Lost
1702 Words
HIM
An uncomfortable silence hung in the car as it sped forward. The driver and the guard in front were visibly tense, though that wasn’t unusual. They’d messed up, and messing up when Cassian Vale gave you an order was a death wish.
“B-boss… how did you find her?” Leonid, seated in the passenger seat, asked.
Cassian looked up at him, his face calm but firm, not a flicker of emotion in sight. “What’s that question going to do for you now?” His irritation was clear. They’d just proven how useless they were.
“Capo, I just want to talk about it. After you told us to find her, we went to work immediately–”
“But you still couldn’t find her.”
Leonid tensed but pushed on. “You got to her before we did.”
A muscle ticked in Cassian’s jaw. “You got here this morning because I told you to come.”
Danill, the driver, spoke this time. “Yes, Capo. But I swear we were on it. Right from the reception.”
Cassian ignored him and leaned back into the black leather seat, his hands intertwined in front of him, muscles flexing faintly.
Leonid refused to drop it. “We just had to speak with the clean-up crew to ensure–”
“Drop it, Leonid. I don’t know what you think you’re doing with that explanation, but it’s not doing shit.”
“I’m just pissed that we let you down.”
“No one can let me down, Leonid. You let yourselves down. And you know it.” Cassian stretched his hands before intertwining them again. “You don’t have to rush to explain your incompetence. We’re going to talk about it very soon. I never forgot. Now, I have more important things to deal with.”
Cassian watched Leonid swallow before turning back to the road. Danill was driving slower now, probably thinking about his fate.
“I didn’t ask you to slow down, Danill,” Cassian said in a cold, terrifying tone. That was all it took. Danill sped up like a madman.
Moments later, Cassian's phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and picked it up immediately. “Cassian Vale.”
“Mr. Vale. It’s been a while.” A voice breathed from the other end.
“I’m sure you have a name. Who the f*ck is this?”
“Detective Edoardo. I have information.”
Cassian stroked his jaw. “Talk.”
“The dead Carabinieri has been replaced,” Edoardo announced.
Cassian waited, then snapped when nothing followed. “Is that the information?”
“Yes–”
“What am I supposed to do with it?”
“That’s vital information. It’s serious.”
“Look, Edoardo, I don’t have time for small talk. If you’re coming to me with something, tell me why I should give a f*ck. Otherwise, die with it.” Cassian’s icy tone rang through the car.
“You know the old Carabinieri was murdered.”
“I know. I ordered his murder.”
Edoardo sucked in a sharp breath. “I suspected it. Well, now he’s been replaced, and the new one is playing detective, snooping around sensitive files, reopening closed cases. Word’s out he thinks the death was unusual.”
“Let him snoop,” Cassian said nonchalantly, clearly uninterested.
“M-Mr. Vale? He’s double-checking everything. It doesn’t look like he’ll cooperate, even if Darius speaks to him. He… he wants to infiltrate–”
“You’re stuttering, Edoardo. You’re scared?” Cassian’s tone turned mocking. He was enjoying this.
Silence. Then, “F*ck it. Yes, I am. This is dangerous. The man hasn’t sat his ass down since he got into office.”
There it was. Fear. Cassian stroked his jaw again. “Still not seeing the problem. Let him f*ck around and find out. Darius will talk to him. He’ll say yes.”
“And if he says no?”
“Then you’ll be the first detective of your generation to witness the murder of two Carabinieri in less than a month.”
Edoardo’s voice tightened. “That will raise suspicion–”
“Now you’re overstepping. I should be the one worried about my actions, and I’m clearly not. So what’s your deal? Are you doing something you’re not supposed to be doing?”
“N-No, I swear I’m not. I’m just worried–”
“Worry about doing your job right. You know what happens when you don’t. As for the fool trying to play hero, watch how short his time in office becomes if he so much as blinks the wrong way. I’ll have this handled before tomorrow.” Cassian tapped his fingers against his leg. “Edoardo?”
“Y-Yes, M-Mr. Vale?”
“I’ll ask again. Are you doing something you’re not supposed to be doing?”
“No, I swear!”
Cassian tilted his chin up, unconvinced. “Very well. Get off my phone.”
