reasons why.” I said. “Several years back, his wife Maria was allegedly killed by a Russo man, through a fatal car accident. This solidified the feud between both families. Some years down the line, our Nonna dies after being hit by an unknown driver. 6 years after that, Manuel is involved in a car accident and disappears for weeks. Coincidentally Francesca Ferrari had come to his rescue, after which he started to date her out of sympathy. Five years down the line, he cheats on her and marries me instead. She tries to get him back, but fails. Then she announces that she is pregnant for him.”

“Yes, Aunt Mia had mentioned that to me just today. Crazy.”

“He doesn’t want to believe the child is hers, and asks her to leave. What does she do next? She tries to have him killed in the same pattern she had allegedly saved him from years back. The same pattern that had killed her mother and our Nonna. The car accident pattern.” I finished, and they were silent. Alexander looked like it was all starting to make sense to him, but Massimo looked like he was finding it difficult to believe. It was actually possible that there was some sort of loophole in my attempt to connect the dots.

“I can’t believe how much this makes sense.” Alexander whispered, not really looking at anyone.

“Did I forget to add that I just found out the baby isn’t Manuel’s?” I asked, and Alexander jaw fell.

“For real? How do you know? And how sure are you?”

“Because the actual father of the child, just let me know a few minutes before you walked in.” We were all really in for a lot of suprises today. Alexander’s expression was second to none. He looked at Massimo in disbelief and I quickly shook my head in disapproval. “Don’t do that now, Alex. He fell in love with her, and that isn’t a wrong thing.”

“But she was Manuel’s…”

“Ex!” I cut him short. “And they both didn’t start having sex until Francesca and Manuel ended things. So Massimo did nobody wrong! Infact, we all owe him an apology for the humiliation Manuel caused him the other day, thinking he had some sort of feelings for me. But then, that is a discussion for when Manuel returns home. To us.” I added, feeling so much energy drain out of me. I was suprised when Alexander went soft and asked the next question.

“Have you had anything to eat? You have been so busy since the early hours of the morning, making calls and trying to put things in order. You should rest.” I went tight lipped as a result of the unexpected show of care.

“No.” I finally found my voice. “Yes, I have eaten something this morning. And no, I wouldn’t have any rest until Manuel returns home safely. Please.” I added, not wanting us to have an argument concerning that. “So Massimo, what do you think? Your expression is enough for me to know you aren’t in agreement with my thoughts. Where do you think I got it wrong?” I quickly changed the subject. He looked at me for a moment, contemplating whether to speak or not, but he finally did.

“I don’t think miss Francesca is actually guilty….” He was not able to finish when Alexander cut him off.

“Don’t get emotionally sentimental Massimo.” He muttered.

“I’m not being sentimental.” Massimo sighed. “I just think it’s absurd to think she may have had a hand in your Nonna’s death. She was just a teenager when your Nonna died, for crying out loud. What would she know about…”

“True!” I rushed out. “But what would you say about the fact that she was the one who coincidentally rescued Manuel after his own accident?”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“Exactly my point! If she was in alliance with her father, then she wouldn’t dare rescue Manuel. What would be the point of trying to kill him then?” He asked, and I couldn’t help but agree to that. God, I was slowly going crazy here.

“You know what, this is all getting crazier, but I have a plan. We would be able to confirm if the Ferraris have any involvement indeed.” I said.

“I think they do though. According to the sources from Dito, Patawan had been spotted a few times with Jacobo, who is currently awol. But then, I remember a certain incident where our men had tried to attack Jacobo and his men after they committed a grievous offense against us….” Alexander was still talking when Massimo completed it.

“And the mission had been jeopardized because the Ferraris had coincidentally been in the same restaurant. We had to retreat for the fear of causing a greater fight with the Ferraris, who had almost been affected by our attack.”

“You definitely remember.” Alexander muttered. “Then, we thought Jacobo was a slimy bastard who got away from our wrath by positioning himself in the same location as the Ferraris. But then, what if it had been a planned thing? Jacobo knew he was eventually going to die by our hands that day. So it was either we killed him, or Ferrari saved him. Ferrari’s way of making Jacobo indebted to him.” His evaluation really held a lot of water, but it still ended as a loose end. We still weren’t sure if it was correct.

“Look, we just have to go ahead with my own plan, so we don’t keep making assumptions. There is no time.”

“But then, if miss Francesca is involved, she still wouldn’t be in this city. She would have fled already.” Massimo intervened and I simply rolled my eyes. The man was being sentimental after all. He was losing his sense of judgement.

