'Her body was found in a field near John's house so the police instantly went there to interrogate him and his family.'

I look at the back of the couch, wondering why the tv is still on if no one's watching.

'Goodmorning?' Isabelle's head pops up as she looks over at me, making me smile at the way she's wrapped in a bunch of blankets. 'Morning? What do you- What time is it?'

'Something around ten in the morning.'

Her eyes widen as she stops whatever it was she's watching. 'Tell me you're lying.'

'Don't tell me you stayed up all night?' She kicks off all the blankets and jumps to her feet. 'Is it really ten in the morning?'

I nod and walk through the living room, looking at all the empty pizza boxes around the room.

'It is, but did you really stay up all night to watch murder investigations?'

She nods and stretches as she throws all the blankets back on the couch.

'So you won't be coming to the meeting later?' I ask as I follow her through the living room. 'Was that today?'

'It is, we have to leave tomorrow.' She mutters something as she redoes her hair in a bun and looks at me with a sorry smile. 'It's okay, I'll just take Veah.'

'If she comes out of her room today.' She jokes with a slight hint of wonder in her voice. 'She came out of her room last night.'

'Because we forced her to.' I roll my eyes and walk over to the table filled with the trash we left last night. 'She's just... Worried.'

It's an understatement for what she's feeling, but it's the first word that came to my mind.

'Aren't we all though?' She asks as she quickly grabs some of the empty bottles we left on the floor. 'Yes but it's different. We don't even know where Leon is and she thinks he's dead.'

'Have you heard anything yet?' Her voice has a slight hint of concern and I can't help but smile at it.

She has been asking a lot of questions about Marco, but she's too stubborn to admit that she likes him.

And I honestly wish I could tell her more about their progress, but I don't know if there is any progress yet.

'Nothing.' She huffs and throws all the bottles in the trash. 'It has been years without any news from them!'

I can't help but smile at her overdramatic tone. 'It hasn't been years, Isabelle-' 'Three weeks feels like years.'

I shake my head and throw away the empty pizza boxes. 'It has been thirteen days.'

Thirteen long days without Rio.

Without Rafael Adriano Curzio.

My husband.

The man I haven't seen since the day of our wedding.

'Leya, are you even listening?' I look at Isabelle, who was complaining some more apparently. 'Sorry, continue.'

'As I was saying, thirteen days is a long time. Especially if-' She stops when we hear a door open behind us, and we both turn around.

'Goodmorning.' Veah says, fully dressed in a black suit with a blue corset underneath. 'Goodmorning?' I chime back, walking over to Isabelle's side of the kitchen.

'You're out of your room?' Neveah nods and looks at us, before walking over to the water bottles on the other side of the counters.

'I figured Leya needed someone to go to the meeting, since Isabelle was awake when I needed to pee at five in the morning.'

'You know, I didn't even hear you.' Isabelle says, making me laugh a little. 'You didn't hear me either.'

'Okay, that's true.' She says before yawning.

'So when do you want to leave?' Veah turns to me, making me wonder why she suddenly wants to go out.

She has been staying in her room most of the time. We basically have to drag her out of her room every time we have dinner.

'Thirty minutes?' She nods and heads back to her bedroom door, making Isabelle and me frown. 'Don't you want to eat breakfast first?'

She stops and turns around, shaking her head, 'I'm not hungry.' Oh god...

'Veah, you have to eat something.' Ever since we left, maybe even before that, she's been bad at taking care of herself.

She hasn't been eating much, she hasn't been out much, she's just... different.

'I'm not hungry, Leya.'

'Celine would hate you for not eating something.' I don't know why I'm using that card, but I am.

Because I've tried other things before, it just didn't work.

'Well, Celine's not here and-' She suddenly stops, her eyes softening, and shakes her head, 'I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so rude to you, you're just watching out for me.'

'It's fine, you're just grumpy this morning.' She shakes her head and walks over to us. 'That doesn't make it okay, Leya. I'm sorry.'

'Don't worry about it,' I say as I turn to Isabelle as well, 'So, what are we going to eat for breakfast?'

'I'm getting a good six hours of sleep for starters, and maybe, if I'm lucky, add four more to those.' She chimes, giving me a quick hug, before stumbling over to Veah, 'I'm going to bed.'

She gives Veah a kiss on her cheek, before turning back to me. 'Good luck on that meeting and let me know how it went.'

I just know she doesn't care about anything hotel related, but it's kind of her to act as if she does.

