Chapter 166
Nancy walked beside me with the weirdest gait in the world, holding her kimono in one hand and her panties in the other.
"I swear to God, if these panties rise another inch, I'm going to start a union for oppressed buttocks," she grumbled, still trying to straighten everything with the subtlety of a rhinoceros in heels.
I had to laugh. It was impossible not to laugh with her, even in the midst of all this madness. And, oddly enough, at another point in my life, maybe even recently, I would have freaked out about all this. But now, with us getting closer and closer to Rafael, I felt different. No weaker. No more scared.
It was like I'd flipped a switch. As if this crazy rescue team—a former mobster who rarely smiled, a silent and lethal security guard, a friend with multiple personalities, and, well… me—made me feel like I was part of something bigger.
I wasn't just a helpless girl waiting for everything to work out. I was someone who was going to fight too. Even without really knowing how to fight. But my heart was already ready for whatever was to come.
"Our contact is right there," Vincenzo said, pointing with his chin to a man standing on the sidewalk, blending into the crowd milling around.
Nancy narrowed her eyes.
"But... why this place? It looks like a Black Friday shopping mall."
Before Vincenzo could answer, I jumped in.
"Exactly because of that. Who would look for someone like us, in the middle of such an obvious place? It's the perfect hiding place."
He glanced at me sideways, and for a second I saw a small—and rare—smile appear.
It was the kind of look that said without words: "Good, Rachel."
We walked naturally toward our contact, who walked toward us at the same pace. Everything seemed coordinated, as if we'd rehearsed it. The agent stopped, greeted us with a subtle nod, and got straight to the point:
"The henchmen's information matches the actual location. The boy is there. Alive."
My heart froze for a second. Vincenzo took the agent's cell phone and stared intently at the location on the map. He nodded, his eyes fixed.
"Let's go. Now."
We started looking for some way to get there. A car, a motorcycle, anything. That's when I saw a young man standing near a small car a little further ahead. He seemed to work in transportation.
"How about him?" I asked, pointing.
Everyone looked at him at once. We walked over to the young man. He turned a little pale when he saw Vincenzo approaching.
Vincenzo said something in Japanese to him. The boy shook his head, refusing. And that's when Vincenzo reached inside his suit.
My stomach turned.
Nancy even grabbed my hand, thinking he was going to pull out a pistol. But no. It was a roll of cash. Thick. Impressive.
Vincenzo grabbed the boy's wrist, placed the money in his hand, and slowly released it.
The boy turned as white as uncooked rice, but he accepted it.
We were about to move on.
And this time... it was for real.
The car door creaked slightly as I got into the backseat next to Nancy. Vincenzo sat in the front with the driver—now our new last-minute "ally"—and the security guard positioned himself beside the vehicle, still watching for any suspicious movements.
"Do you think he understands where we're going?" I whispered, as the car began to move.
"He understands enough to know it's best not to ask questions," Vincenzo replied, without looking back.
Nancy muttered something about preferring to ride in a tank and then turned to the side to see the way. The city was slowly fading away, the colorful buildings and neon signs being replaced by less crowded streets.
The silence inside the car was almost sacred. All that could be heard was the sound of the engine and the light rain still falling.
Vincenzo's gaze was fixed on the road, his hands clasped tightly on his lap. He was focused, but I could tell his heart was racing.
I wanted to say something, anything. But everything seemed small compared to the enormity of what he was about to do.
Rescue a son.
A son he hadn't even known existed until recently.
And yet... he was going all in. With all his heart.
I leaned my head against the window and watched the raindrops run down the glass. I thought about Rafael.
What would his little face look like? What would he look like now?
Did he know who his father was? Had they told him a lie? Was he afraid?
My chest hurt just imagining it.
Beside me, Nancy sighed loudly.
"Guys, if anyone promises me a hot bath and a decent meal after all this, I swear I'll never eat for two again."
She tried to lighten the mood, but it was clear she was nervous too. And deep down, I think each of us carried our own fear.
"We're almost there," Vincenzo said, breaking the silence.
The driver turned onto a narrow street and slowed down. It was an industrial area. The warehouses looked abandoned, but the feeling in the air told
It was the opposite.
There was life in there. And secrets.
Rachel gripped the front seat tightly and looked at the man she loved.
"We're with you. Until the end."
Vincenzo didn't answer immediately. He just took a deep breath, staring into the darkness ahead.
"Thank you."
The car stopped. The place where Rafael was... was there.
And the next hour would change everything. Vincenzo slowly turned the car door handle, and before getting out, he looked at me with something in his eyes I'd never seen before. It wasn't fear. It was something worse.
It was a premonition; he knew better than anyone that situations like these could be solved with a lot of money, or escalate into conflicts that would spark wars between families and nations for many, many years.
Whatever happened in that place, any price wasn't too high for the safety of that sweet boy.
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