Chapter 54 LA PERLA NERA
Chapter 54 LA PERLA NERA
“La Perla Nera,” Rafael repeated with a strange look of confusion settling on his face as Leah had just finished telling her own side of the story.
Rafael was indeed troubled and extremely disturbed as he heard this, his countenance falling as those words stuck in his head like glue.
He couldn't quite wrap his head around those words or give it a meaning or interpretation befitting to the situation of things concerning Vanessa's whereabouts or what Rachel had meant when she told this to Leah.
If his men had not searched deeper past the surface of the mansion's floors, they probably would not have found Leah who was awaiting death that had been proclaimed on her by the cruel hands of Rachel Devereaux and her unforgiving prudent mother— Madam Adele.
Leah's death before Rafael found out the truth would have left him with no solid clues evident enough to begin the search for his woman— Vanessa Hudgens.
Leah, unable to hide her irritation at the fact that Santiano was having troubles trying to read the meaning of the words La Perla Nera with the obvious confused look he was wearing, decided to not bail on him.
After all, Vanessa seemed to have fallen into the wrong hands while trying to make for an escape, and she wouldn't want her to get hurt in any way, but to save her, Rafael had to be involved regardless.
“It means Black Pearl,” Leah said, giving him a solid interpretation to the words she had told him, but the context behind it was still unclear.
“You should know this much, Santiano,” Leah chided, sucking her teeth like she was about to give him some scolding, not minding his personality again.
“Tell me,” Rafael said, his voice low in a subtle growl while his eyes burned cold.
“La Perla Nera is the name given to exclusive and mysterious items fitting for high stakes in the Mafia world. You have been a part of this family your whole life and you are not aware of this?”
Leah continued, trying to spite him, but Rafael was unbothered about her reaction as all that mattered to him was getting straight and proper answers to satisfy his curiosity about how the words La Perla Nera had a connection to the ending Rachel had wanted for Vanessa.
Rafael, when he had deemed to have heard enough from Leah which he had no doubt about turned away from her, ready to strike the iron when it was still hot in order to find Vanessa as soon as he could before it got too late, but before he walked away, he laid a few words out.
“Get him cleaned up and put them in separate holding rooms so they don't try to play dirty and make a counter plot in case I find out that vixen has told a story that is far from what the truth is.”
“Yes, boss.”
A confirmation to his order rang out and with that, Santiano walked towards the door, ready to leave the old wine cellar without delay. As he did, he could hear Leah wailing as she rushed at Luke, cradling him in her arms and kissing his face over and over again while confessing how sorry she was about what was happening.
Luke had given her a reassuring smile despite the pain coursing through him, telling her he was going to be okay, after all, he had had worser days in the mafia world since he had become an affiliate to the Devereaux family, so a little more pain caused by the bullet of Santiano Rafael Devereaux's gun wouldn't get him killed when the intent behind the shot was not to cause his death— but to instill fear.
“Oh, Luke…” Leah wailed, her tears stinging her eyes as they flowed down her face, her face buried in Luke's chest while he gently fondled her hair.
Rafael had a lot going on in his mind as he walked out of the old wine cellar, heading back to somewhere he couldn't describe as all the thoughts in his head had became foggy, running into each other as they tried to fit into a puzzle to give a clue where or whom Rachel could have sent Vanessa to through the deceit that came in a letter.
He was quick to believe Leah's part of the story for one solid reason which was how she had found out about Vanessa's escape route. Only the members of the Devereaux family by blood were aware of the Devereaux family mansion floor plans or any information concerning how the mansion had come into existence.
Neither the flooring plans nor the mansion's architectural blueprint design had been disclosed to anyone who wasn't family except Marco.
The reason behind this secret was to keep the members of the Devereaux family hidden on safe floors and zones that remain hidden within the mansion in case of an unprecedented breakout of war with another mafia family.
It has been recorded that the godfather of the Devereaux family had had all the laborers who had been hired and tasked to build the Devereaux family mansion had all been murdered after the completion of the mansion just so the floor plans of the mansion were never revealed to the world.
The architect behind the design of the mansion had also been found handing by the neck in his bathroom one cold winter night, but the world knew it to not be any ordinary death wrapped up as suicide— Devereaux himself had killed the architect and made the cause of death look like one.
The case behind all this unprecedented death was soon swept under the rug as no one dared question the godfather of the Devereaux family, not even the government would want to fall out of grace with the Devereaux family and so, the mysterious death of all one hundred and nine men who had worked to actualize the existence of the Devereaux family was puffed up like smoke— like it had never happened and with that, their names were wiped off history like they had never existed.