'Just the two of us, what should we make?' I glance at the groceries we have left, which isn't much.

A bit of bread, a bunch of water bottles, some apples, a bunch of chips, and two slices of cheese.

And honestly, if it wasn't for the fancy houses and apartments we were living in, I would've thought that we were back at the start of our internship again.

'We could eat breakfast at the hotel?' Veah suggests with raised brows. 'I'm down.' I say as I hook my arm around hers and drag her to the front door.

As soon as we get to the car, she enters the address into the navigation and leans back with a sigh.

A fifteen-minute drive.

'So, how did you sleep today?' I can see her look at me in the corner of my eyes, her mood dropping again. 'Bad.'

'Another nightmare?' She nods and looks ahead. 'How about you?'

'Better than yesterday to say the least.' I didn't have another nightmare, but I did have a dream about Rio.

One that made me miss him even more.

'So no nightmare?' She asks curiously and I shake my head. 'Want to talk about it?'

'No.' She answers hesitantly, 'I don't want it to come true.'

I try to look into her eyes to see how bad this dream was, but she looks away on purpose. 'Anyways, I'm sorry if I have been acting distant lately, I just- I don't know.'

'It's fine, you're just scared and I get that.' She nods and takes a deep breath. 'He's dead Leya.'

I grip the steering wheel harder, not allowing her words to drill through the wall I've been building in my mind.

Because he's not.

Leonardo can and will not be dead.

There's just no way.

'Neveah, he's not dead.' As long as there's no body, he's not dead.

'Vincent taught me how to hack into someone's phone to see their location, and I did it on Tiago's phone and it was still at the mansion.' She says, turning her entire body towards me. 'That doesn't mean anything.'

'Why would his phone still be at the mansion Leya?'

'He dropped it and hasn't been able to get a new phone because he's busy hunting down the man responsible. Now can we please talk about something else?'

I don't want to talk about Leon being dead, because he's out there somewhere. Alive and well.

'Fine.' She says, taking a deep breath.

When I look at her at the next red light, I notice the fear spiraling in her eyes. 'Veah... I-' 'You're probably right. I'm just-'

I want to hug her, but the light turns green and I fight the urge to ignore the line of cars waiting behind me.

'I'm so scared Leya.'

I nod and grab her hand instead, squeezing the hell out of it instead of getting us both killed by hugging her.

'I know,' I wish she would talk to me more, at least that way we could somewhat calm each other down, 'So am I.'

'Rio will make his way back to you,' She chimes, making me smile a little, 'he promised after all.'

We barely say a word for the rest of the drive, still holding onto each other's hands until we have to get out of the car.

She rushes to my side, hooking her arm around mine, as we head to the big doors of the hotel.

The marble floor in the lobby looks freshly cleaned and the smell of roses and honey fills my nostrils as we walk toward the front desk.

There are people walking around everywhere. A lot of guests checking in and hardworking staff wearing all black and white with golden nameplates.

'Buongiorno, welcome to Ocean Blue Hotel! Is there anything I can help you with today?' I take a quick look around, taking in the beauty of the big open space, before smiling at the younger girl behind the front desk.

Her name is Lola, according to her golden nameplate.

'Good morning, I'm Cataleya. I have a meeting with mister Banks in an hour?' Lola frowns, before typing something into the computer and looking up. 'There's no reservation under that name, ma'am.'

'They said everything was settled yesterday, did something go wrong?' I ask, making a few people look at us strangely. 'Buongiorno, is everything okay over here?' An older man asks, giving us a warm smile.

According to the golden nametag on his shirt, his name is Nicolo.

'Good morning. I came here for a meeting with mister Banks in an hour?' If they didn't get the office ready, we're fucked.

Because according to the little information I had about Banks, he doesn't like it when things are messy or all over the place.

He's a man who needs structure.

Nicolo looks at the screen and sighs deeply, before muttering something at Lola and looking back at me.

'What's your name, ma'am.' He asks with a smile on his face. 'Cataleya.'

He types in my name, his eyes widening at whatever it is his screen is revealing.

'Lady Curzio, I am so sorry for the inconvenience.' A few other workers gasp for air when they hear Nicolo say my name, and I feel all their eyes on me, 'My name is Nicolo, I'm the head of staff in this hotel. The room is ready, I'll take you there right away!'

'It's fine, for a second I thought we wouldn't have a place to have the meeting at.' I say, following Nicolo around the front desk.