“It seems to me you have already checked if she is still in town” I gave a sad smile, which he definitely found hard to reciprocate. “She would only run away if she thinks she would be found out, Massimo. In this case, I think she didn’t expect we would find her out so quickly, seeing as they have always gotten away with their previous attempts.” I reasoned.

“Even after she may have sent someone to kill me?”

“She probably thinks he was successful in killing you. If you are already dead, why should she bother?” I shrugged, and his face dropped. He really just hoped she wasn’t a part of all these, and I understood just how he felt. But then, life was a bitch most times. “And for our next line of action to work out as planned, she has to be brought here. At all cost.” I added. “Even if she has no idea of her father’s businesses, she would be used as a bait to lure him out. We need her today.” I looked at him. “Assign some of our men to carry that out. I cannot be stupid enough to let you handle that. Neither do I want to put you in a spot where you become disloyal to your boss.” I muttered, before another thought quickly rushed through my mind. “Massimo.” I called out, releasing a sigh. “I promise that no matter what, I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. Whether or not she is involved. This is for the sake of your baby. But then, we have to get her because we have to find Manuel. I give you my word, that she wouldn’t get hurt.”

I looked at him and he nodded stiffly, trying his best to be strong. I knew this was hard for him. It was also hard for everyone else. What if she ended up being innocent? This was going to be a hard experience for her as well. But what had to be done, had to be done.

“Okay, I’ve heard you ma’am.” He said.

“Thank you.” I said genuinely. “Alex, the second thing I need you to do is….. get Dito here immediately. We have to try and reach out to Manuel. There is a great chance that the success rate of this device would be more than you think.” I was hopeful. “Let Dito come, and let’s see how we can trace Manuel’s location together.”

*

*

We were all waiting in the office as we watched Dito doing his thing. According to him, the entire process took time and we had to be patient. The young man seemed quite confident in his designs, so why should we not?

While we were still waiting for him to be done, one of the men knocked on the door of the study, and we invited him in.

“Sorry for disturbing, but miss Ferrari is here.” He announced, making us look up to see her calmly standing at the door. Oh? Now this Francesca was a huge contrast to the Francesca I knew. No shouts? No curses? Why was she so calm? Did she know what this was all about? Why wasn’t she asking questions about why we had taken her? Or was I expecting her to react so quickly? I attentively watched her, and I saw as she locked eyes with Massimo. For a moment, I stilled in shock when I saw that look in her eyes. I know I’m not mad, I really saw the look. She was in love with him! I wanted to scream in confusion, because I didn’t understand what was going on anymore. If she was in love with Massimo, then….

“Please have a seat Francesca.” Alexander offered, to which she suprisingly obeyed. Okayyyy, this was really weird now. “There is a situation on ground.” He said, to which she nodded calmly. She was almost acting like she was scared. She did know something then! We were right all along! Alexander and I shared a look of suprise and just then, Dito yelled out in happiness.

“I did it!!” We all turned to looked at him in suprise.

“By that, you mean…..?” I asked, unsure. Hope flickered in my heart as I closed my eyes, with so much faith and took a deep breathe.

“I mean that I have successfully connected to the Don’s location.” He replied, making Alexander grin widely and give him an encouraging smack on the back.

“Thank goodness!” I whispered, my mind calming down.

“Thank you Dito.” Alexander whispered, releasing a deep sigh. “Thank you. So where is he?” He asked, and Dito went silent for a moment as his eyes diligently scanned the screen of his computer.

“I got him.” He rushed out after a few seconds.

“Where?” Alexander and I asked at the same time.

“The Bari warehouse.” He supplied, making me go confused for a moment, until Alex explained to me.

“The Bari warehouse.” He muttered in a combination of realization and anger. “It’s owned by Francisco Ferrari.”

The moment he said that, my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. So it was true after all. He was the enemy. Immediately my eyes fell on Francesca who bowed her head and just remained silent, not showing any form of emotions. She knew we had caught onto their games already, but she remained calm.

“Francesca….”

“Please.” She whispered, cutting me off. “I don’t have a hand in this.” Tears clouded her eyes at that point.

“Oh, really?!” I asked in annoyance and disbelief. How could she have claimed to love Manuel so much, yet…

“I got it.” Dito said, breaking my thoughts and grabbing all our attention. What did he get again? I thought he found where my husband was already?

“What?” Alexander asked.

“I have been able to hack the chip.” He replied.

“By that, you mean?” I asked.

“I mean that we can hear everything going on within close range of the Don.” Wow.