Bound To The Syndicate

Chapter 5: Dalia Vescari

ROMAN

I watched her rise to her feet, her fists clenched so tight they could have bored holes into her palms.

“I said, I do not want to marry you!” I heard her scream. The tears on her face had long stopped flowing.

I removed my glasses and settled my gaze on her. “Too bad, sweetheart, you don't get to decide that now.”

“You are insane! I will never marry a man like you!!!!” Dalia screamed.

The smile left my face.

I looked at her for a brief moment. She genuinely believed she could refuse my terms and walk away.

Interesting.

“Seize her!”

I turned before she could respond. Her screams and curses followed me, but I couldn't have cared less.

No one had ever challenged me the way she did.

I could pull the trigger and erase her like I had erased her father. At least, not yet. I would not let a single hair fall off her body until I found that chip.

Nicholas Marlowe had the chip, and he must have given her some clue. Until it was in my hands, no one was permitted to touch her without my approval. Her life wasn't mercy, it was unfinished business.

Cassian Bellini, my assistant, entered the car some minutes later. “She has been restrained.”

“Let's head to the company.” I finally said, adjusting my cufflink.

An hour later, we arrived at Vescari Holdings. I stepped out and walked past the car Dalia was kept in without sparing her a glance. I walked past tons of workers, everyone pausing their works to acknowledge my presence before settling in my office.

There was absolutely no need to rush in handling Dalia Marlowe. She was now within my territory and there was no escape route for her. She was now mine, and getting her to sign the marriage papers was a tip of the iceberg. That way, I can guarantee her safety till the chip had been found.

Since she landed in Valmere City, I had been watching her, monitoring her every move until she could no longer bear the debts Nicholas left behind. She was even more daring than I had assumed, but it would take nothing to crush her wings and make her bow.

Cassian walked in. “Boss, the meeting with The Capians begins in thirty minutes.”

“Cancel it.” I ordered.

Cassian's mouth fell open. “They are already in the country, and....”

“They can leave if they are not interested.”

Cassian nodded and handed me a tablet.

My fingers stopped tapping the table, my brow twitching at the sight before me.

“As you have ordered, they traced Linda to the bar, and she was meeting with a guy named Lewis Connor.” Cassian said.

After a long silence, I passed my verdict. “I want her back alive, and erase the boy.”

Cassian nodded and took the tablet.

“What's the report regarding the chip?” I asked, my jaw tightening before relaxing.

Cassian's voice went low. “The search has been fruitless, but we found something else. There are two different people after the chip, we were able to trace one of them and it led us to The Carvellis.”

My expression darkened.

The Carvellis?

The Carvellis is the Mafia clan that destroyed my master's clan and butchered him like he was a sacrificial lamb.

Why would they still want the chip?

It could only mean one thing, they were working for someone.

“Who sent them?” I asked.

“The research has been inconclusive, but there might be something else you might want to know.” Cassian responded, piquing my interest.

“What could that be?”

Cassian pulled up another file. I took the tablet, and it was Nicholas's financial record.

That bastard!

I clenched my jaw, holding back the urge to crush the tablet.

“Nicholas received regular transfers from an offshore account for several years. The payments stopped after his death.”

“Who owns the account?”

“We are still tracing it. The bank is registered outside Country M, and the ownership records lead to a shell company.”

Not from the country?

Could there be someone else behind Nicholas Marlowe?

Without taking my gaze off the tablet, I responded. “Find out who the Carvellis are taking orders from. Do whatever it takes to find the bank! I need to know where Nicholas acquired his wealth and why he had so much loan he couldn't pay back.”

Cassian bowed slightly and walked out.

I stared at the screen, my pulse hammering violently in my temples.

The timing was too precise to ignore. Someone had paid Nicholas for years, and the payments had stopped around the time he died. Now the Carvellis were searching for the same chip Nicholas had taken from Matteo, master.

When it was time to go home, I got into my car without a glance at the one holding Dalia Marlowe. At home, I took my seat on the couch, waiting for her to be brought in.

A minute later, she was brought in. She still had the strength to kick, struggling to break free, but that was an almost impossible wish. I was very certain I could sweep her off her feet with just one hand.

She was forced onto the chair, her eyes blazing with fury, ready to charge at me at any given chance. Unbothered, I signaled for the file and tossed it on the table, crossing my legs.

“What part of it don't you understand? I do not want to get married to you! Let me go!!” Dalia screamed.

“All you have to do is just sign it.” I found myself responding.

A dry, humorless chuckle escaped her lips. “I would rather eat cow dung!”

“It's no longer a request, it's now an order!” My voice pierced the silence, and I saw her tremble.

Cassian ripped off the rope around her wrists and shoved a pen into her hands, but she didn't move a muscle.

“Once you sign the papers, your debts will be cleared, and you will get back your house. All you have to do is sign the papers, and become my wife.” I spoke again, tapping my foot, anticipating her response.

Her eyes lit up for a second before she masked it with a frown. “Why do you want to marry me?”

I paused, squinting my eyes.

“It's the only way I can assure your safety.” I responded.

It was too early to press her about the chip.

“I don't need your protection!” She snapped.

“You will beg for it sooner.”

She gnashed her teeth as though ready to devour me.

After what felt like an eternity, she relaxed her shoulders and spoke. “I will only sign this on one condition.”

A condition?

Who dared to rewrite my terms?

Before I could respond, she added, “You will not interfere with my life! I have my life to build, and I won't build it on your influence. Once you agree, I will sign it. I have nothing left after all.”

She truly didn't know what she was signing. Once she signed, there was no turning back.

“Fine.”

She had no idea how little the promise cost me. I had no intention of choosing her career for her. I needed her to believe she could keep living as she pleased. As for the rest of her life, we would see.

I watched her sign the papers without reading them, slamming her hands on the table.

Now, she was no longer Dalia Marlowe, she was now Dalia Vescari!