'Again, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience.' I shake my head and pull Veah with me, who's still glancing around the room like a lunatic.

'It's nothing. I was wondering if we could get to eat at the restaurant first though?' Nicolo stops in his tracks and turns to us with a smile. 'Of course, this way please.'

He heads the other way, walking past a bunch of other restaurants and bars that look absolutely fine to me, before ending at another big set of doors.

They're closed, but I can hear people laughing and talking on the other side.

'Buongiorno, would you like to make a reservation for Sunday?' Sunday?

Nicolo shakes his head and steps in front of us, right in the man's face.

'Lei è la regina.' He whispers, making the other man's eyes widen. He gives us another warm smile and taps through his Ipad.

'My sincere apologies lady Curzio, I'll get you a table right away!' Veah squeezes my arm a little, smiling at the man as well.

'The staff will help with your every need, lady Curzio.' Nicolo says, giving me a small... Bow... 'If you need me, just ask for Nicolo, and I'll come to your aid.'

'I appreciate it, Nicolo.' He smiles at me, before looking at the man behind him and walking off. 'My name is Antonio if you need anything, would you like a seat inside or outside?'

Veah turns to me, allowing me to choose, and I smile at Antonio, 'Outside please.'

We've been inside for too long.

'Right this way.' Antonio opens one of the big door, allowing a bright light to fall onto our faces as we follow him into the big and open room.

There are a few tables filled with all kinds of food and drinks, and we simply brush past all of them.

Some of the staff members frown at us when they see us walking in, probably wondering why we're here when this place is packed already.

We walk past the fountain in the middle of the room and walk towards a big glass door. They open before we even get there, filling the room with salty fresh air.

Because just outside of the hotel is the ocean.

A beautiful, crystal clear blue ocean.

'Right this way.' Antonio says, leading us up a few steps leading to a small balcony.

There's a single table with just two chairs as if they were expecting us to eat something at this exact spot.

'Will this be okay?' Antonio asks, making me laugh a little. 'It's perfect, thank you.'

He helps us in our chairs and hands us the menus, before rushing off.

The seats or soft, but not too soft, and there's a beautiful view of the ocean down below, with the mountains in the distance.

'This is beautiful.' I say as I take in the beautiful view in front of us. 'Lady Curzio.' Veah chimes, her jaw dropping when we're both done being amazed by the location.

'Leya, this is insane.' I nod and lean back against my chair, taking a deep breath.

The salty air fills my lungs and I allow the sounds of the waves to fill my head.

It's like a short break from everything else.

'What will you get?' I ask as I look at the menu. They have it all.

Sandwiches, wraps, salads, bowls, pancakes, waffles and so much more.

'Salmon sandwich sounds nice, especially with the mango cubes on the side.' She says, pointing at number five on the menu, 'What about you?'

'Maybe a chicken sandwich or some pancakes?' She nods and brushes through the menu a bit more.

Antonio returns with two glasses and a big glass carafe of water. He fills the glasses, before turning to us with a smile again.

'Is there anything I could get you, or do you need more time to decide?' I look at Veah, wondering if she already made a decision, while she does the same to me.

'I'm ready.' I say and she nods, before we both turn to Antonio again. 'I'll take the salmon sandwich with the mango cubes and eggs.'

Antonio nods and quickly writes it down, before looking at me, 'And you, lady Curzio?'

Veah's legs brush against mine, probably to tease me, but I move my legs to the side. 'I would like the pancakes with pineapple and berries, please.'

'And what would you like to drink?' Right.

'Apple juice is fine with me.' I say, looking at Veah. She nods and says, 'Fine with me too.'

Antonio writes it down, before taking a step back. 'I'll go get it.'

We thank him and enjoy the scenery for a while because it doesn't take long for our orders to arrive.

After finishing the delicious food, they escort us back to the lobby, where Nicolo is waiting by an elevator.

'Did you enjoy the food, lady Curzio?' I smile at him and nod, feeling like I'm going to explode any moment now.

The food was absolutely delicious, but I feel like I won't be able to eat anything else today.

'It was delicious.' I say as we enter the elevator. 'And what about you, lady North?'

Neveah's eyes widen when Nicolo knows who she is, 'You know who I am?'

'Of course, a friend of mister and lady Curzio is always welcome and known at all of their hotels.' Veah pokes into my arm and snorts, 'Probably because he doesn't have that many friends.'

