chapter 31

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            ~ISABELLA'S POV:🏵🏵

     Dad, Mum, Karissa, Caleb and I alongside Ms. Tianna were seated in the roundtable hall where dad usually holds his frat meetings in our mansion. 

     The tranquil yet serious and tense ambience sent out fragments of curiosity down everyone's veins; the unruffled silence that was abound as we awaited Ms. Tianna's investigation results were almost choking. 

... 

      In remark to the theft of our emerald stone and assasination of our maids, Dad hired the services of a renowned detective, Ms. Tianna Holmes for thorough investigations which will eventually lead to us finally finding the perpetrators.

Two days ago she had requested for the CCTV footage in which contains images and videos of the events that happened and were recorded from the moment we left for the Ball to the moment we returned and met with the aftermath of the incident.

      She and her team must've probably watched the video numerous times to pick out clues and suspicious activities to help aid the investigations. According to her, she said she and her team were able to get useful information from the video and she was invited over by my dad to the family's mansion so she can tell us what she was able to find out.

" Watch this video closely." Ms. Tianna finally speaks and I'm sure we all inwardly heaved a sigh of relief as the fog of curiosity and anxiousness aviating in our heads was finally alleviated. She adjusts her spectacles then turns her laptop making it to face us so we can view the video. We all lean in so we can view the video and see all details properly.

     The video starts playing and the first sequence that appeared were three men dressed in all black and were wearing black face masks that only gave us the view of their eyes. One of them was holding a red briefcase and they were at the main entrance to our compound. One of them then brings out a purse, a purse which I recognized immediately as mine, the one I had with me at the ball that day. 

      They open the purse and bring out the list of codes then they examine the list for a while before typing in the code. The red light above the gate turns to green and they pumped their fists in victory as they entered into our compound. 

The men swiftly walked to the mansion qnd again brought out the list of codes and examined it once more before typing in the code to the main entrance to the mansion.

     The door clicked open and the three men walked inside the mansion. Our four maids rushed to the scene probably to check out who walked in and they were greeted by the sight of pistol guns pointing at them. They immediately began to quiver and plead for mercies but the men seemed to be void of emotions and mercies, they shot the four innocent maid right there and then in cold blood.

     The man holding the briefcase seemed to be the leader of the gang and he gestured to the rest of the goons to head upstairs. The three of them went upstairs to the showroom in which the heirloom was kept in a glass showcase and they shot the glass open with one of their pistol guns, the glass broke into millions of pieces and the splinters flew to different angles of the room.

     Immediately they shot the glass open, I turned to look at dad, he had a cringe on; a very vivid demeanor of pain appeared, one could know he was deeply hurt by the theft of his prized possession.

      The men carefully removed the green coloured oval shapped Emerald Stone then in the same manner of carefulness, placed the emerald stone into the red briefcase after which they shut the briefcase and absconded out the room and the mansion as well. After that sequence, Ms. Tiana pauses the video.

" Now look closely." Ms. Tianna adds then rewinds the video a few minutes back to when the goons entered into the mansion and had their guns pointed at the maids. She then zooms in on one of the men, the one who shot the maids.

" Look at the arm of this man." She says and points to the man. We all lean in closely and focus our attention at the image put before us. The man was wearing a short sleeved black T-shirt which exposed his inked arm. Ms. Tianna was drawing our attention to the tattoo on his arm. She then further zooms in on the tattoo.

" Take note of that skull tattoo on his arm." She begins and that's when we notice the large viper tattoo on his arm amidst other small detailed and less important tattoos.

" That's the symbol of a popular mafia gang, The Skulls." She says and my family and I's lips form a puzzled gape as a blantant demeanour of shock and surprise sprung up on our faces. 

" That means the-"

" The Skulls stole our emerald stone." Karissa chimes in interrupting Ms. Tianna. We all recline back into our seats as we processed the new information in our heads  as Ms. Tianna shut her laptop then placed it inside it's bag.

" Dad, do you know the Skulls? Or at least a member from the mafia group. You should know them, Tianna here says they're popular." Caleb asks and dad slowly shakes his head in disaffirm. But then, his face lits up like as if anyone idea just struck him.

" Actually I do, I do know the Skulls and the leader of the gang too." Dad says and a large portion of our downcast mood vanished. We beckoned on him to tell us but it seemed like he had quite a hard time remembering the name of the leader. He had a grimace on and scratched the back of his head as he cracked his brain to get the name of the guy.

" Aha." Dad hollars in eureka.

" His name is Mr. Nelson, Nelson Visser but he is popularly known as Venox ." Dad says and Tianna writes it down on her small notepad. 

