Chapter 115 I'VE FOUND OUT
\[CASTELLAN HOUSE\]
"Dad, I'm fine," Ixora said, kicking her legs on the bed.
"I'm worried about you, Xora. I have the money and power punishing them legally would not be a big issue. Stop this cat and mouse game," Eric said from the background, his tone almost a plea.
Ixora sat up and switched the phone in her other hand. "Dad, following them legally would be boring. It will even allow them to attack first. Nikita shouldn't be underestimated; she's so calculating. Besides, I'm having so much fun playing with them."
"But..."
"Dad," Ixora whispered, cutting him off. "I know you are worried about me, but I know that I'm doing this to make them suffer. Let them enjoy the game for a while; we know when to strike."
Eric sighed. "If that's what you want."
"Thanks, Dad, I love you." She kissed her phone screen.
Eric chuckled.
"One more thing, Dad. I need your help with something."
"What is it?"
"I want to find Nelly. She went to Sicily one certain day and I haven't heard from her. I want to see her and know if she's okay," she said.
"You want to risk blowing your cover?" Eric asked.
"I won't risk it. I have a feeling that she's in some sort of danger. Nelly has always been the type to keep things to herself. I admit I don't know her well," she chuckled to herself, her voice going down. "I feel like I'm a bad friend. My friend left, and I didn't bother to look for her. I should do it now; only then will I be at peace with myself."
"You are not a bad friend. The circumstances you found yourself in are too much for you. She will understand," Eric said in a reassuring voice.
"It will be hard to look for her, but forward her details to me. I'll see what I can do."
"On it, Dad. Bye, love you."
"Love you too, princess."
They hung up.
In about two minutes, Ixora found the details.
She got out of bed after forwarding it.
Raising her long skirt, she switched off the phone and hid it in her pants. She took out a small bottle from the back pocket.
The bottle was tiny. Her eyes fell on the content, and she smiled.
"Hazel and Nikita are fools," she muttered and took out another small bottle.
The reason for her robotic behavior. There's no way she could fight Drexton like that. They might have trained her physically with huge bouncers, but it's not possible. Thanks to the drugs and Dr Felix for recommending the drugs, she's ten times more powerful. It messes with her system and makes her mechanical.
Then there's the antidote, and she took all these medicines under their nose, and they failed to notice.
She hid the medicine back in her pants, and her eyes landed on the mirror.
Her gaze traveled to her neck, where the bandage was wrapped.
Slowly, she raised her hand and touched the bandage while remembering her fight with Drexton.
Her lips stretched into a smile as she rubbed the bandage.
"Eighteen months have passed, and he still hasn't changed."
\[SICILY, VIPOISON ORGANIZATION\]
"Here, the information has been sent. Two of you will handle the mission together," J. K said, folding the map.
"But I'm not a mafia. I don't have any skill," Nelly murmured, almost picking her words.
J. K's eyes landed on her. She didn't know if it was welcoming or anger.
"The mission is not hard, and the purpose of the mission is to bring you both together. You need to familiarize yourself with our world."
"I-I..."
Slade's hand slid behind her waist, and he pulled her closer to himself. His grip, possessive.
Nelly gasped, shrinking from fear. She placed her palm on his chest, keeping a distance between them.
"You don't need to be trained when you have me by your side. Also, remember you were a gangster," he whispered into her ear.
Nelly looked at his face to see a smirk on his lips. She blinked, fighting back her tears as she shifted her gaze away from him.
"So, what do you say, amor? Are you coming or not?"
"I-I will come."
"That's more like it," J. K took a sip of his drink.
Nelly released herself from Slade's hold.
"Can I make a request?"
J. K's eyes hollowed into her soul before he nodded his head.
"Please release Maddox. Let him go," she muttered, eyes burned to the ground.
Silence reigned in the room. J. K's gaze on Nelly, Slade's hand behind him balled into a fist. His veins stretched visibly in his neck.
It's always about Maddox. Nelly belongs to him and should only care about him.
"Son, you heard her request," J. K said.
Slade nodded and faced Nelly. "He was given a chance to leave, but he chose to stay."
"I... I know, but give him another chance. He needs to go back to New York. Whatever happens is between both of us, and outsiders shouldn't get involved," she said, meeting his gaze.
