In the Shadows of the Mafia Queen

Chapter 4: Danger Looms

Emily entered the office, and the familiar sounds of humans and machines filled her ears. Her eyes scanned the space, and she noticed that Sarah was sitting at her desk, typing away on her computer, while Julia was at the mini conference room, talking on the phone.

To say the unexpected encounter with Salvatore Rossi at the industry meeting had left her disturbed was an understatement. She was deeply shaken, and still on edge as she stood right there in her office. She knew she had to be careful in every bit of her movements within and outside her workplace because she did not want to draw the mafia attention to herself or Alexander.

"Good morning, Emily!" Sarah greeted her with a wide smile.

"Good morning, Sarah," Emily replied, taking off her coat and hanging it on the rack. "How was everything while I was gone?"

"All has been well," Sarah said. "I handled everything as you instructed. We have a new client interested in our services, and I’ve scheduled a meeting with them for next week."

"Excellent work, Sarah," Emily said, impressed with her co-worker's diligence. "Thanks a lot. And that reminds me of the financial reports I asked of Julia. She was to analyze those so we can identify recurrent trends to best inform our marketing decisions for the next couple of weeks and tendered them to you on completion so you could look into them for me as well."

Sarah shook her head. “Sorry, I haven’t heard a word of that from her.”

“Oh, goodness, not again!” Emily sighed. “I hope she is alright – I mean Julia?”

Sarah shrugged. “I’m not sure,” she replied. "She's been in a mood lately. I don't know what's been bothering her, but she's been giving me the cold shoulder lately.”

Emily frowned, concerned. "I'll talk to her and see if I can help. Maybe there's something going on in her personal life that she's not comfortable sharing."

“Most likely,” Sarah said as she resumed her work.

"Hi, Julia," Emily greeted as she entered the conference room. "How's everything going?"

Julia looked up from her phone and gave Emily a brief nod. "Fine."

Emily was used to Julia’s curt responses though she still wasn’t sure what to make of it. She’d seen Juilia in warm and heart-to-heart conversations with other colleagues, so concluding her curt responses to her was her style of conversation was far from the truth.

"Is everything alright?” she asked, warmly. “You seem a little distant."

“I said I’m fine!” Her retort came out almost as a scream.

“Oh well, that’s great,” Emily said maintaining her calm. It was obvious Julia did not want an intrusion in whatever she was going through. She decided to state her mission and leave her to herself.

“You know, I’ve been worried about the financial report I asked you help get for us,” she said trying to be cautious. She understood how irritable unwanted intrusion could be especially when one wasn’t in the right mood for an audience. “Sarah informed me you haven’t given them to her yet.”

Julia sighed and put down her phone. "I'm sorry, Ms. Parker. It's just been a stressful time for me. My sister's going through a divorce, and I'm helping her out with her kids in my free time. It's been taking up a lot of my time and energy, and things tend to skip my mind."

Emily nodded, sympathetic. "I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Julia shook her head. "No, it's fine, I'll manage. As for the reports, let someone else help with the analyses please. I’ll send in the data once I’m back on seat."

“That’s alright. I’ll handle the analyses myself…”

She was interrupted by the sound of her phone as it rang. It was Alexander calling. He hadn’t yet arrived for the day last she checked.

"Hey, Alexander," Emily answered, trying to sound casual. She thought she saw a frown on Julia’s face, so she paced to the window.

"Hey, Em. How's everything going?" Alexander asked, his voice filled with warmth.

"Good," Emily said, forcing a smile, and thankful that she could think a bit clearly without the fear of Alex peeping into her mind. “Just catching up on work."

Alexander chuckled. "Don't work too hard, Em. I want you to have some time to yourself."

Emily couldn't help but feel a little guilty. She knew she was keeping things from Alexander, but she didn't want to involve him in her mess. "I've had enough time for myself the last couple of days. Thanks to you."

Alexander chuckled again. "Yeah, and I'm sorry about that mood you went into that time. I hope you are a lot better now.”

Emily did all she could to suppress the guilt that was bubbling within her. She had been unfair by withholding such a magnitude of information, but then, that was for the good of them both. "I’m all good, Alexander. Thank you. It was a rough shock to chance upon him, that's all."

