“I’ve been looking into Arianna’s mother as you asked me to but I swear to God that woman’s information is even more confidential than the president of this country.” Adele handed the papers she had managed to gather for him.
They were currently in his office to hold the meeting without the chance of someone spying on them.
Marcel took the documents going through the information with his face scrunched in concentration.
“Natalie Valeria,” He tasted the name on his lips and for some reason, it sounded familiar as if he had heard it somewhere.
If Natalie had truly been friends with his mother, then it made perfect sense that he must have heard her say it or even read it somewhere. His mother was good at keeping journals and letters. If he went back to their old house, Marcel bet he was going to find some stuff.
The only downside to it was his father would surely get news of him going there and if Daniel had the slightest idea of what he was up to, he would make it more difficult for him to dig up information on his mother.
Marcel didn’t know what his mother did to Daniel that was so bad that he wanted to erase her very existence. It was as if he wanted her removed from the very surface of this earth. Well, he’s gotten her wish already, she was dead.
If it was possible to even delete his mother’s memories from his head, Marcel did not doubt Daniel would have done it already. No, It was quite a shocker he didn’t have his memories altered by a hypnotherapist. Perhaps, it never crossed his mind. So yeah, going back to the old house was not on his to-do list at the moment.
He read further, finding out that they had moved to the country because of her father’s election and that was where Marcel saw it. She came with her friend, Penelope.
.....
It seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel, a small smile managed to curl the corners of Marcel’s lips to know he found something about his mother even if it was little. He had hope and It was little progress, as his mother used to call it. He was right to have looked into Natalie because it led to his mother’s past.
Both women were interconnected, that was for sure and Marcel was intent on finding out. However, reading further down, there was no more information about his mother Penelope in the file, not even her family, and his heart sank. Another dead end and it was no doubt his father’s doing.
A short newspaper article slipped out from the pile and Marcel bent to pick it. But the moment he saw the heading, Marcel’s eyes widened before narrowing into the slit. His hand holding the article shook as he read down.
“The Valeria misfortune,” The article says.
The paper was dated twenty-six years back, approximately a year before his birth. However, what had Marcel reeling in shock was the fact the news says Natalie and his mother died in the fire incident which was kind of impossible.
If his mother died a year before his birth, then was she alive all those years? How was he even born?
Unless the news was a hoax and that unshockingly was his father’s area of expertise. According to the article, it says that Natalie didn’t want to return to the country and threw a tantrum, by slipping out of the night with her best friend.
Unfortunately, the both of them met their tragic end that night after their car had a head-on collision and suffered an explosion afterward with their body burnt to crisps.
The foul play was obvious and Marcel could detect it even with his eyes closed. His father faked their death and replaced their bodies with another, the fire must have been deliberate as well to hide all evidence.
Marcel always wondered how his mother’s people never came for her, but it turns out you can’t search for a dead person. Daniel could never take her without bringing trouble knocking on his door, so he gave them a reason to stop searching.
Marcel felt sick to the stomach and he felt like throwing up. He always feared that one day he would turn out to be like his father, but after reading this article, Marcel knew Daniel was a monster and he could never be like him.
He practically broke apart families! He ruined their lives! And Marcel had a feeling that Natalie might just be running from his father. His mother couldn’t survive Daniel, but she did and was a wise woman for running. But then, Marcel needed to know more. And When he finally knows everything, he would gladly put a bullet in Daniel’s head and end his nuisance forever.
There was nothing else on Natalie but Marcel found out something valuable, his mother’s full name, and with that, he would be able to dig more, hopefully. He couldn’t employ Winters to take on the investigation and risk her life.
“I have theories and I think the reason we haven’t been able to locate or find something more on her is that she’s either a powerful figure or she has someone powerful backing her,” Adele said.
Marcel nodded in agreement, it made sense. For her information to be held strictly, someone powerful was controlling it.
“Nonetheless, you have done a good job,” Marcel was not stingy with compliments as he showered them on her.
He had done a good second by choosing Adele as his second in command amid the other’s doubts and she kept on proving her worth, defying the restrictions and stereotypes placed on her gender.
“And as for Elijah’s case,” She gave him another file, “Those papers contain information on the five major crime families.”
Marcel went through them one after the other, frowning at the end. He lifted the document, “The Draven family? The reports say there’s four of them, I thought they were five, or am I mistaken?” He was unsure.
“I don’t think... ”
Adele trailed off when Marcel’s phone buzzed and his attention shifted as he read the message, only for him to pale in the next minute.
“What is it?” She asked, sensing from his demeanor something was wrong.
But Marcel had already stormed out of his office and she was left, befuddled.