CHAPTER 71 — THE CALL

CHAPTER 71 — THE CALL
VIOLET’S POV

The drive to the Gray Circle council building felt like forever, even though it was only twenty minutes tops.

I sat in the back of Donovan’s black SUV, staring out the window at Milan waking up around us, everything looked normal on the surface,  but I knew underneath it all was a storm ready to blow apart absolutely everything we’d ever known.

Donovan sat up front next to his driver, and every few seconds he’d glance back at me in the rearview mirror. But I’d always look away before our eyes could meet.
I just couldn’t bring myself to look at him, not after finding out his family had kept my mother locked away for years.

I’d pulled on a dark suit and pinned my hair up tight, trying to look like I had it all together. But my hands wouldn’t stop shaking, so I kept them folded in my lap and squeezed them so hard my knuckles went white.

When we finally pulled up to the council building, my stomach did a flip that made me feel sick. Damien was already there, standing on the steps with a handful of his guys. He nodded when he saw us, but his eyes were scanning every corner like he expected trouble to jump out at us any second.

Donovan came up beside me again, but this time he didn’t try to touch me. He just stood there.
We went inside the council building and found a spot to sit

The council chamber felt heavy with tension, every eye was on Donovan’s father as he stood at the raised platform up front, his gavel in hand ready to begin the vote that would name the next leader of the Gray Circle.

I sat between Donovan and Alistair, but kept my body stiff and turned slightly away from them. The letter from my father was folded up in my pocket. 
"Your mother didn’t leave."
Every time I looked at the Einsteins, all I could see was the cage they’d built for her.

“Today we decide who will carry our legacy forward,” Donovan’s father said with his voice echoing off the stone walls.
“My sons have each proven their worth, Donovan with the real estate empire, Alistair with his influence in the medical world and Damien with his holdings across the city…”

He listed their accomplishments like they were trophies on a shelf. I stared at the floor with my hands clenched so tight in my lap.
Rosa had told me to stay strong, to not let them see how much their lies hurt me. But it was so hard.

“After careful consideration and consultation with our senior members,” he continued, raising his gavel high in the air, 
“I have made my decision. The next leader of the Gray Circle will be...”

His phone rang, interrupting him
Everyone turned to look as he pulled it out of his pocket, his face darkening when he saw whatever was on the screen. 
He stepped away from the microphone, speaking in low tones that no one could make out. But I could see his jaw tighten, his knuckles white around the phone.

When he turned back to us, his usual calm was completely gone.

“The meeting is postponed,” he said, his voice tight with anger. 
“Indefinitely.”

Murmurs rippled through the room while the Gray Circle members stood up, shouting questions and demanding answers. Donovan stood too, his eyes fixed on his father like he was trying to read his mind.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Not here,” his father said, his gaze cutting through the room until it landed right on me.
“Everyone leave. Now.”

We filed out into the hallway, confusion showing on everyone's face. Damien joined us, his brow furrowed. 

“He never postpones anything,” he said quietly. 
“Not when it comes to the Gray Circle. Never.”

We stood there for a few minutes until his father emerged from the chamber, his face cold. He walked straight past us toward the exit, then stopped suddenly and turned around.

“All three of you, come with me,” he said. “And bring her.”

He didn’t have to say who “her” was. I felt Donovan’s hand brush mine but pulled away again. I wasn’t going to let myself lean on him, not after everything I’d learned about his family.

We followed him to his private office in the building’s basement, a windowless room lined with old books and stacks of files that looked like they’d been there for decades. 
He closed the door behind us and turned to face us. 

“That was Marco Moretti Sr.,” he said.

The room went dead quiet. Marco Moretti Sr. had been dead for  years, everyone knew that. He’d been killed the night of a charity event in that warehouse fire everyone still talked about.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Damien said, shaking his head. 
“He died in the fire at his warehouse. We all know that.”

“Did we?” his father said, pulling up a video on his phone. It showed an older man sitting in a dim room, his face scarred but still recognizable. 
“He’s been alive this whole time. Hiding in the mountains, building his power back up. And he just told me he has someone we all care about.”

He turned the phone so we could see clearly. The camera panned to show a young woman tied to a chair, it's Laura. But that wasn’t the worst part.

Sitting right beside her, also bound, was a woman I’d only ever seen in old photos tucked away in my father’s desk, my mother.

“Two hostages for one price,” Marco’s voice said from the speaker, his voice rough like he’d been smoking for years.
“The Gray Circle goes back to the Morettis, or both of them die. And if you try to find us… well, let’s just say your mountain compound isn’t the only hidden place in Italy.”

I felt the air leave my lungs like someone had punched me in the chest. 
My mother is now a hostage and Laura, who we’d thought had come back from the dead, was caught up in this mess too.

“But Marco Moretti Sr. is dead,” Alistair said, his voice shaking just a little.
“The body was found and identified.”

“Your grandfather made sure the world saw what he wanted them to see,” his father said, slamming his hand on the desk so hard papers flew everywhere. 
“He didn’t kill Marco that night. He made a deal, Marco would disappear, and the Einsteins would take over. But he never stopped planning his return.”

All this time, we’d thought the enemy was the Castellanos, Marco Jr., Chloe, the Volterras. But the real threat had been alive and waiting all along, the man everyone thought was gone forever.

“And the fire?” Donovan asked quietly.

“Set by your grandfather to cover up the deal,” his father said, looking older, like all the years had just caught up to him at once. 
“He thought he’d bought peace. Instead, he just bought time.”

I finally found my voice, it came out rough and scratchy.
“Where is he keeping them?”

“He didn’t say,” his father said, his eyes meeting mine for the first time since we’d walked in. 
“But he knows we’ll look for them and he said every time we get close, he’ll send us a piece of something they love.”

He pulled out an envelope and slid it across the desk to me. 
My hands were shaking so bad I could barely hold it open. Inside was a lock of dark hair, the same color as my mother’s, the same texture as I remembered from when I was little and she’d brush mine before bed.

“Don’t touch her,” I said, my voice sharp with anger that felt like it was burning me from the inside out.
“If anything happens to her...”

“You’ll what?” he said, but there was no bite to it.
“I know you think we’re monsters. Maybe we are, but right now, we’re the only ones who can help you get her back.”

Donovan stepped forward, standing right beside me.
“We’ll help her,” he said to his father, his voice firm.
“But not the way you want. No more secrets. No more lies, we do this together – all of us.”

His father looked at us, at his three sons, at me  and for a moment, the mask he always wore slipped right off. I saw fear in his eyes. Real, honest-to-God fear.

“Fine,” he said finally.
“But we move fast. Marco won’t wait long and there’s something else, he said he has people inside every part of our operation. People we’ve trusted for years.”

I thought of Rosa, of how she’d known about my mother all along. Could she still be one of them? I knew she said she was pretending to be one of them, but could she be pretending to be for us while being with them.

The room felt smaller suddenly, enemies were everywhere even in places we’d thought were safe as home and the man we’d all thought was dead was pulling the strings from deep in the shadows.