CHAPTER 56: Double Trouble!

CHAPTER 56: Double Trouble!
CHAPTER 56
LUCAS.

“What are you talking about?” Rosetta asked, giving me a puzzled look.

“You know what I'm talking about, Rosetta, so don't give me that dumb reply,” I replied sharply, trying to suppress the anger in my tone. “You said you had a relationship with Cordero. What kind of conversations did you have with him? What and what did you tell him about us? About me? I need to know everything.”

“I still don't understand what you're saying, and I'm even more confused about why you're suddenly so concerned with my conversations with Cordero,” Rosetta replied nonchalantly.

“Rosetta, don't piss me off!” I yelled, my voice echoing down the hallway. “You don't seem to get me, do you? You think I'd just come here asking you about your conversations with anyone if it wasn't dead important?”

“Then tell me why you're asking, then, because it's crazy that you're so bothered about my conversations with the same man who had always been there for us when you were nowhere to be found,” Rosetta replied and I felt a fresh wave of anger wash over me.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her close, gripping her jaw with my other hand. “Now listen to me, Rosetta. I'm going to ask you this one last time and I expect that you will start talking. What and what did you tell Cordero, and what kind of conversations did you have with him?”

“Let go of me, Lucas!” Rosetta whimpered, wincing in pain as I gripped her firmly. “Why do you choose to hate so much on a man who's done nothing but be good to Mother and I? Why? And you think you can force me to do your bidding whenever and however you want simply because you're my elder brother?”

“Are you going to speak or not?” I asked her again, glaring at her dead in the eye.

“Lucas, please,” Rosetta pleaded, her voice shaking with tears. “Cordero has done nothing wrong. And if you think this has anything to do with him then you're wrong because he'll never harm Mother intentionally.”

“So what if the Cordero you know isn't actually who you think he is?” I asked, my voice filled with rage. “Start talking, Rosetta. Now!”

Riccardo suddenly came in, pulling Rosetta away from my grip. “Lucas, come on, take it easy on her. This is your sister for God's sake, not Cordero.”

“Tell her to start talking,” I yelled and Rosetta flinched, breaking down in tears.

“Cordero is my ex-boyfriend like I told you earlier, and when you saw me on a call with him a few hours back, he had told me that he was stepping out of the hospital to handle something urgent at his apartment. He assured me that he'd assigned a nurse to watch over Mother, and I believed him,” Rosetta said, amidst sobs.

“You're so dumb for trusting a man you barely even knew, Rosetta,” I said, irritated by her tears. “So, where's he now? Where's the man who was there for you when I was nowhere to be found? Where?”

Rosetta said nothing as her sobs increased, while Riccardo watched with stunned silence. He turned to look at me.

“So our suspicions were true?” He said, looking up at me. “Cordero truly works for Unit 13?”

“Obviously!” I retorted, slamming my face with my palm. “I should've known, I should have taken them more seriously when they threatened to hurt my family.”

“This is not the time to play blame games, Lucas,” Riccardo said, shaking his head sadly. “What do we do next? We have to act fast and round the clock, there's no time.”

“Station two guards outside the ICU, and one directly outside my mother's ward. Make sure they're there round the clock, and that they're extremely vigilant,” I ordered, facing him. “And then I want you to begin a full-blown hunt on Cordero. Interrogate as many of the hospital staff as you can and get information, especially those who had access to the ICU wing.”

“Got it,” Riccardo said, nodding as he walked off. I looked at my sister and made to pull her close but was stopped as my phone buzzed again in my pocket. I peered into the screen and realized it was another guard from the penthouse.

“Sir, there's a problem,” the guard said, sounding pensive.

“What's the situation?” I asked, puzzled.

“We just discovered that Collins is missing as well, sir. We realized he disappeared a short while after Diego left, too,” the guard said, his voice sounding very urgent.

I felt my blood go cold as I listened to the guard, and I ended the call, looking back at my sister. “I've got to go, Rosetta. Take care of mum, I'll be back,” I said, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

She looked at me in surprise at my sudden gentleness but I faced the door, making for the hospital exit.

As I sped through the dark highway, I noticed a headlight suddenly appear behind me as a black motorcycle emerged from the shadows. I ignored it momentarily till I realized that it kept tailing me for miles further, driving with the exact speed I had. This was no coincidence, this was another ambush. And I knew that I had to ambush the ambusher.

I slowed down a bit as the motorcycle suddenly overtook me, speeding past me into a narrow alleyway, and then vanished. I slammed my foot on the brakes, pulling into a quiet deserted part of the road. I turned off the ignition, and sat in silence, my eyes darting around as I scanned through the night.

It became obvious — I was being monitored, and worse still, I was being led into a trap. This was no longer any kind of game, it was a setup, and I needed to be extra careful.

I sat there still, watching carefully as I knew I was a step closer to discovering whoever the hell was pulling this whole stunt.