I roll my eyes and shake my head, smiling a little. Because Rio doesn't see anyone as his friend.

It's either family, business partner, or enemy.

No in-between.

When the doors finally open, we're met by the same open aired room as the dining room downstairs.

It's exactly the way I would want it, but nothing like any of the other Curzio offices I've been at.

'When was the last time mister Curzio visited this place?' I ask curiously, making Nicolo think about it for a second. 'Mister Curzio hasn't been here in eight years, ma'am.'

Eight years...

'I'll let you get settled, you can call the front desk if you need anything and I'll send up a few staff members in five minutes just to help with drinks and all.' Nicolo says, nodding at me and Veah, before making his way back to the elevator.

I'm too busy taking everything in to even realize he's already going back down until I hear Veah mutter something under her breath.

'I don't get why your husband hasn't been here in eight years, this place is beautiful.'

'He's probably been busy.' I say as I walk over to the big desk on the other side of the room.

'So what's the meeting about?' Veah asks as she walks over to one of the cabinets and takes out a laptop. 'Banks wanted to talk about us hiring his entertainers for this hotel, but I'm a bit unsure.'

'Entertainers?' She asks as she drops onto the chair in front of me. 'I looked into his company and he has a few dancers to entertain a certain group of people.'

She frowns as she opens the laptop and logs in, before she looks up at me. 'Strippers?'

I nod and look around the room, seeing if there's anything I have to set up before he gets here.

'It's not the type of entertainers this hotel needs since it's only couples who come here, but we might figure something out.'

'You couldn't just send him an email?' She types away at her laptop, making me wonder what it is she's doing exactly. 'He had something else he wanted to discuss, but what are you doing?'

'Nothing important.' She mutters as she continues to type away, sparking my interest a little. 'Veah?'

'I'm seeing if the phone location thing is still the same if I do it here.' She admits, making me hold my breath for a second.

She's going to drive herself crazy.

'I don't think his phone has suddenly moved, Neveah.' I say as I hear the elevator come up again. She shrugs and closes the laptop, quickly placing it on the desk, before getting up and walking over to my side.

'Lady Curzio, I'm Celia and that's Skylar, we're here to help you today.' An older lady chimes as she walks into the room. 'It's an honor to have you here today, miss.' Skylar chimes with a smile.

'Please, call me Cataleya.' I say as I allow them to walk further into the room, 'This is my friend, Neveah. She's here to help me during this meeting.'

'Oh yes, miss North, a pleasure meeting you as well.' Veah can't stop smiling at the fact that they know who she is.

'Mister Banks will be here in five minutes, miss. Is there anything we can do to help?' They both look at me and I look around the room, thinking of anything that could be missing.

But they made sure everything is set for this meeting, so there's nothing to add.

'No, but you guys can sit down there and take a break,' I say, remembering how crowded it was downstairs, 'I know how hard this job can be.'

They stare at each other in shock, before turning back to me. 'But miss, shouldn't we be preparing for mister Banks?'

'Everything seems perfect the way it is, don't you think?' I ask, turning to Veah too. She nods and smiles at the women who are still standing on the other side of the room.

'Please, take a seat. If I need your assistance, I'll ask.' They nod and head over to the couch on the other side of the room, patiently waiting for me to even open my mouth at them.

The elevator doors open again, making everyone tense for a second.

I can hear a set of footsteps walking towards the door and wait for an old man to appear, but instead, I'm met by a man barely five years older than me.

He's wearing a grayish suit and has a leather briefcase in his right hand.

'It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Cataleya Curzio.' He says, giving me a warm smile as he heads over to the empty chair Veah was just sitting in.

I get up and shake his hand before sitting back down.

'I appreciate you coming on such short notice, this is my friend Neveah, she'll be joining us today.' He gives Veah a smile as well, looking her up and down first, before turning back to me, 'Can I get you anything to drink?'

Celia and Skylar almost jump at my question, ready to get whatever he wants. 'Water will be fine, thank you.'

'Veah?' I turn to her and wait for her to tell us what she'll be drinking. 'Water would be great.'

'Ladies, can we get some water please?' Celia rushes out of the room while Skylar grabs some glasses from the cabinet against one of the walls to the left.

'This is an amazing establishment, miss Curzio.' I melt at the way he addresses me. Miss Curzio...

Not because of his compliment, but because I'm a Curzio now. I have been for thirteen days.

