“Fair enough,” I replied. Viktor nodded and sat down on the couch, placing the heavy file he was holding on my desk.
“All the names that are connected to Alberto. His right-hand men. Their families are also listed. Everything there is to know about them,” Viktor said, nodding toward the file.
I sat down and pulled it toward me. “We already got so many of his men. Nobody knows a thing. He was smart enough to keep his hiding place a secret. His men are a bunch of cowards. If they knew the truth, they would have told me for a chance to live.”
“What about Enzo?” The same question had been brewing in my thoughts, but it was another dead end.
“From Nikolay’s information, he went into hiding, too. He’s Alberto’s second in command. He knew he would be our target,” I said, sitting back against my chair. The muscles in my neck were aching. Pressing my fingers against the back of my neck, I massaged the muscles, hoping to relieve the tension.
My body was weak from fatigue. If I kept going like this, I would be no use to Ayla when she was found.
“If we find Enzo, then it’s another step closer to finding Alberto,” Viktor muttered, a thoughtful look on his face. “Alberto has gone off grid, and his second in command is nowhere to be found. His empire is vulnerable, and he knows that. Even if Alberto didn’t tell Enzo anything about his hiding place, he will have to contact him.”
“His only communication to his empire is through Enzo,” I added, sitting forward in anticipation.
“But we have to find Enzo first,” Viktor said through gritted teeth.
If we couldn’t find Enzo, there was only one person who would lead us to him. Or bring him to us. “His wife,” I suggested.
Viktor shook his head. “She’s out of the country.”
“When will she be back?” I wondered out loud.
“I don’t know. She left the same day Ayla was taken away. It was probably for her protection.”
At the sound of Ayla’s name, my heart stuttered, and another wave of pain crashed through me. My hands tightened in fists until my knuckles turned white.
I stared at the file in front of me. “One of these men, at least of one them, should know about Enzo’s whereabouts. Or even Alberto’s. This is our only option.”
“We’ll get to them. All of them. Everyone in this list will be questioned. We won’t stop until Ayla is found,” Viktor promised.
No. There was no way we were stopping. Ayla would be found. Today or tomorrow. Or the day after. But she would be found.
“What do you want to do after they’re questioned?” Viktor asked. But he already knew the answer. He only asked because he needed confirmation. He needed a push, a new purpose again.
I stared at the photo frame on my desk. It was a photo of Ayla. Maddie took that picture a few days before Ayla was taken away from me.
She was laughing, her face had lit up, and her green eyes shone brightly. Her beauty, her smiles, her laughter, they were all mesmerizing.
“Kill them all,” I whispered, still staring at Ayla’s picture.
None of them were innocent. There was no innocence when it came to Alberto’s men. I still remembered when Ayla was telling me about her abuse. How Alberto’s men would rape her while the sick bastard watched.
I was going to avenge my Angel the only way I knew how.
I was going to destroy the Italians. One by one, until they bowed down to me. To Ayla.
Reaching forward, I touched Ayla’s cheek through the photo. Wait for me, Angel.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when the door banged open. I looked away from Ayla to find my father and Isaak walking in.
Lyov was fuming, his chest heaving with each breath he took. “The Families are questioning your capabilities as the Boss.”
Viktor swiveled around to face them. “What?” he growled, getting to his feet.
Lyov ignored Viktor’s outburst. Instead, he leveled me with a glare, daring me to reply. But I had no answer. I knew it would come to this.
“While looking for Ayla, you forgot that you are the Boss of four Families. You are not taking care of the business or anything else. When there is a problem, you send them to Viktor. The Families have every right to question you as their Boss,” Isaak added as he came to stand beside Lyov.
“You are the Pakhan. The Boss of the bosses. If it continues like this, they will lose faith in you,” Lyov muttered.
“Like eleven years ago? When they lost faith in you? When you had no other choice but to make me the Boss, so that the Ivanshovs wouldn’t lose the title?” I retorted with a shake of my head.
His eyes went wild at the mention of his downfall, when we almost lost everything. “I taught you better than this, Alessio,” he growled, stepping forward.