"She is thinking about our future together," Slade smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I won't force him to stay. If you convince him, then I will free him." He leaned in and pressed his lips down on hers.
Nelly stood, frozen, before taking two quick steps back.
"I..." she trailed.
"It's okay. You are still getting used to me again. I will give you some time, but know my time is running thin."
Nelly gulped hard.
"They will soon be here. Leave," J.K. ordered, and they began leaving.
"Don't forget something, Nelly," J. K started, causing Nelly to halt in her steps.
"You are the Morozov daughter-in-law."
\[NEW YORK, HELL DEVILS HIDEOUT\]
"We need to drag Maddox back. He can't stay there forever," Jaxon said and sat on a couch.
Drexton lay flat on the couch, with his eyes closed. One look at him, and someone would think he's dead. He wasn't moving. Jaxon knew he was not sleeping. Whenever he stays like that, he goes into deep thinking, and it ends up affecting him.
At times, he'd stay like that for three days without moving, other times he'd get up so emotionless. A habit he developed after Ixora's disappearance.
Jaxon always tries to stop him, but he fails sometimes.
Jaxon wanted to talk again when Drexton's voice stopped him.
"Let him be," he said without changing his position.
"I'm concerned about him. He's been in a locked place for a long time. His freedom has been taken from him. We need him to come back to us. To make us complete."
"And let those months be in vain. As I said before, let him be."
The door burst open, and Alexa rushed in carrying a laptop.
"I've found it," she announced.
"Found what?" Jaxon asked, brow narrowed.
"The list of the people who were badly injured two years back. I was able to get the list, and I was told 80% of the people on the list underwent plastic surgery." She sat on the couch and opened the laptop.
Drexton's eyes snapped open, and he turned to her and sat up.
"They underwent plastic surgery?" Jaxon asked.
"80% of them. The conducted research told me so."
She turned on the laptop and faced the screen to them.
"About how many pictures?"
"A thousand plus."
"Waste of time," Jaxon commented and stood.
"To get to the bottom of these, we have to do it," Drexton spoke up for the first time since Alexa arrived.
He faced the screen to himself and started swiping through the pictures.
Jaxon's eyes fell on Drexton and then on Alexa, who was looking at the screen.
Sighing, he went and sat down.
\--
Forty minutes of endlessly scrolling through pictures, yet they haven't found anyone whom they deem suspicious. Most of the people on the screen were either unknown to them or somebody famous.
Drexton's finger tapped on the next button, the keyboard sound blending with the silent room.
A picture appeared.
Drexton's finger froze on the keyboard.
Jaxon's lips parted as if to say a word.
Alexa's gaze traveled towards them, wondering why they had stopped.
"Hazel," Drexton muttered.
Alexa exchanged glances between the screen and them.
"Who's she?" Alexa asked.
"Ixora's bitchy friend. Was shot and died by acid," Jaxon replied.
"Such a terrible death," Alexa said, shaking her head.
"Her body wasn't found," Drexton spoke up, looking at Jaxon.
"Are you trying to say she could be the one pretending to be Ixora?" Jaxon asked, slowly.
Drexton stood up and left before any of them could stop him.
Alexa took over the screen and continued checking the pictures.
Jaxon got his phone and began dialing Drexton's number.
"I don't understand why someone would pretend to be her friend. I..." she froze, eyes glued to the screen.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and as she tried to move her finger, they trembled.
The air became heavy. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't breathe as memories rolled in.
"Daddy, don't do this."
"Please, Dad."
"I'm begging you."
"Don't come close. Stay back."
Jaxon noticed her silence and looked at her to see tears rolling down her cheeks.
He traced his gaze to the screen, and they landed on Ryker Vaughn's pictures.
Immediately, he understood and slammed the laptop closed.
"Alexa," he called almost in a whisper.
She slowly turned her head to him, lips quivering as she tried to speak.
"Don't." He took his thumb and wiped her tears.
She sniffled, pouring another set of heavy tears.
"I'm disgusted at myself," she sobbed.
He shifted closer and wrapped his arm around her.
She gripped his shirt and sobbed on his shoulder.
"Stop crying."