by Fariah Zaidi
That’s where Fitz’s face fell and he scratched his head, as if unable to come up with an answer.
“The money’s gone.”
“What?” Stefan and I asked at the same time.
“The money isn’t there.”
“What do you mean it isn’t there?” I asked, confusion coloring my voice, “Did you lose it?”
“How the fuck do you lose half a billion dollars?” Stefan inquired, his annoyance flaring up.
“We didn’t lose it.” Fitz said hurriedly “Allow me to explain.”
“You better.” Stefan replied curtly.
“Well, first off, since that much amount of money can’t be kept in the bank, majority of the it had been invested in real estate and several properties all across the US and Italy.” Fitz explained, “However, whatever documents there were related to it, are missing- of acquisition, purchase, investment and so on.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Stefan shook his head.
“How can it just go missing?” I asked in disbelief, “I mean, surely only specific people must have access to it.”
“They did.” Fitz emphasized, his voice becoming desperate, “And it is possible that one of them did it. We’re looking into it.”
I slumped back against the wall, trying to wrap my head around this latest information. My eyes wandered over to Stefan only to see him looking every bit as bewildered as me.
“Is it possible that Diego or Valentin might have something to do with it?” he turned to Fitz.
“They might.” Fitz shrugs his shoulders, “But we’re leaning more towards Diego since he was the last person to have access to it.”
“Well, there’s not much we can do right now then.” Stefan sighed, looking pissed, “Leave those papers here, Zara can sign them.”
That clearly signaled the end of this meeting as Fitz quickly rambled a few instructions and got up to leave, raising his hat in goodbye.
The silence between Stefan and I was deafening, now that we were left alone. It was quite clear that he wanted to say something with the way he began fidgeting and clearing his throat.
But I was in no mood to entertain him. So I gathered the papers from the coffee table and exited the room, slamming the door behind me.
Chapter 22: Chaos
Zara
That night at eleven, dressed in all black workout gear, I stood near the front door, the designated spot for meeting up with Enzo.
“Ready?”
I yelp and turn around, startled out if my wits.
Enzo raises his hands in surrender, though I can notice the laughter in his eyes. Like me, he too is dressed in all black, with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up.
The moment we step out the door, the chilling winter air slaps me in the face, making me shove my hands in my pocket.
“We’ll do a round of the entire estate, and then we’ll start with the basic work out.” he puffs out as we begin jogging down the drive, “You need to build up your strength and stamina before I start training you.”
I nod attentively, simultaneously trying to keep up with his long strides.
“I hope you know what you signed up for.” he says, glancing down at me, “Just because you had a thing with Stefan does not mean I’ll go easy on you.”
“This had nothing to do with Stefan and I would prefer if you don’t bring him up in our further conversations.” I replied, my tone harder than intended.
Enzo’s eyebrows shot up but thankfully he didn’t utter a word.
“I came to you because I knew you won’t treat this as some sort of whim.” I explained, “I genuinely need to learn how to fight. Like serious damage doing stuff. The next time I come face to face with Valentin or any of his goons, I don’t want to just kick them in the balls and run, but I want to chop of their dicks and shove them down their throats and preferably break some of their bones.”
I took a deep breath after finishing my spiel.
“Wow,” Enzo muttered, “that was quite the speech.”
His comment was so sudden and unexpected that I laughed, shoving him lightly in the arm.
“Alright, let’s get on with the run, shall we?” he clapped his hand, picking up his pace.
We were silent for a while as we made our way down the trail. I was thankful that I hadn’t lost much of my stamina and I could almost keep up with Enzo’s pace. Our path was lit by lamps as we jogged through the deserted estate. Other than the sound of our feet slapping against the cement, we could only hear the crickets chirping and the occasional hoot or bark far away.
“Can I ask you something?” I broke the silence after a while.
He simply nodded, leading me back towards the house.
“Why did you agree to train me?”
He pondered over the questions for a few moments, as if wondering whether to tell me the truth or not.
“I guess I just see a lot of myself in you.” he finally answered.
