Mafia Billionaire’s Forlorn Wife
Chapter 57

|5 Years Later|

The warm b***d oozes out of the man’s chest as I s***h the dagger out of his heart, letting it fall to the ground as I watch the b***d pouring through his white dress shirt, drenching his clothes completely while his eyes turn cold and lifeless, and all the b***d under his skin turns ashen and life escapes his body, probably afraid of the personification of death standing in front of him.

Me.

I am death.

The city of Paris bustles a little further away from my mansion where I have given into these demonic desires of mine for the fourth time this week.

This time the man in front of me was found troubling two teenage girls who were merrily on their way to the floral market.

It was all his fault for going after those kids.

And then gaining my attention when he started following after them.

That is when I had finally heard the last straw breaking as I had gulped down the coffee in my cup and after throwing a hundred euros at the table of the quaint little coffee shop that I was at, I followed after this man and when he was the most oblivious, I nabbed him and had brought him here.

And after six wonderful hours of feeding my demons off of his pain, suffering, and fear, I was finally able to satiate them and rid this world of another pathetic soul.

The door behind me opens with a creak and I hear the footsteps of none other than Vernon.

“Oh, for f**k’s sake! What did this one do now?” He drawls as I turn around to face him and he doesn’t even look surprised at my b***d covered appearance.

I meet Vernon’s gaze, “he was a predator. Going after teenage girls. I had to kill him.”

My voice comes out monotonous, exactly how lifeless and soulless that I feel on the inside but by this point, Vernon is habitual to it.

He stares at me for a few extra moments, like he always does after one of my episodes like this, and then sighs, “get a shower and get changed. You have a meeting with the Italians in about an hour. Don’t forget what you’ve come here for in your madness.” He says exasperatedly and I almost feel pity for the man, “meanwhile I’ll get this all cleaned up.”

Almost.

Shaking my head, I walk through the double doors that lead into the wing occupied by my bedroom suite as I get rid of my clothes on the way to the shower, letting them get strewn all over the ground in the process.

Turning the heat to the fullest, I step underneath the cascading water, not even flinching at the temperature, welcoming the pain like I always do as I close my eyes for a brief moment.

The sound of her laughter echoes through my ears as I watch her golden hair flowing behind her in luscious and long waves while she runs through meadow filled with wildflowers and grass glimmering in the same colour as her eyes.

I run after her but she always seems to dodge me as she giggles and laughs and screams my name in pure joy.

She’s wearing a beautiful lavender gown that falls freely from her waist and has drooping sleeves that accentuate her ethereal beauty to a point where just the sight of her clogs my throat with emotion.

And right when I am about to catch her, she disappears again.

Ivy.

My Ivy.

I open my eyes once again, realising that I am still standing under the hot shower and the rivulets of water are slowly washing away the patches of b***d marring my skin.

I am once again pulled out of the heavenly imagination and reminded about the harsh reality of who I am and what my life has been for the last five years.

Five years.

It has been five years since Arabella walked out of my life and no matter how much I try, I have never been able to find her.

And I know for a fact that I have looked everywhere for her. In every nook and cranny of this planet but even then, I have been unable to find her.

There was even a point when everyone around me started talking about how she’s probably gone, about how she never had an experience of the cruelties of our worlds and perhaps, after being out there alone for the first time, one of mine or her father’s enemies found her and took her away from me forever.

That was when I started going after all the enemies I know and checking them off the list.

I will neutralise every single threat in this world before it even gets the chance to be in close vicinity with my Arabella.

No matter where she is at the moment.

I know some day I will see her again.

But until then, I wish to ensure that she doesn’t find herself in trouble because of anyone who wakes up one day and decides to come after me.

Keeping the tears from falling, I get out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist as I use another one to dry my hair.

I’m meeting Dominico today.

The problem is, that five years ago everything went to hell.

Every single thing that I knew and loved was snatched away from me and I was left with nothing but pieces of a life I used to have.

Amelia’s plan with her father did come to fruition and within weeks of Arabella’s disappearance, the Clarks overtook all my legal businesses, leaving me bankrupt in front of the world when in reality, I had more money than the top 0.1% of the United States, combined.