"I know. By the way, I will not be on seat today,” he said in a rushed tone, making Emily believe he was somewhere outdoor. “Perhaps we can catch up by evening at my home. Take care of you.”

“You too, Alex. Thank you.” She’d gotten used to Alexander Grey’s style of making a request. No waiting for her opinion, no room for arguments. His requests mostly came as statements. Another sleepover at his place probably.

She was heading back to her office when Julia’s voice stopped her.

“You know, Ms. Parker,” Julia said as she stood up and walked towards her. “Your handsome beau, Mister Marcus, your ex, came here to see you. Unfortunately, you were away.” Her voice was unusually calm with obvious hints of ridicule. “And now that you’re back to base,” she continued, “I think opening up to Mr. Grey about him, about your entire past, I mean them Rossi bunch and all of them mafia gang will do your relationship a lot of good. How about it?” She had now leveled up with her, staring at her dryly before walking past her to her own office.

Emily was transfixed in shock. She wasn’t sure where that came from. It was as though the very floor she stood was swept off from beneath her feet. She grappled for support.

“Ouch! What’s going on?” she gasped.

***

Emily was at her apartment, trying to relax after a long day at work when she heard a knock on the door. She wasn't expecting anyone, so she approached the door cautiously. Through the peephole, she saw a large, intimidating man in a suit standing on the other side.

"Who is it?" Emily asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"It's a friend of Lorenzo Rossi," the man replied in a deep, menacing voice. "She wants to see you."

Emily's heart raced as she realized the gravity of the situation. Lorenzo Rossi was a powerful and feared mafia queen, and getting involved with her had put her through untold dangers, some of which she barely escaped with her life. She had hoped that her past would stay buried, but now it seemed that everything was catching up to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emily said, trying to sound confident. "I don't have any connection to Lorenzo Rossi."

The man's expression hardened. "Don't lie to me, sweetheart. It’s the Rossi family you’re dealing with, you can’t pretend not to know us. Now, are you going to come with me, or do I have to make you?"

Emily knew she was in a dangerous situation. She couldn't risk putting herself or anyone else in danger by resisting. “Give me some minutes,” she said, her voice shaking and uncertain as a sense of dread enveloped her.

A thought came to her. She had to act fast and smart. She couldn’t be sure of the outcome of the meeting with Lorenzo, so she decided to leave some cues of her movement and whereabout. She sent a two-word SMS to Alexander, and set up her surveillance camera facing the terrace before following the man out.

***

Alexander drove to Emily’s apartment and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He called her name, but still no response.

He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong following Emily’s strange message to him. She’d been absent from work for two straight days, and all efforts to reach her on her work phone proved futile. When he finally reached her on her personal phone, she’d told him that the message was a mistake and he should disregard it, and then the phone went dead. But Alex knew Emily well enough to know that something wasn't right.

He was about to give up when he decided to try the back door. He knocked, then turned the knob and it surprisingly gave way. He pushed the door carefully open and stepped inside, calling out Emily's name. When it became clear that the house was empty of any human being aside himself, he began to search around carefully.

As he walked through the apartment, he noticed that something was off. There were fresh vegetables on the kitchen counter, some of which were rotting. She was probably about to make dinner when she left them off, he thought. Some of the curtains in the parlor were open and there was a sachet of snacks and beverage on the living room table. He left the parlor, and made his way to Emily's bedroom and found her camera set up on a tripod, facing the terrace.

"What the hell is going on?" Alex muttered to himself as he pressed play on the camera. The immediate footage showed Emily walking out of her apartment building, and getting into a car with a strange man who zoomed away.

Alex's heart raced as he watched the video. Who could that be? He knew he had to find Emily as soon as possible. He replayed the footage, searching for cues about the man. Finally, he noticed a logo on his shirt which he recognized as belonging to a local strip club.

"Of course," Alex muttered to himself, shaking his head. "Why am I not surprised?"

Alexander was still watching a replay of the footage from the camera when he sensed someone behind him. He froze. Then slowly, carefully, he turned and there was the last person he expected to see at that very moment, staring at him.