The call ended immediately. Cassian slipped the phone back into his pocket.
Of course, he already knew the new Carabinieri had been snooping through hidden files, digging where he shouldn’t.
He’d given him the benefit of the doubt. The rush of new power often made weak men feel invincible. But it was time to remind him where he stood. Either that, or he’d meet the same fate as Amatus. They’d worked together for years, until greed got the better of him. He’d tried to threaten Cassian.
Cassian almost laughed at the memory. No one threatened him and lived to see the next day. It simply didn’t happen. Danill took a familiar turn, snapping Cassian out of his thoughts.
They were close. Mara had called that morning and said there was an urgent meeting, something important. Cassian had planned to call one anyway. After all, he’d finally found the woman blowing up his warehouses like it was her birthright.
He’d seen her at the ball. The woman in that violent shade of red. That was what caught his attention first. Not that he cared to notice people. But she’d stared at him. Longer than anyone ever dared.
It had made him curious. She hadn’t belonged there. Cassian didn’t pay attention to faces, but he always knew when someone didn’t fit. Still, he hadn’t cared. Not until the guards reported that someone had ambushed Aliana Markesh. Then he knew it had to be her.
She’d left early, and she’d looked… different. Lost.
Even then, he dismissed her. Just another lowlife chasing a night among elites. She’d crossed Roman Markesh, not him. It was his problem, not Cassian’s. And so, he forgot her. Until the reception. He’d seen her again. No makeup this time. And the scar.
Cassian had seen scars before. Countless ones. But this one, and its position, its shape. It was just too familiar. No. He shut the thought down immediately. Whatever that memory was, it stayed buried.
Instead, he focused on what mattered. The scar matched the one belonging to the woman destroying his warehouses.
When he’d asked who she was, she dodged the question and fled. That had been enough. He’d sent his men after her, but this time, he went himself. He should have done that from the beginning. Instead, he’d trusted the incompetent fools. Never again.
Her audacity burned though. Blowing up his warehouses, attending his ball, showing her face at Ariana’s reception. It was a death wish. Still, he hadn’t killed her. Not yet. There was more to this. No way she got into that wedding without help. There were loose ends, and he'd find them. When he was done with her, regret would define her existence. And whoever dared to help her.
“We’re here,” Danill announced as the car passed through the gates and stopped in front of the mansion.
“We can see that. Don’t know why you announce it every time,” Leonid muttered.
Cassian ignored them and stepped out. Adrian was already dragging the girl from the car. He still didn’t know her name.
Darius approached him. “The elders are already seated,” he said.
Cassian nodded. “I figured.”
“They seem… rushed today. Benjamin texted. Said Naomi Sharrif and Rafael looked unusually cheerful. I think something’s wrong.”
Cassian narrowed his gaze. “Something is off. But it works in my favor. I was going to call a meeting anyway.”
“You think they’re up to something?”
“They always are. Whatever it is, I’ll deal with it.”
He started toward the building across the mansion. “Stop standing around. Bring the girl. Let’s get this over with.”
The guards at the door nodded in respect, murmuring greetings. Cassian merely tipped his chin.
Inside, he headed straight for the elevator leading to the meeting room. He hated that the elders used meetings as an excuse to step onto his property. But at least the room was in a separate building. He’d made sure of that.
Darius stepped in with the girl and Leonid followed. The doors slid shut. Cassian didn’t look at her, but he could feel it. Her gaze on him. “Where are you taking me?” she asked.
Darius groaned. “I already answered that.”
She ignored him. Focused on Cassian. “Where are you taking me?”
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Cassian stepped out without replying.
He walked straight ahead and pushed open the large door in front of him. Everyone inside stood immediately.
Mara exhaled sharply. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been waiting for hours.”
Cassian was about to respond when he felt something was off. The girl, still beside him, suddenly went rigid. And then she gasped.
He frowned and finally looked at her. Her hair clung to her skin as she broke into a sweat with her hands trembling as she stared toward the far corner of the room.
Cassian narrowed his eyes and followed her gaze.
A young woman was tied to a chair. Before he could assess the situation, the girl whispered, barely audible, “My sister?”
- Writer