They took over my businesses and to my surprise, James, f*****g James, tried to take advantage of the situation and made underhanded deals with Clark to gain control of half my companies.

All this while I still have his daughter in my captivity and no matter how much he tries to find her, I will never release Amelia to him.

For the last five years I have been keeping her alive, waiting desperately for the day when Arabella might come back and would want to get her revenge herself.

But until then, I have ensured that neither Amelia, nor Christopher have seen a moment that wasn’t filled with pain and suffering but no matter how many times I hear their screams, no matter how many times I get them healed up just to torture them again, nothing seems to lessen the pain of losing the woman I loved with all my heart.

Once I am dressed in my usual slacks and a dress shirt, I pull on my black blazer and put on the cologne that Arabella used to love so much.

Just the smell of it reminds me of her and of the way she would always hug me a little tighter because of it.

My heart clenches in realisation of the fact that it has been so long since I last hugged her.

All I can think about is the last time that I was in this city with her.

Over the last few years, I have come to Paris a number of times because of Bratva business, but every time that I am here, I reminisce the last time I was here with Arabella.

I wish I had acted kinder towards her back then, I wish I had used my time with her in this city to take her sight seeing, I wish I had gotten a portrait drawn of us beside Seine from one of the local artists setting shop there, I wish I had taken her shopping to all her favourite shops and I wish I had spent my time cherishing her, admiring her, and loving her.

Then perhaps…perhaps she would have still been by my side.

And there wouldn’t have been this gaping hole in my chest that never seems to stop bleeding.

“Yes, he had another episode today.” I hear Vernon’s voice before I see him as I enter the living area again. The same place where my mother had a long conversation with Arabella that day.

Oh, how I had hated her back then.

Never understanding that keeping up pretences in front of people she didn’t know was just her way of protecting herself.

As was proven from the video footage that Viktor had procured from Dominico’s home feeds.

I had been such a f*****g fool throughout the six months of my marriage.

I never understood the importance of what I had, and now, without her, I am absolutely nothing.

The only reason I am still the head of the Bratva is because I need my resources to ensure that all my enemies will face fates far worse than death so that they can never trouble her.

“You know how he is about these things, Niko. He doesn’t tolerate predators or perverts. You know if he’s in one of those moods and he spots someone with tendencies of harming children and women, he doesn’t stop. It’s his way of making sure that there will be one less monster for Arabella and his child to deal with until he’s able to find her again.”

“Vernon I swear to everything holy, if it is Nikolas you’re talking to, then you better hang the f**k up!” I growl at him, making my presence known, “I know his little f**k toy knows something about my wife but if neither of them can cooperate then they better not show me their faces either.”

Vernon’s eyes widen as he starts speaking into the phone in a rushed manner, “no, he did not say that, I’ll call you later.” And with that, he hangs up the call and gives me a look of disappointment.

“Did you have to call Leo that?” Vernon questions and I roll my eyes.

“He is exactly what I called him and you will know well to remember who you work for.” I state with my anger barely held at bay.

Every since I found out about Leo and Nikolas dating each other in secret, Nikolas has been a pain in my a*s about not letting me linger in Leo’s presence for longer than five seconds.

And every time that I look at Arabella’s so called best friend, I just get this extremely strong feeling in my chest that something is most definitely fishy with that man.

He knows something about Arabella’s whereabouts and he’s refused to tell me anything since the day she left.

And as if that wasn’t enough, the police one day I slightly lost my temper and patience and was about to strangle him…slightly…was also the last day I ever saw the last friend I had, Niko.

And to top it all off, Frida also stopped talking to me since then, saying how Arabella’s absence had made me a dangerous man for the ones around me.

But that wasn’t true.

Arabella’s absence had made me a dangerous man for everyone I consider a threat for my wife and kid.

I don’t even know if my child survived but until I find her, I am living in a euphoric world where everything is perfectly fine.

“You will ruin this whole world with your anger some day.” Vernon mutters under his breath and for a brief moment, I feel my heart hurting because of the exhausted lilt of his voice.

Vernon is the only one who has stayed by my side as my ledger grew deeper in red and I spilled more b***d than any human should in their life time.

