Pieces Of A Broken Puzzle
Diamond’s thumb hovered over Chelsea’s contact name for longer than it should have.
She was pacing, her bare feet sliding silently against the hardwood floor of her room. The night was dead silent except for the low hum of electricity and the chaotic storm of thoughts in her mind. Her throat was dry. Her heart pounded. Her hand trembled as she pressed the call button.
The phone didn’t even ring twice before Chelsea picked up.
“Angela?” Chelsea’s voice came through the receiver, soft but alert. “You okay?”
Angela closed her eyes, swallowing back the lump in her throat.
“No,” she breathed. “I’m not. Something’s wrong. Something’s really fucking wrong and that's why I called.”
Chelsea didn’t hesitate. “Talk to me.”
Angela stopped pacing. She stood by the window, staring out at the quiet landscape of Adriano’s villa in the distance, but her mind was far, far away.
“There’s something I need to tell you. Something I’ve been keeping close because I didn’t know who the hell I could trust. But after everything that's happened … I don’t care anymore. I need you to hear everything.”
“I’m listening,” Chelsea said immediately.
Angela nodded to herself. Then she started.
“There’s an auction coming up. An underground one. It’s not drugs or guns they’re selling, Chelsea. It’s people. Women. Children. And it’s being organized by an international trafficking syndicate called La Rosa Nera.”
Chelsea was silent.
Angela continued, “The Grecos are planning to infiltrate it. It’s connected to something way bigger than even they imagined. A secret network of the elite. I'm talking billionaire CEOs, A-List celebrities, even the fucking president of this country! It’s called The Gilded Veil.”
“WHAT?!” Chelsea replied, her tone filled with shock and disbelief.
“It’s real. They meet in heavily guarded private estates. They host orgies and ceremonies. Trade favors. Sell people and organs. Kill whoever speaks out.”
“My God…”
“Chels, we found proof. The brothers—Adriano and his team—hacked into Maxwell Chen’s encrypted hard drives. There were videos. Hundreds of them. Children in cages. Some so small they couldn’t talk yet. Young girls dressed like dolls, passed around like appetizers.”
“...Jesus,” Chelsea gasped.
Angela’s voice cracked. “I watched them, Chelsea. With my own eyes. That’s why I couldn’t stay quiet anymore.”
“Angela…” Chelsea’s voice was soft now. Gentle. But shaken. “What happened to the files? What did you do with them?”
“We–we destroyed them.” Angela exhaled, steadying herself. “We also made a move.”
“What kind of move?”
Angela’s voice dropped. “We killed them. Adriano, Alessandro, Gabriele… We took out the Chens. Maxwell. His wife. Then Adrianna and Aaron Jackson.”
Chelsea didn’t speak.
Angela’s voice came quieter now, but harder.
“We faked the confession video. Tied them to The Veil. Exposed everything to the public and then… we burned them alive.”
Chelsea’s silence now was total. Not even her breath could be heard over the phone.
Angela stood there, waiting. The seconds crawled.
Then Chelsea finally spoke.
“So you're the ones that exposed The Gilded Veil to the world.”
“Yes.”
“And now you think someone knew?”
Angela’s throat tightened. “Yes! They knew we were coming, Chelsea. At the concert. It wasn’t just a surprise. It was too precise. They knew exactly where we would be sitting in a crowd of fifty FUCKING thousand people! Adrianna stared straight at me and said and called me a two-faced bitch before she died. She knew something.”
Angela’s voice dropped. “And the only person I told… was him. I’ve been feeding intel to the Bureau this whole time but why is it that every fucking time I pass something big to him,” her voice cracked, “La Rosa Nera seems to find out.”
The silence on the other end said everything.
“Chelsea,” she whispered, her voice trembling as she clutched her phone tighter. “What if it’s not just someone in the Bureau? What if it’s him?”
“…Angela…”
“Tell me I’m crazy. Please. Tell me I’m losing it.”
“You’re not crazy, Angela.”
Angela stiffened. Her nails dug into her palm.
“I’ve been carefully digging ever since you asked me to,” Chelsea continued. “You were right to be suspicious. A few surveillance orders he claimed were sealed… weren’t. I found gaps in the access logs. Communications deleted from the system. Traces of files moved to encrypted drives we’re not supposed to have. It’s like someone’s been… cleaning up.”
Angela’s voice was barely a whisper. “Cleaning up what, Chelsea?”
“That’s the part that scares me. I don’t know.” Chelsea exhaled. “But here’s what I do know. Your parents? I went back into their case too.”
Angela froze. Her stomach dropped. Her legs suddenly felt weak and she lowered herself to the edge of the bed like her body could no longer hold her up.
“They filed a report involving La Rosa Nera and sealed it. I had no idea what the report was about but I'm guessing it's what you told me just now, and guess what? The very next morning, your dad emailed your mom something short. A single word. ‘He knows.’”
Angela blinked rapidly, but the tears pushed through anyway.
“I checked who signed off on the suppression of their file. Who closed it. You’re not gonna like the name, Angela.”
“…Say it.”
“It was him. Our boss… Charles Ackerman.”
Angela’s jaw trembled. Her grip tightened around the phone.
“There’s no proof he ordered anything. No trail. But come on—your parents report La Rosa Nera and three days later they end up dead? And he buries their case?”
Angela’s voice turned sharp, almost desperate. “That’s not possible. I–I was there, Chelsea. I saw everything. The men that murdered my parents had golden serpent tattoos coiled around their arms—”
“Angela.” Chelsea’s voice cut in, low and firm. “That’s exactly what they wanted you to see.”
Angela’s mouth fell open.
“La Rosa Nera are manipulators. Psychological tacticians.. If they wanted to point blame at someone else say, their biggest rivals—they’d stage it to cover their own tracks. Temporary ink. Fake symbolism. Use a crew loyal to them but dressed to look like Golden Serpent soldiers. They wanted you to blame the Grecos. Not them.”
Angela’s head fell into her free hand. Her entire world tilted and she swayed slightly, like the ground beneath her was caving in.
“They turned your pain into camouflage,” Chelsea said gently. “And if our boss was involved back then… he could’ve helped them script the whole damn thing.”
Angela couldn't say anything. Her hands were shaking so hard she nearly dropped the phone.
“You were right to question him,” Chelsea said quietly. “Just… don’t let him see you flinch. Keep playing along.”
Angela closed her eyes, nodding slowly, “Okay.” she said, her voice shaking as she cried silently.
“And Angela?”
Angela sniffed, wiping at her face. “Yeah?”
“If he is involved with La Rosa Nera…” Chelsea’s voice turned cold and deadly. “You’re not just in danger.”
A brief silence passed between them before she spoke again.
“You’re the only real threat he has left.”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys👋🏻. Sorry I didn't upload any chapters yesterday. I fell ill. I still haven't recovered completely but bear with me. Over the course of the next few days, I'll try as much as I can to upload new chapters. Have a nice day ♥️. Bye.