Vengeance Unbound

Chapter 7: PRE TENCE

Vinco’s POV

“Where is he?!”

“Where the hell is he?!”

The room was a mess. Things had been smashed, thrown, and broken across the floor.

“I said, where is he?!” I yelled as I barged into the room.

“Si-sir… I don’t know. He’s not here, sir.”

“Then where is he?” I snapped. “Go and fetch him. Now!”

“Looking for me, brother?”

I turned around.

Fernando walked in slowly, a bowl of cashew nuts in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. He stopped in the middle of the room, staring at me with a villainous smile plastered across his face.

“You.”

I walked towards him.

“Now what the f**k was that, Nando? Didn’t I tell you not to do anything stupid?”

“Relax, brother. I just…” He shrugged. “Can’t I have a little fun?”

“Fun?” I repeated, my voice rising. “So fooling around and acting like an i***t is your idea of fun? Do you even know what you just did?”

“What I did?” he asked, sitting down and taking a sip of his wine. “Or what you did? Last time I checked, the boys carried out that little act according to your command, not mine.”

I stared at him.

“I see.”

My jaw tightened.

“So that’s how it is? That’s how you want to play this?”

I turned to walk away.

“Game on, Vin,” Fernando called after me with a scoff. “Game on.”

“i***t,” I muttered.

I turned to my men. “Let’s go.”

*********

We drove back to the mansion, and I was still furious.

Fernando had managed to make an already complicated situation even worse.

“Sir,” one of my men said from the front seat. “Paolo left a message for you.”

“What is it?” I asked irritably.

He brought out his phone and showed me the message.

I stared at the screen.

“What the f**k is this supposed to mean?”

I muttered under my breath as we entered the mansion, still annoyed by everything that had happened.

Roberta approached me with an envelope.

“And what is this?”

“For you, sir,” she replied, handing it to me. “It’s from Mr Alberto Antonov.”

I frowned.

“What? From my dad? What does he want this time?”

I was too pissed to open it. I shoved the envelope into my pocket and continued up the stairs with my men.

When I entered my room, I furiously pulled off my tie and tossed it across the room before dropping into the chair behind my desk.

“What do we do now?” one of my men asked.

I sighed.

“Call Paolo. Now.”

As Paolo’s number was dialled, I heard something.

A faint sound.

Almost like a whisper coming from the hallway.

“Who’s there?” I yelled.

I jumped out of my chair and walked towards the door.

When I opened it, I looked down the hallway.

Then I saw her.

“Oh,” I muttered to myself. “It’s the girl.”

I was surprised to see her standing after how terrible she had looked the night before.

I tried not to show that I cared.

Instead, I grabbed her by the shoulder.

The moment my hand touched her, I felt a strange jolt run through her body. She flinched like I had shocked her.

“And you are?” I asked, tightening my grip slightly.

She looked completely stunned.

Then she started mumbling.

“Alright,” I muttered to myself. “Time to act like the bad guy.”

I grabbed her by the neck.

“Who sent you?”

She struggled to breathe, trying to force words out.

“Who sent you?” I demanded again. “Answer me!”

Suddenly, a phone rang.

“Boss, a call for you,” one of my men said. “It’s Paolo.”

I sighed and tilted my head towards the direction of his voice.

I was already irritated enough by everything Fernando had done.

I dropped the girl roughly to the ground, took the phone, and answered the call.

While Paolo spoke, I heard faint sounds in the background.

It sounded like someone arguing. Or fighting.

I ignored it.

I was more focused on the information Paolo was giving me.

Then I heard it.

“I’m your freaking caregiver!”

I turned my head towards the voice.

The girl.

I stared at her for a second before turning my attention back to the call.

“Damn,” I muttered to myself. “I forgot I told Roberta to make her my caregiver and shit.”

When the call ended, I turned around.

She was already gone.

I sighed and went back into my room.

*********

“I promise you, it’s not what you think,” Fernando said over the phone. “I was probably high when I gave the order. I’m sorry, man. Just see it as one of my silly mistakes.”

“What?” I yelled. “A mistake?

“Debes de estar loco!” (You must be crazy)

“You had someone’s daughter passed out and you’re sitting here talking about mistakes? Are you stupid, Nando?”

“Yeah, I understand where you’re coming from,” he replied. “Trust me, it wasn’t my intention.”

“The f**k do you mean it wasn’t your intention?” I snapped. “Weren’t you the one bitching at me the other day when you came over? What’s with all this pretence? What are you, some kind of actor?”

“Motherfucker.”

I tossed the phone onto the bed.

I needed food.

I walked out of my room.

*******

“Why do we have four instead of six?” Roberta stood there, behind the window, looking at the people gathered around. “Am I missing something, or did I–”

“Bien, honcho,” I said.

Well done.

“Good evening, Sir Antonov,” Roberta said. “How was your day?”

“Hectic.”

I groaned and dropped onto the sofa in the living room.

For a moment, I sat there lost in my thoughts.

Then I suddenly remembered the envelope.

Right.

What the hell was in the envelope my father sent?

“Roberta,” I called.

“Yes, sir?”

“What’s for dinner?”

She hesitated.

“Uh… I’m not in charge of preparing your meals anymore, sir.”

I frowned.

“What do you mean? I pay you. You work for me. Are you throwing a tantrum now?”

Roberta inhaled deeply and sighed.

“Sir, it’s… it’s the new girl you brought here. She’s the one preparing your meals now. Just as you ordered.”

For some reason, irritation immediately rose inside me.

Maybe it was everything that had happened that day.

Maybe it was Fernando.

Maybe it was Paolo.

Maybe it was the damn envelope sitting in my pocket.

I didn't know.

But suddenly, I started yelling at Roberta.

“I’m sorry, sir. Please, hold on…”

She turned towards the stairs.

“Chioma!”

Her voice echoed through the mansion.

“Chioma!”

A moment later, the girl stepped out.

I stopped.

I stared at her for a second.

Then it hit me.

“Oh, shit.”