CHAPTER 116. The Hardest Decision"Don't let me go," she said in the most controlled voice she could manage."I'm not going to, love, we're going to fix this, I promise...""Zack!" she interrupted him, hiding her face in the crook of his neck and speaking very low so only he could hear her. "Listen to me... you have to take Adriana."Zack tried to pull back to look her in the eyes, but she didn't let him."Listen to me! They're going to take her... I can't explain now, but they're going to take her. Mason will hurt her. You have to take her..." she sobbed in desperation. "The suitcase at the house... Plan B in case things didn't go well... you have to do it.""Andrea...!""You have to do it! You have to keep her safe. Promise me..."When Zack pulled back, his eyes were filled with tears."I can't leave you alone...""Yes, you can! You can because she comes first!" Andrea replied, looking him in the eyes. "Our daughter comes first! Promise me!"Zack felt as if the ground was opening up
CHAPTER 117. We’ll take care of herNoémi stood petrified at the door while she stared at Zack, who was standing at the threshold with a suitcase and a baby in his arms. When Chiara joined her out of curiosity, the shock was mutual.“Zack...? What are you doing here?” she stammered.“You better sit down,” he said, entering the house. “We need to talk.”The twins looked at each other, but after noticing he was alone, they closed the door and followed him to the living room.“If I'm here, it's because I need your help.”“What do you mean?” Noémi asked. “What's going on?”Telling them everything that was happening, unfortunately, included a much longer story that he couldn't gloss over.“See? I told you!” Chiara exclaimed, standing up. “I knew she wasn’t your daughter, and there you were, lying to our faces!”“Who the hell cares that she’s not my biological daughter, Chiara?” Zack snapped. “She’s still my family, and I’m going to take care of her. That’s why I’m here—because her mother i
CHAPTER 118. Two Incompetents and a Baby"Is everything okay? Did something happen to Adriana?" Zack asked worriedly, but as soon as Chiara put the phone camera on, he could see the little girl crawling all over the apartment."She's fine, but we are never having kids..." Noémi mumbled, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "I wanted to ask you something really important... why does she poop so much?"Zack stifled a laugh and decided not to ask exactly what that stain on her eyebrow was. It was enough to see how disheveled she looked!"It's normal. Babies are like that, but if things get too difficult, you can hire a specialized nurse," Zack responded. "Did she finish her bottle?""Well... she drank about half of it..." his sister murmured."And what happened to the other half?" Zack asked."Chiara is using it for her wet T-shirt contest," Noémi said, and Zack understood perfectly that she had been splashed with the bottle.In the background, he heard shouts, and a minute lat
CHAPTER 119. The Worst of Them All"I just need one name. Just one," Zack demanded in his next call with lawyer Gazca. "Every man fears someone, Licenciado, and Mr. Rizzuto is no exception."Gazca had given him that name: John Hopkins.Four hours later, Zack found himself sitting in an all-white, brightly lit office at the Langley headquarters in Virginia. All he had to do was mention that name and Rizzuto's in the same sentence to be immediately brought to the man himself."Are you sure you want to do this?" the agent asked suspiciously. Zack understood; it wasn’t every day someone walked into the CIA claiming they wanted to help capture the biggest mafia boss in Montreal. "Why don't you be honest with me and tell me what you have against Vito Rizzuto?"Zack took a small notepad and wrote down two words: "Andrea Brand.""Look her up and I’ll tell you why I’m here."John Hopkins stood up and immediately began making calls. He was a serious, stern man, around thirty-five years old, wit
CHAPTER 120. Never ever!Shortly after, Zack was flying back to Vancouver. He felt more at ease, but even so, his heart raced when he arrived at the jail."Sorry, we couldn't keep her at the station," Gazca apologized. "For now, she's in minimum-security prison awaiting trial. I got us a visit as her lawyer, let's go."Zack didn't say a word as they checked in to enter, just trying to contain the rage that all of this caused him.When they reached the private visiting room, Zack was surprised by what he found. She was sitting in the chair with her head in her hands and an utterly exhausted look on her face, but her eyes lit up when she saw him. She stood up and ran to him, hugging him tightly and crying."Shhh..." he said, stroking her hair as he held her close to his chest. "It's over, everything's okay now. Adriana is safe, I promise."Andrea nodded while still sobbing. Zack's presence was all she needed to finally let go and unload the weight from her shoulders. He gently wiped awa
CHAPTER 121. The bossUndercover agents and spies have one rule: "Be prepared for anything." At any time, in any place, make sure you're ready. And Zack was.When one of the SUVs cut them off, Zack knew exactly what was coming."Stay here," he ordered Gazca as he got out of the SUV.Two men got out of each vehicle, and Zack walked around his SUV to lean against the hood. He almost smiled when he saw them open the door for Mason, who stepped out like a feudal king, dressed in a suit and tie, exuding confidence."What do you want besides strutting around like a peacock and barking like the dog you are?" Zack snapped, not holding back.Mason absorbed the insult and raised his chin defiantly."I wanted to see if your supposed love for Andy wasn't enough to keep you around. But I heard you ran off two days ago and I see you're doing the same now," Mason laughed."Well... I have to do something to fix the mess you got us into. Andrea already told me you tried to frame me by planting that dr
CHAPTER 122. The Magic WordsZack nodded and prepared to drop in as the most unwelcome guest at the Rizzuto mansion.Getting there wasn’t hard, but presenting himself and undergoing their scrutiny took an hour. A long hour during which he remained impassive in a security room until they verified he was indeed the multi-champion and millionaire Zack Keller.“Follow me, Mr. Rizzuto will see you in his office,” one of the heavily armed guards said, and Zack followed silently.The Rizzuto mansion was enormous, full of hallways and galleries, and they led him through all of them until they ended up in a library. They searched him for weapons or microphones and then let him in.Vito Rizzuto was a short, chubby man in his sixties with the kindest face one could imagine, but it was all a façade. Zack knew from reliable sources that the mafioso was a cold-blooded killer.“Mr. Keller, a pleasure to meet you,” Rizzuto greeted him with a firm handshake. “Can I offer you something?”“A glass of wa
CHAPTER 123. It’s doneVito Rizzuto's face turned into a mask of rage when he saw the ruined microphone in the glass of water and heard the name of his worst enemy.“You are definitely not a smart man, Mr. Keller!” he hissed. “Are you threatening me with bringing John Hopkins to my door?”Zack adjusted his jacket and sat down.“No, Mr. Rizzuto, I’m not threatening, I’ve already brought him. Director Hopkins of CIA Organized Crime is in room 2301 of the Le Blanc hotel, less than five minutes from here,” he stated. “I asked him for help to free my wife, and he asked me to trade her for you. Unfortunately, he’s a bit inflexible and can’t be negotiated with in many things; he doesn’t understand the value of money like you and I do.”“Couldn’t you have come here without bringing him!?” the old man growled furiously.“It depends on how much of an idiot you think I am. Do you think I’d step into the house of Canada’s biggest drug lord without backup?”For a minute, the old man looked at him