Chapter 118

Aldo

I remained silent and observant through the meeting Layla called the following morning. We hadn’t spoken a single word to each other since our fight.

Things were bad.

After she blatantly expressed her refusal to work with Ethan, she had left the bedroom and chose to stay in one of the other guest rooms for the night. She’d skipped out on breakfast and immediately went to the planning room to resume her strategizing.

“Alright, is everyone paying attention?” she asked pointedly. “I’m only going over this once.”

The room gave out a collective affirmation. “Yes, boss.”

I couldn’t keep the corner of my mouth from curving upward. She was truly magnificent. She was in her element. It was as though she had been prepped to take this position her whole life. Even though things weren’t the best between us, I was still proud that she possessed such confidence.

It was just a shame that this wasn’t all happening under better circumstances.

However, what really bothered me was that Layla still carried that predatory look in her eyes. That same look made her resemble a blood-thirsty shark.

How long could she possibly last like this?

All of this anger and rage was going to burn through her and leave her utterly drained. That kind of emotion was known to have long-term negative effects. The longer Layla continued to suppress her other feelings, the harder it was going to be to handle them once they’d all come rushing back.

When this awful nightmare was over and Eli was safely back with us, Layla was in for a nasty awakening when it came to facing her own emotions.

At that moment, I knew things were hard. She was determined to get Eli back no matter the cost—even if that cost just so happened to be her own well-being.

“Here’s what we’ve devised,” she started. “Carlos, do we have the information I asked for?”

“Right here.”

We all watched him place the file down on the table. Layla flipped it open and began scanning through it. A rather disturbing smile took hold of her features, making my heart race.

What the hell had Carlo found?

I quietly moved forward to peer down at the information that was out. Addresses. She’d sent Carlos out on a mission to collect addresses?

“Excellent,” she whispered. “Group A, as normal you will be riding with me to Vanessa’s location.”

“Do you have her location?” Luca asked.

“Not yet, but we’ll get it,” she said calmly. So dangerously calm. “She’s going to give it to me when I reach out and call her.”

I glanced around the table to find minimal looks of doubt. Interesting. Up until this point, I have admired her sureness; however, not even I could fully comprehend how Vanessa was just going to willingly hand over her exact location.

It was part of the leverage she so carefully crafted for herself. To give that up was likely forfeiting half the battle.

“How do you expect her to give up the location?” I asked.

“Simple,” she noted. “I’m going to bring it to Ms. Rossetti’s attention that I hold something far more valuable than her little need for revenge.”

My brows furrowed in question. “And what would that be?”

I should have known from the look in her eyes that I wasn’t going to like the answer. But everyone was eagerly waiting around for her to tell them.

“The lives of her family members,” she said coolly.

My heart dropped into my stomach. There’s no way that Carlo managed to get his hands on the exact addresses of Antonio Rossetti and his family. Could he?

“So, here’s what’s going to happen,” Layla went on. “Groups B, C, and D will all be given their intended home addresses. Find a clear shot on every single member of the Rossetti family. When I show Vanessa the true predicament of her situation, she’s going to make the right decision.”

Shit. The plan was brilliant. It seemed foolproof enough. There didn’t seem to be any sort of gray areas or cracks in the foundation of the layout. It was solid.

And much to my surprise, there didn’t seem to be any involuntary bloodshed like I had initially expected. The threat may have been there, but it wasn’t as though Layla was planning on going in guns ablaze.

“What happens once we get Eli back?”

“...Then you’re to wipe out the entire Rossetti in one swoop,” she finished.

My heart slammed frantically against my rib cage. Fuck!

I should never have assumed anything until hearing the whole plan. Take out the entire Rossetti family? Has she lost her mind? What was this going to prove?

Our problem was with Vanessa, no one else.

I didn’t bother to hide my grimace. “You plan on taking out innocent people who have nothing to do with this kidnapping?” I inquired accusingly.

My eyes flickered briefly to Carlo who looked mildly abashed. I felt he was just as much to blame for this conclusion as Layla. Refused to believe that Layla had been the one to come up with this kind of conclusion on her own.

Now, I was truly able to understand Ethan’s point he’d made about Carlo.

“He’s someone who possesses a short fuse. I can tell he’s someone who has a need for violence.”

I didn’t want to give his argument much thought because Carlo has always been my right hand. He had seen the worst and the best of me. He’d gotten me through some of the hardest moments of my life when I was forced to make the transition back into the family.

To think, now he was feeding into Layla’s rage for his own needs because I had stopped the violence. I was the one who decided on peace and he was never fully behind it.

I knew that it irked him to know that I was determined to take the less violent route. But I would have never thought that he would have been the one to suggest something so horrific to Layla.

I, once again, glanced around the table. Most of the men seemed highly interested while the others appeared indifferent.

“When do you plan on making the call?” Luca asked.

“Once I know that we can get everyone into a decent position,” she answered. “Any more questions? Alright. That’s all for now. Luca, take these.”

She handed him the list of home addresses and instructed him to pass them along to the other group leaders.

“Remember, take average-looking cars when you go to scope out the areas. The last thing we need is drawing any unwanted attention.”

“Yes, boss!”

“Carlo,” I called out. “Stay back for a moment.”

He glanced at Layla before turning back to stand in front of me.

“What is it?” he asked lightly.

My mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “It was your idea, wasn’t it? Taking out the entire Rossetti clan in one go. It was you.”

He dropped his eyes to the floor. “I may have given the suggestion—”

I snagged him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the nearest wall. The man was strong. But the anger and fury behind my actions were unmatched at the moment.

“Do you not see the darkness that is consuming her? It’s rapidly eating what’s left of who she really is up and there you are just feeding into the madness and rage,” I said darkly.

Carlo widened his eyes and said nothing.

“If I lose Layla to this darkness I’ve been so desperately trying to keep us out of, you’re the first one I’m coming after,” I snarled.