" Do you know anything else about them Mr. Alfred?" Tianna further asks and dad twitches his mouth side to side alongside his eyeballs moving in a similar manner as he probably searches his head for more information about the Vipers.

" No, I don't think so." Dad finally gives an answer.

" Alright then. I'll work with this information while trying to gather more useful informations and clues. The investigation still continues and if any of you guys stumble on useful information we can work with, please do not hesitate to let me know. I'll keep in touch and surely get back to you all with more investigation results as soon as I can." Tianna says and gets up from her seat taking her handbag and laptop bag.

" Good Day to the McKenna family." She bids and we reply in courtesy but it comes out as a mumble because we all talked at the same time. Tianna then struts out of the house.

" At least we know who or what gang is responsible for the theft." Mum sighs and speaks for the first time ever since this meeting began.

" Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this soon and recover our diamond." I add.

" But dad, are you sure you don't know any other information concerning this Venox guy and the vipers?" Caleb asks again.

" I wish I did son. Venox doesn't really step out much hence he's not in the spotlight. If any operation needs to be carried out by the vipers, he usually has his men do it under supervison of his child." Dad says and I furrow my brows.

" He has a child?" I asked a follow up question and dad nods.

" A boy or a girl?" Karissa asks.

" I'm not so certain but with the news flying around, the child is probably your sister's age." Dad answers Karissa and everyone glances at me for a second before returning to their initial position.

" Isabella, since Venox's child is your age, then you should know whoever the person is because these days it seems like you're friends with everybody between the age of 23 to 25." Caleb teases and I roll my eyes. 

" If we're to work and agree with what you just said Caleb, that means anyone of my friends could be Venox's child, so how on earth am I supposed to figure out which one of them is the child in question when I don't even know the simplest detail about the person which is the gender?" I retort.

" But what's with all the fussin? On a serious note, how does knowing the identity or gender of Venox's child help us here?" Karissa questions.

" Dad said Venox's child is usually the one who's in charge of operations so there's a huge chance he or she organized or staged the theft." Caleb answers and I nod seconding to his statement.

" Finding Venox's child should be a priority as well." Caleb adds.

" I believe that once we find his child, the trail to the whereabouts of our emerald stone won't be far fetched." Mum says.

" I agree." I say.

            ~RYDER'S POV🌱🌱

     I stare amorously at the golden face mask Fiori had left behind that night at the ball. It must've fallen off her face due to the hasty manner in which she left, I still don't know how she dropped her mask behind without her even knowing. 

      She was, in fact she is the most beautiful woman I have ever come across. With her pretty and sparkly deep blue eyes and a wonderful smile that could light up the darkest heart no to mention that flowery tattoo she has which compliments her glowing skin in alluring ways; she was indeed a beautiful woman.

How I wish she had stayed longer at that ball, at least long enough for me to learn her name or get her phone number or long enough for us to finish up that kiss under the glazing stars and shining moonlight but no, Ava came in and ruined it all.

     Ava knows that she''s not even my girlfriend, she knows her stance in my life and knows that we're not into anything commited. She knows that she's just like a toy to me so why does she feel so entitled over me? Sigh.

But why do I feel so attached to this girl I barely know? Why have I not been able to sleep without seeing her face or thinking about her ever since my life was graced by her beautiful personality that night? Why am I suddenly fall head over heals for her? Oh Fiori, what have you done to me?

     I've always considered myself as a man who doesn't love women or feel any other type of emotion for the feminine kind except from lust. I always want them for their body and that's all but in Fiori's case, I find myself intensely attracted to not just her body but her personality, her intellect and wonderful smile. In fact, I'm attracted to her whole being and existence.

But I don't believe in the term "Love At First Sight." I totally disagree with that motion.

   But then again, I ask myself...Could what I feel for Fiori really be love or the usual lustful attarction?

....

    I take a look at the mask once more and smile the say, " Surely, fate will bring us together again." 

All of a sudden, I am jolted into reality by someone continually calling my name. I look away from the mask and I'm greeted by the presence of Coco.

      She was dressed in black leather pants and a white long sleeved peplum top complimented with a pair of black long leather boots. It's sexy how the leather pants bring out her curvy body but I'm done with Coco, right now her sexiness is equivalent to dust and literally means nothing to me.

" What have you been thinking about? I've been yelling your name for the past minute!" Coco questions furiously and I dropped the mask on my table. 

    I leaned my arms uprightly on my desk with my elbows touching the top of the desk directly. I interlock my fingers then place my head on top and stare at Coco.

" Hi." I simply reply ignoring all her fuss.

" What is that?" She questions pointing at the mask. I look at the mask then push it away, hiding it behind some books.

" I believe the reason you came into my office was for something important. I don't expect you to raise your voice at me neither do I expect you to question me regarding the items in my office." I wittily dismiss her question and she rolls her eyes and huffs.