No matter how violent I got, no matter how many dissociative episodes I suffered through, Vernon has stood by my side but it is in moments like these when along with gratitude for his presence comes the guilt and sadness over the fact that his life is also passing him by and he too should be spending these years relaxing and having new experiences rather than baby sitting me all because of some vow he made to my father in the moments that he passed away.

I still remember Vernon’s face when he told me about how my father was killed…

He had looked like he regretted not being able to save him, like he blamed himself for what happened—

|Flashback|

“How could this have happened?” I ask, my voice comes out shaking as I try my hardest to grasp the situation that is enough to cut off my airways.

My father.

The man who has stood behind me like a proud mountain, the man who taught me how to get through every obstacle in life, the man who stood by my side from the moment I took my first steps to the moment I made my first business deal and to the moment I made my first kill…how could he have left me?

Without warning, without prior knowledge…

He’s just gone.

It was three hours ago that I found out about my father’s death and leaving everything I was doing in Washington, I returned home to find out that his body has already been taken away, my mother has broken into hysterics and is currently sedated, and the entire mansion is crawling with Bratva men and women ensuring my safety.

Up until three hours ago I was just the CEO of my company. And now, I am the head of the Russian Bratva with nothing to show for this title.

They ate all looking up towards me, expecting me to get them through these tough times, but I have no idea how to do that.

I still can’t even accept the fact that my father is truly gone.

“They’re saying that it was a heart attack.” Vernon replies, and when I look up towards him, I find a haunted look on his face as he stares ahead into nothingness.

He looks like he is having a hard time adjusting to the reality of this situation.

Same as I am.

“But how is that possible, dad is the healthiest person I know.” I say before the ice cold realisation leaves me speechless, “was.” I amend.

Vernon squeezes his eyes shut for a moment as he takes in a deep breath and then shakes his head, “he was killed.”

Those words aren’t spoken too loud but they do manage to fall into my ears and my head snaps in his direction while my eyes widen as I stare at him, wondering whether or not I heard him right.

“What?” I utter out, unable to believe what he has just said.

“He was killed, Rhys. He didn’t die. Someone murdered him.” Vernon states as he meets my gaze with nothing but pure anger in his eyes which speaks louder about his regret than any words ever will.

My fists instantly clench in rage as I barely control myself from just lashing out at anyone at random, “who?” I hiss, “who could manage to kill such a man?”

My father never trusted anyone. He was a brilliant leader and had good sense of character. He knew what anyone’s motives were from miles away and that is the whole reason why he managed to run the Bratva with an iron fist for so many years.

How could anyone have gotten the opportunity to get so close to him as to kill him?

It just seems so f*****g impossible.

“It was Dominico Mancini. I’m certain of it. He’s the one who was last seen with your father and I am sure that he mixed something in your father’s drink to make his death look like an accident.”

And at that moment, I knew that I would do everything in my power to find Dominico and make him pay.

But first, I have to take control of the Bratva and keep my father’s legacy alive.

|End of Flashback|

And today, I am going to be meeting that man, to talk about uniting our resources into finding Arabella.

Ace is the one who has been working closely with me in search of her and now, suddenly Dominico has also started to show interest and I knew that I have to meet him and make sure for myself about what his ulterior motives are.

Because the Dominico Mancini that I know does not give two f***s about his daughter and for him to take so much interest in her search after years of not caring, it most definitely is something to be suspicious about.

And for once, even Ace was with me on this one and he too is willing to stop his father in case that Dominico tries to go after Arabella for his own gains.

It is only for her protection that I am now on the way to meeting the same man who killed my father and is the one person that I hate with my entire being.

The car comes to a halt in front of the restaurant that we’ve decided to meet. The whole place has been shut down to the rest of the world— it had been my suggestion to not have any civilians around in case I wish to kill Dominico after all.

That is mainly what I am here to do.

The moment I realise that his intentions and motives for finding his daughter are in any sense less than honourable, I am going to shoot him through the head.

Consequences be damned.

After Arabella’s disappearance, I stopped in my quest to destroy Dominico and in the last five years he has built up his business once again but even then, there is always something or the other stopping him from reaching his glory days again.