“That doesn’t help me Enzo.” I rolled my eyes, “You’re an over six feet tall man, too muscular and too broody. Whereas as I am a sarcastic, twenty one year old with gorgeous long hair.”
That’s when he broke into a smile. And I couldn’t help but admire how good-looking he actually was.
“What I meant was,” he went on, “that I too lost my parents in a very gruesome way. There were times when I wanted to slit my wrist and just be over with it. But there was always some part of me that refused to back down. I’ve managed to live on my own since I was fifteen. I learned how to overcome my monsters. And that is just what I see in you.”
We had stopped running and were standing under one of the lamps lighting the trail. He had a small smile on his face as he looked at me and talked.
“I see this strong, ardent spirit who stood up in the face of a life-altering event, determined to fight for herself.” his voice had lowered considerably, full of awe and warmth.
“Thank you, Enzo.” I whispered. I was genuinely grateful to him for this, as it was something I really needed to hear.
“Now,” he claps his hands, “let’s talk about your diet plan.”
“What?” I panicked a little.
“Your diet.” he enunciated, “Since you will be training for about a couple hours every day, you need to build up your strength. And that means you’re no longer allowed to eat all that junk I saw you taking up to your room a few days ago.”
“Hey!” I whined, indignation seeping in my tone, “I was on my period. And I was heartbroken.”
“You ate an entire tub of ice-cream.” he deadpanned, folding his arms across his chest, “And that too was Vincent’s. I had to drive him to the grocery store at midnight because apparently, he had a craving.”
The laughter that bubbled out of my throat was sudden and loud until I was bent on my knees, trying to catch my breath.
The way he rolled his eyes at the memory made it quite clear that incidents similar to these had happened a lot of times. But the small smile on his face told me that he did not mind it one bit.
“Let’s get to the gym.” he huffed, coming to a stop near the back of the house.
I followed him as he made his way through the French doors and walked down a narrow hallway on the right, entering a room and switching on the lights. My eyes wandered around the gym, taking in the various equipments lined against the walls. Four large mattresses had been placed in the middle and boxing bags hung from the high ceilings.
Our footsteps echoed in the silence as we made our way to the middle of the room. Enzo took off his hoodie and I noticed the black tee he was wearing underneath, stretching across his broad shoulders. My eyes were immediately drawn to his muscular arms but I averted them, instead busying myself with my own jacket.
Over the next hour and a half, I concentrated all my energy into performing push-ups and crunches and simultaneously listening to Enzo rattle off a list of do’s and don’ts, what and what not to eat. He was also pleased to find out that I remembered much of my self-defense trai
ning.
By the time we were done, I was laying spread eagle on the floor, covered in sweat and a slight sense of pride. Even though every muscle in my body was sore, I felt immensely satisfied.
Until Enzo went ahead and opened his mouth.
“Starting tomorrow, two hours of training and limited carbs.”
I don’t like this man.
As the week passed I fell into a routine.
During the way, I had begun improving my cooking skills by trying out a different recipe for lunch every day, giving Mama Bella a much needed break. And at night, I would meet Enzo to continue my training.
I was channeling whatever mixed feelings that I had towards Stefan into punching the boxing bag as hard as I could. Whenever we crossed paths, I would walk past him even though all I wanted was to reach out and hug him to me.
I just couldn’t get over him. My heart still raced every time our eyes would meet, and every time I closed them, I would imagine his touch, his lips on mine, and his soft whispers in my ear.
It was Saturday evening, and I had just left the bathroom after taking a shower when I saw Ria standing beside my bed and a bunch of clothes laid out before her.
“What’s going on?” I ask, weaving my hand through my wet hair.
“Good, you’re here.” she grins, “Get dressed, we’re going out for dinner.”
“I don’t think I’m allowed to leave this house.” I offered, watching her sift through the clothes.
“I know, I know. Valentin drama.” she rolls her eyes, “But Rafael and Vincent are coming with us. And we’ll have extra bodyguards.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, skeptic about the idea.
“Yes, I’m sure.” she replies, holding up a red dress, “Besides, it will take your mind off of your break-up with Stefan.”
“It wasn’t a break up.” I sigh audibly.