" Anyways." She begins in a drawled tone.

" Neo organized your men and they were able to infiltrate and get hold of a very expensive and rare gemstone." Coco announces and my eyes lit up as my lips part to form a lopsided grin.

" Where is the gemstone?" I ask.

" Neo has it in a safe place. He said he'd see you later today." Coco answers and I nod.

" Okay, with that settled. s there anything else?" I ask.

" Well, there could be." She says seductively and winks. 

Okay where is the going?

She struts over to where I sat and kneeled in front of my chair. She looks at me in a risque manner then bites her lower lips before tugging on my belt, in order words telling me to take my trousers off. 

     What the flying fuck? She want to give me a blow job? Here and Now? At work? What the fuck again? 

" What in the name of- Coco! Are you crazy?" I question then push her away. She falls to the ground in a recoiled position, she lets out a small yelp as she lands on the rugged floor.

" A simple no would've been fine. You didn't have to push me that hard." She mumbles but loud enough for me hear her. She gradually gets up from the floor and stands in an upright position then dusts off the dirt on her clothes.

" Next time you try this Coco, you're getting fired." I bluff angrily. But she doesn't know I'm bluffing. Despite her sexual advances in which I obliged once, I can't bring myself to fire Coco because she is a very smart and intelligent girl who's the best Personal Assistant I've ever worked with.

" Come off it Ryder. You're acting like you haven't had quickies with those scrawny ass girls you bring in here." She snaps.

Okay, she got me. It's true. But just because I decide to do what I want with other girls doesn't mean I have to do them with her too.

" Leave my office Coco." I clear my throat and curtly and sternly say.

" Fine, I'll leave. You can be so annoying sometimes Lorenzo." She says vehemently and I chuckle. I watch her stomp out of my office in her fit of rage with a smirk on my face. But next time she calls me by my last name, she'd have her head chopped off.

After she slammed my door shut, I recline back into my chair and pick up the mask remembering my Fiori.

           ~ISABELLA'S POV🏵🏵

     I was seated cross-legged on my couch with a big bowl of popcorn beside me and a can of orange soda in my hand. I occasionally dipped my other hand into the bowl of popcorn then shoved in a handul into my mouth and accompanied it down with a sip of orange soda while I watched Stranger Things on Netflix.

...

     It was two days ago a meeting was scheduled between my family and Tianna at our mansion. Tianna hasn't gotten back to us since then, she and her team are probably still doing their findings. 

Being at the family's mansion that day sent fearful chills down my spine, that was the first time I've been there in more than a  month. I silently prayed to my God throughout the meeting hoping not to have nightmares that night and thank God my prayers were answered.

     Zane and I have been cool and our relationship has been flowing smoothly without any hitch or fight since two weeeks ago when we reconciled. Just few days ago, went on an amazing boat cruise date and it nothing short of wonderful. Hopefully we stay happy and problem free forever.

I do feel kind of guilty though, I haven't even mentioned the happenings at the Ball to Zane talkless of the kiss I had with Ryder. I do intend on telling him someday but I can't bring myself to do that. But I'm thankful Ava hasn't told him anything yet, I hope.

 Although, it's a shame that I never got to meet Ryder again, he seemed like a very nice person.

...

     My door bell chimes and I am jolted by the sound, someone's at the door. Who could it be?

I take a hanfull of popcorn into my mouth then dropped the can of soda on the side table. I pause the movie I was watching them get up from the couch with a small grunt.

     I ambled leisurely to the door and twisted the doorknob. The door swung open and I was stunned and left dumbstruck by the presence of the motorcycle rider. The one who helped me fix my car that night.

Holy Shit! What is he doing at my house?

     Contrary to what I thought, he seemed relaxed and kind of unsurprised to see me. Like he knew I lived here or something. He had a small smile on his face, Ha, I remember those pink lips of his and his wonderful eyes and side swept hair. He looks a lot handsome than I remember, I probably didn't view his features well that night because of the rain.

" H- Hi." I was finally able to say a word of greeting after gaining my orality back. Wow, this guy is so hot! I can't believe I'm still this swooned over him even after meeting him before. Damn.

" Hello." He says in a well pronounced and polished British Accent. Something about that voice seems so- so familiar and stricking but I can't seem to place my five fingers on it.

...

Holy Cow! I remember now! That's the amazing British voice that weird haired waiter had at the restaurant that day.

    But hold on a minute. Why does this handsome looking hunk have the face and looks of the man that helped me fix my car but has the amazing voice of the weird haired waiter at the Restaurant.

    Could I be hallucinating, maybe my mental episodes are returning.

Am I dreaming? Imagining things? I mean what the hell is happening here!