Chapter 116

Luca’s POV

“But, do you believe him?”, Marabella asked with skepticism. “Weirdly”, I nodded. “So you are telling me, that he thought I was living a great life all those years? Because his men were lying to him?”, she muttered. I sighed, “Yes. We can use that to our advantage though. Get him to tell us where they are so that we can serve the justice that is due”, I said, taking her hand in mine.

“Why didn’t he ever come check on me himself?”, she asked. “That’s a good question. One that you could ask him”, I told her, giving her that look. She scrunched her eyebrows together in concentration. “What exactly do I need to do?”, she asked. “I assume, sit there and listen to him”, I answered her.

Marabella looked around the living room and sighed. “Okay, fine. I will talk to him”, she muttered, as if she was defeated. “Marabella, this isn’t about getting you to forgive him. You know that, right?”, I questioned, tilting my head to the side. Mara nodded her head, “I know”, she murmured. She stood from the seat and gestured towards the front door. “Let’s do this then, huh?”, she said.

I nodded in agreement and walked up to her. I cupped her cheeks and softly kissed her on the lips. “I love you, piccola”, I whispered. “I love you too, daddy”, she uttered under her breath. I led her out to the car, opening the door for her to get in. The ride was silent as she built up her courage.

I held her hand, trying to give her the silent strength that she was desperately craving. Our soldatos bowed in respect as we walked through them towards the basement. Please visit * .net and search the book title to read the entire book for free. Marabella’s grip on my hand tightened as we got closer to her father’s cell. We stopped short of the door, looking in. Marabella did not seem fazed by the condition of her father. If anything, she seemed relieved, as if he was now too weak to hurt her.

A low maniacal laugh started from Franky’s chest. “I did not think you would come, daughter”, he croaked, his voice tight from dehydration. Marabella stood silently and void of emotion next to me. “All the time that has been stolen from us, my child”, he uttered, playing the victim’s card. Oh, that’s not going to go over well with her.

“You were literally the one who stole it”, Mara said flatly. I tried to fight a grin from forming on my face. She always knows how to snap back. “You are right. But we can make up for it now”, he said softly. Damn, I almost believe that. But, why is he acting like that now? He was being sincere earlier, but now he is acting. Why?

Marabella went to step forward and speak, but I stopped her. “Why are you being insincere?”, I questioned him. “What ever do you mean?”, he said airly. “Earlier when we spoke, you were being sincere with me. Now you are not. I was actually able to convince your daughter to come and speak with you. And this is how you treat her? With fake care, and concern?”, I snapped.

Franky’s jaw clenched. “And how did you get her to come speak with me?”, he sneered, his nose flaring with emotion. “I told her the truth Franky”, I growled. Franky straightened his shoulders. “And you really came here because of it?”, he asked curiously, looking over my shoulder at Mara. Marabella stepped around me and up to the cell bars. She placed her hands on the bars and took a deep breath.

“Yes, because I have a heart, unlike you”, she answered with a sigh. Franky frowned as he looked down at the ground. You could see the guilt and shame wash over him as he was faced with his daughter. “I apologize for the hell I have put you through. I did not know of the conditions in which you were truly living. I’m sorry I can’t go back to fix it either”, he told her. His apology hit my chest hard. It was a true apology. One so intense, that I reached out and touched Mara’s side.

“If that is true. And you want to fix it somehow, you will tell me where your compound is, and how many men you have in total”, Mara said firmly. Franky nodded, “My compound is located off of Roser Ave. Before you and your husband’s missile party, I had a total of two hundred and fifty men”, he answered. I squeezed Marabella’s hip, trying to relay that it felt like he was telling the truth.

“Are there any surprises about your compound that I should know about?”, she asked. Smart girl. Franky seemed to thoroughly think through any possible surprises. He shook his head. “None that I can think of. Other than the fact that they probably know who you are. And the possibility that they don’t like you, obviously, based off of them lying to me. What are you going to do?”, he asked, trying to pry.

“You haven’t earned that knowledge yet”, Marabella said, turning her head to look at me. Her eyes say, ‘what am I missing?’. I shook my head, nothing I could think of, other than the question in the room. However, she doesn’t seem to be in much of a mood to ask him a question of such nature, so I won’t push her. She came here and got us all the information that she did. “What’s the physical address of your compound?”, Marabella asked, turning around to face him once again.

“8949 Roser Ave.”, he answered. “Thank you for your cooperation”, Marabella nodded, before she turned and faced me, letting me know she was ready to go. “Wait, that’s it?” he asked. “That’s all I get?”, he seemed touchy. “I am not sure what you want me to say”, Mara sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she half-turned towards him. Keeping her self level between us.

“Do you accept my apology?”, he asked, sounding broken. “I can’t answer that yet. I need time to think things over. And even if I do. You would literally have to change. Like a complete 180 from what you are now. Do you think you are even capable of that?”, Marabella snapped.

Opp she’s reached her limit. Franky sat silently staring at her. “Do I even have that kind of time?”, he whispered. “That all depends on you”, Marabella answered, fully facing me and nodding. I took the queue and grabbed her hand. We walked out of the dungeon, our heads held high.

I felt a slight relief at the surrounding situation. I am not sure Mara’s feelings at the moment. Cal and Sergio followed us out of the basement and to my office. It was critical that a meeting was held immediately with our newly found information. I sat at my desk, as I gestured for Cal to close the door. I pulled Marabella into my lap and wrapped my arm around her waist.

“What’s the news, brother?”, Sergio asked, sitting across from me. Cal took the seat next to him. “We have an address. Now we need to approximate how many men are left. Franky said he had a total of two hundred and fifty men, before we took a bunch out”, I explained. “Wow, he had followers, huh?”, Cal uttered. “Exactly, which is why we need to take our last steps very carefully”, I agreed.

“We can have Trey use thermal imaging on the building. It will give us a better idea of the number of men. And the layout of the building”, Marabella suggested quietly. “Genius, sorella”, Sergio said. “I agree. That is a genius idea. We can better formulate a plan of attack, before moving in”, I concurred.

“Cal, I want you to gather the soldatos, prepare them for battle. Sergio, I want you to go see Trey. Find out what we are dealing with. The address is 8949 Roser Ave”, I said, disbursing jobs. “What about me?”, Marabella asked. “You and I have a little something to do before we gather for a game plan”, I smirked.