“And why is that?”
“Because we weren’t together in the first place.” I shrugged, discarding the towel in my hand.
“Don’t bullshit me, Zara.” she rolls her eyes, “With the way you two looked at each, your feelings were quite clear.”
“Mine were.” I pursed my lips, “And I thought the same was with him too until he went ahead and called me a whore.”
Ria gasped audibly and her eyebrows rose, paving way for shock and disbelief.
And as much as I wanted to spill my guts to over what happened and lighten the burden of my heart, I decided that a night out would actually do me good.
So I waved off any questions from Ria and picked up a black dress from the pile, heading into my closet to change. Still a little uncertain about this trip, I slipped my knife in the inside pocket of my black leather jacket.
About half an hour later the two of us walked down the stairs and headed towards the car waiting for us outside. Rafael was driving, so I settled into the passenger seat allowing Ria to sit next to Vincent in the back.
Initially it felt like a forced double date. But as the time passed, we fell into a comfortable conversation, talking and joking about various things.
We went to this fancy restaurant named Yvette’s. Our laughter had become so loud during the dinner that at one point the waiter had politely asked to pipe down as were disturbing our neighboring diners.
This was the first time I’d been out of the house in a long while. And it felt amazing.
I walked out of the bathroom stall and towards the sink to wash my hands. Behind me, Ria emerged, adjusting her dress and coming to stand beside me.
Just as we opened the door to leave, the lights went out.
Pitch black darkness descended inside the bathroom, making it impossible to see anything. From the outside, I could hear the disgruntled murmuring of the guests.
“Ria?” I called out, extending my arms around myself.
Panic seized me when I got no reply, only the sound of feet shuffling across the marble floor.
“Ria? I yelled, “Ria, answer me!”
Dread seeped into my stomach at an alarming rate as I stumbled forward, my hands coming in contact with the wall.
It was then that a huge hand wrapped around my arm and another slapped across my mouth. Panic gripped my heart and I thrashed hard, trying to get out of the strong grasp.
I tried to scream but to no avail. My words came out muffled and incoherent.
In the next few moments, fighting back was pointless. My attacker was probably thrice my size judging by his strength. In the same darkness, he stuffed a cloth in my mouth and then proceeded to tie both my hands behind my back. He was merciless with the way he tightened the ropes, the restrains digging into my flesh.
I struggled again and when he’d had enough, he backhanded me across the cheek. The slap was hard and my face twisted towards the right. I cried out in pain, but it was of no use. He then proceeded to pick me up and throw me over his shoulder.
I didn’t know where he was taking me and I didn’t have any idea where Ria was.
Blood rushed to my head as the man carried me through doors and I could hear multiple footsteps around me, whispering and giving directions to hurry up.
When I finally saw light, I realized we were in some alley. A couple of large men were following us in hurried steps.
And then I was being lowered, or more specifically, thrown into a car. The cramped leather seats came in contact with my body and the door was shut behind me. Two of the men got in front, slamming the doors shut as the engine roared to life and the car jerked forward.
My mind resorted to the worst things that could happen. But my foremost thought was Ria.
Where did they take her? Was she okay?
Did Rafael and Vincent even know what was happening? Where were they?
Millions of thoughts whirled inside my panicked mind as I lay there helplessly. Tears were now freely flowing down my cheeks and I curled up on the seat, waiting to arrive wherever the hell they were taking us.
It felt like an eternity later when the car came to a stop.
The guy in the driver’s seat promptly jumped out and opened the door. He reached in and wrapped his fingers around mine in a painful grip, dragging me out of the car. I stumbled and fell and my knees harshly came in contact with the gravel.
But when I looked up, I almost cried out in relief when I saw another man pulling Ria out of the car.
I wanted to reach out to her.
But then I froze as the cold, metal barrel of a gun pressed against my temple.
A man emerged from one of the cars, walking over to stand by Ria’s side. He took out his own gun and pressed it against her head. She whimpered in fear, closing her eyes against her tears.
The man looked me over, a sinister smirk rising on his face.
“Move, and I blow her goddamn brains out.”
To be continued…