And I can't help but feel my heart tingle every time someone calls me miss Curzio, hoping that that will never change.

'Thank you, and please, call me Cataleya.' He nods as Celia reappears with a carafe of cold water.

Skylar places two glasses on my side of the desk, before placing one on Banks's side, while Celia fills all of them.

'So, mister Banks, tell me what you would like to discuss.' I say as I grab the glass and take a quick sip.

He does the same and quickly places his glass back on the desk.

'I was hoping on a collaboration with Ocean Blue Hotel and my own company, Banks Entertainment.' Here we go...

'And what does your company have to over the establishment?'

He proudly straightens his back and reaches for his briefcase, before handing me a flyer.

'Banks Entertainment is known for its dancers. The team exists out of fifty women and twenty men that can pretty much do any dance to exist. You could hire us for events or evening shows for the guests to go to after dinner.' He certainly rehearsed this.

I look at the flyer and notice the same girl from when I searched his company up myself.

She's too young to be working for him.

I hand Veah the flyer and feel her tense when she sees the young girl in barely any clothes, posing in the picture.

'This hotel's target audience are married couples, how would this entertain them?' We don't need guests complaining about their partners staring at the dancers a little too long.

'Dance is a perfect way to entertain people, trust me.'

'Don't you think it's a bit too sensual?' Veah asks as she places the flyer back on the desk.

Banks looks at her, something changing in his eyes, before nodding his head at her question. 'That's why it's perfect for this establishment.'

I can hear muffled voices coming from downstairs, making me wonder if a big group of tourists just came to the hotel or if people are just being louder than before.

Veah walks over to the window and peeks outside to see what's going on, but shrugs before turning back to me.

'It would be a great investment.' Banks says, trying to convince me into taking the deal.

I look at Veah, who's standing behind him, and notice her rolling her eyes at his braggy tone.

'And how much would you like to get for your dancers, mister Banks?' He thinks about it for a second, even though he rehearsed all of this a billion times before.

'Ninety percent.' Is he kidding?

I keep my eyes on him, waiting for him to start laughing or something, but he doesn't.

'You want ninety percent of what we make, simply because of a few shows after dinner?' I ask, making him still for a second.

'Yes, I think it's a fair share.' Fair share?

'I think I'm going to have to decline your offer, mister Banks.' Celia and Skylar tense on the other side of the room, making me wonder if they know something about mister Banks that I don't.

'Why not?' He asks, moving to the edge of his seat.

'Because you're asking a huge amount of money for what you have to offer.' I say, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible, 'Like I said, the type of entertainment you have to offer isn't right for the audience we're focussing on in this establishment.'

'I don't see how it's not the ideal audience.' I contain the sigh that's ready to escape any second, and lock eyes with him, noticing some anger in his there.

'I don't need couples complaining about the dances being too sensual. Plus, ninety percent is too much.'

'I will not leave without an agreement.' He says, suddenly having a harder tone than before.

I ready myself for a fight, a physical or verbal one. Because Banks looks like he could win both.

'You will have to, mister Banks. Because we are not signing anything.' I say as politely as possible, gently placing my hands on the desk that seems more like a barrier at this point.

'I would advise you to reconsider your decision, miss Curzio.' Something in his tone makes all my hair stand up, my blood pumping through my veins ten times faster than it should.

Because he knows something he shouldn't.

'And why is that?' Veah asks when I'm unable to get a word out. 'Because I know that Rafael Curzio is doing some shady business behind the scene, and I won't hesitate to tell the interviewers outside.'

Those loud guests weren't guests. Interviewers...

'I have no clue what you're talking about, mister Banks?' Let's see if he buys any of it.

'Do you think I'm stupid?' Clearly...

Neveah smiles behind him, almost making me smile as well, because if he decides to come out with anything, if he decides to tell the world about the actual lifestyle of the Curzios, Rio will kill him.

'Are you?' I ask, not caring that this big man could maybe beat me up at any point now.

'I beg your pardon?' He doesn't like my tone, but I couldn't care less, 'I could ruin your husband and this little empire of yours in a second, little girl.'

'I don't appreciate you threatening my husband.' I state, my voice suddenly cold and hard like never before.

It startles me myself, but I let the anger take charge instead of the fear.

'I'm not just threatening your husband, I'm threatening all of this.' He flaunts his hand around the air, pointing out at all the riches we have as we speak, 'you would be ruined and could end up in prison.'

