Betrayal

Chapter 15

Antonio's POV

In the past four years, Antonio has been busy trying to regain the trust that was destroyed when one of his people took an interrogation too far bringing them too much attention that they had to go underground. Everything was falling into place something that his father was very proud of. Even though things were going great for the Greco family, the guilt of having to sacrifice Iris still troubled him. He remembered how she decided to trust him when he promised to protect her and love her forever. He was not a man who went back on his word or broke a promise but it was either jail or his family. He had to pick his family, he could not disappoint his father, the man was his idol and he was not about to let what his father worked so hard to build just vanish because of one person who was unable to control his temper. He had to make a call. He convinced himself that his family came first.

"Son, we have a meeting with the Colombos at ten in the main boardroom", his father told him as he poured whiskey, sipping it slowly while looking at the amazing park that was facing their building. His father had moved on. Having a wife and doing charity works through the NGOs that he was running. It was the best way to launder money through the umbrella of grants and fundraising. They had doubled their wealth over the years thanks to Antonio and his businesses booming. "How long is this going to last son? Had I known you were this serious about her, I would have made different arrangements but we can not change the past. You need to move on", his father said finishing his whiskey and walking out of the office. Antonio did not see the need to reply because his father knew exactly what Iris meant to him but chose to make the decision for him, secure a way out for him and their men only. "Boss, I need to tell you something", Boris said walking into his office in a rush. He looked at his watch seeing that he still had a few minutes to spare. Besides he had sent Boris on a mission to see if they could expand their business to another region. What he had to say could be a deciding factor that he was waiting to hear. "I got a few minutes. Talk to me", he said getting comfortable in his chair. Boris looked worried about something that Antonio was not familiar with. "What is it?", he asked seriously. Boris released a breath, "I saw her at Joe's", he said with a trembling voice. "Who?", he asked not understanding who Boris was referring to. "I saw Iris at Joe's", he said looking at him. His heart skipped a beat, he could not sit anymore, he stood up and loosened his tie. "That's impossible", he said struggling between believing what Boris said and being happy that she is still alive. "I made sure Boss, I literally touched her hand, the shock I saw on her face can only mean that it was really her, she knew who I was. Antonio...she was there", he said matter of factly. Antonio was unable to think straight, he wanted news but he did not expect to hear news about the one woman that has been making him feel guilty for years. "Son. They're here", his father interfered before he could respond. "We'll talk about this later, get me proof", Antonio demanded walking out.

"Luca. I can't say it's a pleasure seeing you but here we are", Antonio said full of sarcasm making Luca smirk. "I see you're still sad about losing your toy", he replied earning a glare from his father. Their fathers decided to call a truce after the encounter that almost cost Iris's life and ever since then Antonio has avoided Luca like a plague. He held a grudge against him but couldn't act on it because of his father's commitment to the Colombos. Valentino agreed to not harm Luca as long as the Grecos get forty percent of what they were making in arms dealerships. It was a good deal because it was another source of income so why not. "Why are you here?", Antonio asked Colombo, ignoring his son completely. "We know you are in the process of expanding and we want to be part of it, we have been struggling to get the location for our warehouse in that area for ages and this would be the best time to do it", Colombo said lighting up his cigar. "I don't have a problem with that however, I might need some time. I will be going there to check the layout myself. I will update you after", Antonio said standing up, and leaving the room without waiting for any response.

He sat in his office trying to figure out what Boris told him. Boris was close to Iris more than any of his men and he was sure that if Boris said he saw her, then it was her. He had so many questions that he wished his right-hand man could answer but he knew Boris was also struggling to understand. There was a knock on his door, before he could answer, the woman he despised the most walked in. "Husband, we have a fundraiser in the next two hours so I thought I should come and collect you", she said in a seductive voice that made him feel nothing but disgust. She was the woman that his father chose for him, the daughter of the late Craig Vladimir, the mafia king that dominated Russia. He has left the empire to his father making him commit to taking good care of his one and only daughter. Yes, she was powerful but also stupid because all she cared about was having a fancy life and getting attention from powerful people, sadly when it came to romance, she only wanted Antonio. "Adira, we are not married so it's wise for you to get rid of that name before it gets you into trouble", he said returning his attention back to his laptop and praying that Boris was right. "You mean 'yet', we're not married yet", she said walking out of the office with steam coming out of her ears. She was the total opposite of his Iris and now that there was a chance of Iris being alive. He was going to move mountains to have her again. He wanted to find Iris and make things right because even after four years she was still the woman that owned his heart.