Secret Crown

VI. Six

Adrián

Scarlett Rivera was her name. She was thirty years old and intelligent. She is a resident surgeon at Chicago General Hospital at her age. It was quite impressive. Kidnapped tonight at around 6:30 p.m. by two corrupt undercover cops named Paulo and Enzo who went rogue on us. They were bitter about having to bow down to my family and the Lombardi and had flipped on us and began working for Luca. They were the ones who had Scarlett kidnapped along with her now-missing coworker Jonas to save Luca Romano's life after my brother Leonardo shot him in the chest.

I ordered my brothers to take her to a holding cell instead of a safe house because, in this world, we couldn't trust anyone. As Leo grabbed her arm and led her out of the bar, I stopped Ian for a moment. "Have one of the Lombardi brothers look into her past; they have access to every government system, sealed and unsealed." I ordered.

Ian looked confused. Why a doctor, Adrián?"

"Something seems off about her," I responded. "You've seen the people that get caught in the crossfires before; they run far away, and some even flee to different states." Not her, though."

Ian gave me a nod of approval as he sent a text to the Lombardi's. By tonight, I'd know everything about the redhead.

As my brothers took our witness to the docks, I stayed behind and made sure the bar was reduced to nothing but ashes using Ian's specialty explosives. Ian always had a talent for chemicals, herbs, and anything deadly, kind of like how Leo was a professional behind the wheel of anything with wheels and an engine.

I slipped into my Mercedes and made my way towards the docks as the roaring fire was seen through my rear-view mirror as the bar went up in flames. I always loved classic cars, but these types of jobs required a car that was luxurious and blended in with other cars, so a Mercedes was my business car. As I pulled into our docks, it was almost three a.m. Tonight was going to be an even longer night. My phone was buzzing heavily in my pocket as everything on Scarlett came in on my screen, along with a mixture of messages from Callum, who wanted to be kept in the loop about Luca. As much as he wanted to be 100% invested in hunting down the man who threatened our family, he couldn't when my sister and the kids needed him there with them. With their child due in a month and a half, anything could send my sister into shock, putting her and my niece at risk, especially if what happened last time when we all thought he had died actually came to fruition this time around.

As I unlocked my office, I began responding to my texts and updating Callum and Fernando on what was happening. Then came the fun part-reading everything about my current damsel in distress. Everything she said checked out at first. The wrong place, wrong time for the innocent doctor struggling to make ends meet due to her mother's extensive medical bills and her own student loans Her mother was bedridden for the most part, and she had a caregiver while Scarlett worked. Her father died when she was seven. Everything seemed like a sad story except for one thing that stuck out, which triggered us to dig deeper. Her father's death certificate was forged under the fake name Raul Diaz. It took a bit longer, but we managed to get a hold of his real papers, showing that his real name was Vicenzo Catalano. And that's where things took a more interesting turn. My ego got a kick out of how I was able to pick up on this. It was all amusing, including the damsel in distress story. I am the son of the devil of Chicago, Mateo Adrián De Leon, who is ruthless, dark, and calculated, but I am also the son of one of the most amazing mothers, Rocio Giovanna Gallegos, whose strong intuition I've inherited. I knew this curly-red-headed doctor was just one of her many layers. Nothing gets by me.

Her true name was Scarlett Catalano. Her last name was switched to Rivera at the age of seven by her mother; both of them had taken on her maiden name. She was the lost heiress to the Catalano family and fortune that was stolen from her when her father, Vicenzo, an Italian mafia leader, was murdered in cold blood by none other than Salvatore Romano in the northern part of Italy. Her mother, Valentina, was a Puerto Rican waitress who worked at a diner in Manhattan, New York. Vicenzo was smitten by her, and they were married not even a month later, followed by the announcement of their pregnancy. Vicenzo wasn't a small player in this game; in his glory days before he was murdered, his strength and power rivaled those of us Leon. Without Vicenzo, the Lombardi became the biggest Italian family in control. All Italians feared the Red Dragon, as they called him, for his dark, twisted ways and the fact that anyone who crossed his path was burned to the ground. The Lombardi improved everything for the clans, while Vicenzo destroyed everyone and ruled with fear and an iron fist.

I called Leo and Ian into my office and began bringing them up to date with this new information. "Do you think she knows? Leo asked, shocked. "It's all possible in this game," I coldly replied, "but we need someone to interrogate her."

"This is a first," Ian said, crossing his arms. "Papa raised us better than to hurt an innocent woman-well, possibly innocent. Where are we going to find someone to interrogate her? Nat can't do it in her state," Leo pointed out. "How about Simone?"

"Come on now; you know that she won't do it after what happened," Ian teased. "Oh yeah, I forgot Adrián completely blew her off after giving her false hopes."

"I had made it clear from the beginning," I said, irritated. "It was all pleasure with no business attached."

"Call her in and offer her $100,000 for the job," I ordered hesitantly as I ran my fingers through my hair and left them in my office while I went to the observation room where we'd watch our prisoners. Under the bright fluorescent light, Scarlett was sitting cuffed to the metal table with her head buried in her arms. She was a tall woman with a curvy figure and long legs. She lifted her head off her arms and rubbed her eyes with her hands, trying to wipe away the tears that blurred her vision. She stared at the two-way mirror, wondering who was watching. Her long, curly hair was a striking shade of red that contrasted with her caramel skin.

What is your plan, Scarlett?