ARELLA (A Mafia Story)

Seventeen

Damon

Our searches have stalled in the hunt for Dimitri. Dead end after dead end. The bodies of his men are starting to pile up. By the time we kidnap and torture the men to get the information out of them, Dimitri has moved on.

The cycle keeps repeating itself. Which means it's time to move onto the next tactic. No more kidnapping and murder. That's clearly not working anymore.

I'm going to need Alessandro and Gianni's help with this new tactic. If I can't track the man through his foot soldiers, then I'm going to track him through that disgusting website he runs.

If Alessandro can hack into the website, he can try and trace his IP address to where Dimitri is running it. It's a long shot at best. A man like him would he covering his tracks throughly.

Choosing to not worry about that right now, I stand from my desk and straighten out my tee shirt. I'm frustrated and I know Arella would be my cure.

I find her and Freya in the living room. A small pile of toys has started to build in the corner by the floor-to-ceiling windows. My wife is sitting cross legged on the floor, playing with a doll while Arella giggles.

"Hey, beautiful." I whisper in Freya's ear after crouching down by her side.

She turns her head, flashing me her perfect smile. It lights up her whole face, showcasing her white straight teeth.

"Hey, handsome. What are you up to?"

Plopping down on my ass, I pull Arella into my lap. She pulls on my shoulders as she attempts to stand up on my leg. I hold her torso to help her. Wobbling on her single leg, she finally stands.

Freya claps her praise, "Good job, mi amor. You're getting so good at standing!"

Arella's smile has never been bigger. She loves to stand. A simple thing that most take for granted is everything for her. Ever since she came home with us, she's put on some much needed weight and has gained some of her strength back.

Soon enough my baby girl is going to be strong enough to be fitted for her first prosthetic. I already know Alessandro has been looking into them for her. He's not as sneaky with his electronics as he thinks he is.

I've seen him researching doctors, looking into prosthetics for toddlers, and even parenting techniques for helping children with amputations.

That's how I know my boy cares about Arella.

"We've hit another dead end with Dimitri," I sigh, holding Arella with one hand so I can rub my eyes with the other, "I was getting frustrated, so I came down here to play with the baby for a bit."

A frown flits across Freya's face. She doesn't like that we haven't found Dimitri yet. My wife is a social person who loves to be outside the house. I know this. Yet, it's too dangerous for her to be out in public.

She could be kidnapped and used to manipulate me. My enemies know I would do whatever I could to get her back. My love for Freya could be used against me for money, information, or even my status as Don.

"I know you don't like being in the house. It's only temporary. I'm changing tactics to hopefully find a lead on his whereabouts. It's a long shot, but it's all we have. Hopefully, this will be over soon enough."