Over these years it is as though Dominico has grown more enemies, some even more anonymous and powerful than me and it is like karma herself is taking my revenge for me.

Dominico is still a force to be reckoned with for most, but for people like me, he’s nothing but a piece of lint stuck to an old and average coat— at the back of the closet, at that.

The Bratva has also faced some troubles with our dealings but not half as terribly as the Italians. It is like every single one of their enemies has banded together to destroy them.

“We’re here sir.” Jordan’s voice comes from the front and I blink away my thoughts as I take in a deep breath and turn to Vernon.

“Wait here till I get back. But the moment you think something is wrong, get Jordan to turn around, and leave at the first chance you get.” I warn him.

Vernon rolls his eyes, “just get your meeting done quickly.”

He’s always unhappy that I don’t let him join me in meetings like these because he wants to be there in case I need back up.

But I don’t have the heart to tell him that I literally do not care if I live or die the very next second. I was even glad that Nikolas stopped working as my Enforcer. His life is better off away from me.

Especially now that I have developed another hobby of putting myself in high risk situations.

The more time that I spend without Arabella, I realise my own mind and sanity walking further and further away from each other.

I’ve stopped feeling pain and at least in this year itself, I have realised and accepted that my life has no meaning without her.

But even then the only reason I am alive is in the hope that perhaps some day, just some day, I will get to see her again.

I step through the glass double doors and looking around at the empty chairs and tables, I finally spot Dominico sitting with Ace at one of the tables beside the window.

Two of his men are standing two feet away from him, both armed to their necks, whereas I walk into the restaurant all alone and with just my gun strapped to my side as protection.

I stopped taking back up to meetings after two years of Arabella’s disappearance.

I don’t exactly care for things like that anymore.

“Mikhailov.” Dominico greets in a condescending manner, raising his glass towards me as he continues sitting in his place. He has a conniving grin on his lips and my hand clenches with the urge to just grab a fork and ram it into his neck right this second.

Ace stands up from beside the bald old bastard and meets me halfway as we shake hands, “I found a new lead that describes someone of her appearance in Maine.” He tells me.

I shake my head, “there is no chance that she’s in the States, Ace. We both have taken precautions. She can’t go there without us finding out about it.”

“What if she managed to dodge our systems?”

I scoff, “she doesn’t know we’ve set up those systems in order to dodge them.”

And with that, I turn back to Dominico as Ace and I both sit down with him sitting in the middle seat while Dominico and I face each other.

“Tell me, why the sudden urge to find your daughter when you’ve let five years go to waste?” I question.

I watch the slimy bastard shrug, “it’s a mockery on me that everyone in the mafia world knows that I have let my daughter marry you and then have lost her now. It is affecting my standing in the businesses.”

I scoff at that, “as if your standing is any better as it is.” I mutter, reminding him of exactly what his situation has been in these last few years.

Dominico lets my words slide as he smirks, “why else do you think we’re meeting today?” He questions.

“What do you mean?” I question with furrowed brows.

“Lets make a deal.” He says leaning forward as Ace watches his father with a soft glare. It hasn’t evaded me that Ace dislikes Mancini in his heart but just doesn’t have the courage required to truly dethrone him.

“I’m not interested, but sure, say what you want and if it benefits me in some manner then I might help you out.” I say with a shrug.

Dominico smirks and I get a feeling that I have suddenly become the big fish he was trying to trap till now.

“I want you to go after those who are threatening me. I want you to destroy every single one of my enemies and anyone who is not letting me gain my standing in our circles again.” Dominico says before his smirk widens, “and in return, I will give you the exact location of your wife.”

That is when my heart shudders to a stop.

Hope. Pathetic hope oozes out of my cracks as I gulp, trying my best to not let my true emotions show on my face.

“What did you just say?” I utter out.

That is when Dominico smirks, “would you like to see what she looks like these days?” He asks in a manner that portrays just how much fun he is having with this situation.

“You’re lying.” I hiss, “I swear to god, Mancini, if you think this is the right thing to joke about in front of me—”

He chuckles as he procured his phone from his suit pocket and swiping a few times, he turns the screen to face me.

And that is the moment when the ground slips from beneath my feet.