ADRIK FROZE. HE couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was no way Camilia was related to Avelina. He also couldn't believe there was another Vincent, willing to do anything for revenge. It was beginning to get far too out of hand.
Just as Adrik opened his mouth, the door opened. He quickly turned toward the intrusion to spot his sister... in a robe. His brow rose as he took in her appearance. Her hair was wet like she just showered and her lips parted in complete shock.
"Adrik? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I lost Avelina," he answered honestly. He turned back to Vincent to see a dry expression on his face. He couldn't quite decipher what was going on, but Adrik could sense the tension. It wasn't like he had a whole lot of time to deal with his sister. He had to find Avelina.
Vincent cleared his throat. "I spoke with Natasha."
"I know the truth now. Why didn't you just tell me or even Avelina that it wasn't Natasha that killed my grandmother? It was Camilia, wasn't it?" Vincent asked.
He thought about his question. He didn't know Camilia—what she looked like or how she knew him. All he knew was that it was a woman, married to the biggest Russian crime lord, who made the order. She threatened his sister that if she didn't kill the poor, innocent older woman, that she would kill Adrik. It was the only way Natasha could gain ties with the business. At the time, they had no money, no home, no nothing—it was their only hope. When Natasha couldn't go through with it, that same woman did it herself, and before she could kill Adrik, Natasha ran away with him.
As Adrik thought back to the very old memory, he began to remember her. He remembered how she looked like Avelina. With blue eyes and dark brown hair, they were almost identical. Could it be...?
"I did not know her name. I don't understand. Why would she kill her own mother?" Adrik asked.
"I thought it was the Russians getting back at me for all the money I owed. It turns out, it was the Russians, but not for the reason I thought. My mother, Camilia, she murdered my father. I found out today after hearing Natasha's side of the story. After doing more research, I found out she had been seeing Dan Valancheslov, the previous Russian crime lord, one year before my father's death. Dan killed him like the psychotic bitch he is, and my mother let him. And she ran right into Dan's arms. My grandmother found out Camilia was alive and Camilia admitted to murdering her husband. My grandmother threatened to call the police, but before she could, she was murdered. Camilia framed you two—innocent children desperate for family and money," Vincent explained. He leaned back in his seat with his hands crossed.
It began to click in his mind. It was insane, and he only hoped Avelina was okay. She admired her mother, and he knew the news would hurt her more than anything. If only he could hold her.
"Get in," Vincent ordered Natasha, who stepped into the office and shut the door behind herself.
"Why did she take Avelina?" Adrik asked.
"I honestly don't know. I can't figure out if she's out to get you or her," he answered.
"Cheyenne... she is Miss Paola's daughter. She had warned me that Camilia is coming for me. Only after Miss Paola signed over millions of dollars to Avelina," Adrik told him.
Vincent smacked his teeth. "I know what this is about..."
"What?" Natasha asked.
"Money and power. Adrik, you are a billionaire. She's going to blackmail you. Just because Avelina is her daughter, it won't stop her from getting what she wants. I'm afraid that if we don't find Avelina right now, she will kill her unless you give her what she wants," Vincent stated.
Deep down, Adrik knew he would do anything to get Avelina back. He didn't care what the request was. Vincent stood up from his chair and buttoned the last button of his suit jacket.
"I still don't like you Zolotov, but I'm willing to do anything to get my sister back. She loves you, so I will tolerate you. Don't make me regret it," Vincent stated.
"I do not prefer you. You destroyed my home, murdered my people—after this, I can not promise you civility," Adrik said.
"Really, Adrik?" Natasha questioned from behind me with a scoff.
Instead of saying anything, Vincent opened his office door. It was only then that Natasha noticed Marina sleeping peacefully in Anton's arms. She gasped.
"Oh, my! She's beautiful!" Natasha exclaimed, stretching her arms out. "Can I hold her? I'm clean, I promise I just got out the shower!"
Anton glanced at him to see if it was okay. After Adrik nodded his head, Anton let Natasha grab Marina and hold her to her chest.
"What did you name her?" Natasha asked.
"Marina Elizaveta Zolotov," Adrik answered. Her smile came across her face as she looked at the baby.
"Wow!" she exclaimed. "So she did do it?"
"Do what?" Adrik questioned.
"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all," Natasha smiled. Adrik turned to look at Vincent to see he was eyeing the baby like he had done before. If Adrik didn't hate his guts, he would've offered to let him hold her.
"Follow me," Vincent muttered. Adrik followed behind him with Anton following closely. Natasha decided to stay in the office with the baby to give them some alone time.
They headed into a dining room that had a long table, just ready for people to occupy it. Adrik sat down, and Anton decided to stand, being close by to Adrik. Another man joined them and he sat his laptop down on the table just before sitting down. Vincent walked over to him with a proud look in his eye.
"This is Fernando," Vincent introduced. "He's the one I put in charge of finding at and everything about Camilia."
Adrik eyed the geeky boy as he typed away on his laptop.
"Camilia Marina Santos..." Fernando began. "She's been a ghost since her death certificate back in early 2000's. No one knows she's still alive except, well, us. She strictly goes by Camilia and took over her husband's estate after he died in a car accident in 2010. Ever since then, her business has been aimed primarily at human trafficking, as they decreased in sales of narcotics. Her net worth is only estimated at two million while her estate is five million. She has close connections with one of Vincent's men who has been working undercover to get more information. As of now, her location is unknown, but I do have a few addresses of where she might be. I'll send you the list as well as the guy Mister Santos has working for her."
Adrik nodded his head. Human trafficking stuck him like a knife in the chest. Maybe Vincent was wrong... maybe she had no plans on killing her, just selling her. She would be sold as Adrik's woman—going for hundreds of millions.
It was bad. Really bad.
"I need the locations now," Adrik stated.
"Prepare the vehicle," Adrik ordered Anton. He slipped on his pair of sunglasses that were hiding away in his pocket. Adrik hurriedly stood up as Anton began to walk out of the room to get the car seat and set everything up.
"I want you to go with me. I do not one-hundred percent believe you. Therefore, I can not one-hundred-percent trust you. If you are setting me up, I want you with me," Adrik stated.
Vincent glared at him.
"One thing I don't play about is my sister. I love her," he said.
Adrik rolled his eyes. Instead of saying anything, he walked out.
"Send me that list Fernando," Vincent ordered as he followed behind Adrik.
-
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