The Mafia's Truce

TheDiary

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "A book? In Nadia's office?" He looked uncertain, but eventually nodded. "Okay, sure. See you later, Bella."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief as the doctor departed. She quickly grabbed the envelope and ran out with the diary tightly in her hand as well.

“My father never came back that night; I was alone with my mother's dead body staring at me," Bella read in her thoughts while sitting on a sofa in her sitting room.

She flipped to the next page of Nadia's diary and continued, “I had no one to turn to, no neighbors to hear my cries, no way to alert the police."

“I picked up the letter from the envelope and saw the scribbled words on it. You've been found."

Bella immediately got up from her sofa and ransacked her bag in search of the envelope. Finally, she found it; her fingers trembled as she unsealed it and pulled out the letter. The same words stared back at her: "You've been found.”

Bella's mind was filled with terror when she realized the implications. "Oh my God, they're going to kill her!" she exclaimed, her voice barely above a whisper.

She flipped to the next page when she came to peace with the fact that there was little she could do at that moment. Bella went deeper into the diary in search of how to save Nadia. As she read further, she discovered that Nadia's father, who had been absent for so long, returned the next day. He came to take Nadia away, to start a new life somewhere else, far from the dangers of his life.

Nadia asked her father a lot of questions. She was desperate to understand why she had to leave, but the father explained that she would be safe without him. The father narrated that there are things about his life that endangered her. Despite his attempts to explain, she held him accountable for her mother's tragic death. She felt he failed in his duty to protect them by abandoning them in a house without neighbors, a house far from prying eyes. The isolation that was meant to safeguard them left them vulnerable; no one heard her mother's screams.

As the years passed, Nadia discovered the truth about her father's past. He was a high-ranking member of a powerful mafia organization. He had secrets that could bring down his boss. Instead of being a loyal father, he sacrificed his family to protect the interests of his boss. Nadia's mother paid the price; her life was taken by the enemy of her father's boss, simply because they couldn't get to the boss himself.

Nadia's father chose his loyalty to the mafia over his own family; this revelation fueled Nadia's anger and hatred towards her father. She promised herself never to contact him again; she promised to live a happy life far away from him.

Bella searched for any mention of Nadia's father's full name or a clue to his whereabouts. But the diary remained stubbornly silent. Her frustration grew as she wondered why Nadia had left behind this trail, only to leave her with more questions than answers.

“She just wanted me to know that she was about to die. Why exactly did she suggest I find her diary?” She wondered.

Bella decided to start from the last page that had captured her attention and read slowly from there; there she saw, “My father is now the owner of Vale's Enterprises, a business owned by Mr. Derek Vale, his mafia godfather." She paused for a moment in shock. She exhaled. “Does that mean Nadia's father inherited everything from his godfather?” She wondered. “His loyalty must have paid out,” she said in a low tone. “At the expense of his family?” She wondered again.

She continued to read, she stormed at a bigger revelation: Years after Derek Vale's demise, Nadia's father rebranded the enterprise as Valtor's Enterprises. The realization dumbfounded her: "Nadia was the daughter of the billionaire Alexander Valtor." Her mind was filled with questions: "Is Alexander Valtor involved in criminal activities? Could a business man with such a vast empire possibly be hiding a dark secret?"

She knew she had to find a way to connect with Alexander Valtor and tell him about her daughter being held captive, but where exactly could she find him?

Valtor Enterprises had branches in New York City, New Orleans, and Chicago, as well as in so many other states in the United States of America and even in Russia and Italy. She resolved to contact Alexander Valtor directly, hoping to reach him at the main office in Chicago. She realized she didn't have the phone number. She quickly turned to her trusty ally, Google, and searched for the contact information.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she typed in the search query, and soon, she had the number. With a deep breath, she dialed the digits, her heart biting in anticipation as she waited for someone to answer at the other end of the line.

As soon as the phone connected, a cheerful but young feminine voice answered, "Hello!"

Bella was surprised to hear a feminine voice; she wondered who that was and hoped she was a link to Mr. Alexander. "Can I speak to Mr. Alexander Valtor, please?"

The young lady asked curiously, "Who is this?"

Bella's words came out in a rush: "They have Nadia Gilbert... I mean, Nadia Valtor. She's his daughter, and they're holding her captive!"

The line went silent for a moment, and Bella's anxiety increased. Had she overstepped? Would they even believe her? Was she even communicating with the right link?

But then the voice returned, measured and cautious: "Please hold for a moment, ma'am.”

Bella held on as her hopes of reaching Alexander Valtor returned.

Bella's eyes were fixed on her phone, awaiting a response, but then, the signal disappeared. She recalled the number, her fingers moving with a sense of urgency. Yet, the call refused to connect.