'I wouldn't take it that far if I were you.' The anger in his eyes only increases with every word coming out of my mouth. 'And why is that?'

'Because we both know what you're doing isn't according to the rules either.'

His frown only increases, before he shrugs it off as if my threat means absolutely nothing.

'I have no idea what you're talking about, little girl.' I almost cringe at the way he talks to me, and straighten my back, leaning forward just a little bit. 'Oh but I know enough to end your tiny entertainment show.'

He looks deeper into my eyes, trying to see if I'm bluffing or not, which I partially am, but he doesn't need to know that.

'Because you and I both know that strippers will never be desperate enough to work for you willingly.'

His eyes widen for a split second, before he composes himself and shakes his head, 'You have no evidence of that.'

'I don't need to prove it when I can prove that a lot of your girls are underage, do I?'

It's a good thing I did some research about his company.

The fear in his eyes says it all. He knows I'm not playing around anymore.

'So mister Banks, tell me why I should reconsider my decision.'

He stays silent for a few seconds, wondering what he should do next to get out of the hole he dug himself. But there's nothing he can do.

'This is all a big mistake.' He sighs, straightening his jacket as if he didn't just lose his composure, 'I will take my leave and forget this happened.'

Banks gets up and reaches for his bag, ready to run out of here as if that will fix anything.

'Before you go,' Veah starts, making him almost run into her as she steps in his way, 'You will sign over all the underaged girls to us, no fee or anything.'

I can see his shoulders tense, before he turns to me, 'Are you crazy?'

'The police condone us. I don't think they'll let an entertainment company go freely when they find out a bunch of underage girls work as strippers, mister Banks.' I state, making the anger in him spark again.

He could easily harm Veah before I can get over there, but I hope he has enough dignity not to hurt her.

Because I will kill him if he does.

'Neveah, set up some papers for mister Banks to sign.' She nods and rushes over to the laptop, quickly printing two separate contracts with everything we need.

Making me wonder if she had them ready to print already or if she's just quick at making them.

'I will not be signing any of those!' He sneers, making me smile at the way he's all riled up about it.

He probably thought he could pull this off, and he almost walked out of here as if nothing happened.

Like he isn't using underaged girls to get his filthy money.

'You will if you want to continue doing your job, mister Banks.' He looks into my eyes, wondering if I'm just saying all of this to scare him or not.

'Is that a threat?' He asks, raising a brow at me. 'Make of it what you want, Banks, but do you want to risk it?'

Veah swiftly places the two contracts and a pen on the table, waiting for him to sign.

'This one is for you keeping your mouth shut. If you tell anyone anything there will be consequences and trust me, you will not like it.' She states, pointing at the contract on the left, 'And this one is for the girls that you will not contact or bother after you sign those papers.'

'Spero che tu muoia.' He mutters as he walks over to the desk and reaches for the pen, 'You will regret this.'

He signs both contracts hesitantly and looks back up at me.

'No, we won't, because if you ever come near us, we will go to the police and your whole company will vanish.' I say as I get up, looking down on him, 'As if it never existed.'

'Vaffanculo.' He sneers, before quickly gathering his stuff and heading for the elevator.

'Don't show your face here again, mister Banks.' I say as I walk after him, tilting my head as he waits for the doors to close, 'That's a threat.'

His eyes widen just before the door completely closes in front of him, and I allow myself to breathe again.

Veah smiles as she leans against the frame of the big doors leading to the office, something like pride in her eyes. 'How did you get those papers ready that quickly?'

'Let's just say that your husband needs a lot of people silent to stay in power.' She chimes as we walk back into the office, interrupting an excited Celia and Skylar.

'Lady Curzio, that was absolutely amazing!' Skylar exclaims with tears in her eyes. 'I was actually scared he would start swinging at us, sorry you had to witness that.'

'I feared that too, but you were so brave miss.' Celia says, looking at me as if I just saved her like some hero.

'Has he been here before?' They nod and follow my every move in awe as I head over to the desk and lean on it. 'Has he always been like this?'

They shake their heads in unison.

'This has been the mildest he has been in years.' Celia replies, making both Neveah and I frown. 'Mildest?'

They nod in unison and walk over to us. 'What is he usually like?'

'He harassed a lot of staff members before, Lady Curzio.' Skylar admits, ashamed that she has to say it out loud.

'What did he do?' Veah asks curiously, wanting to know more. 'He... touched some staff members, miss North.'

Veah's eyes widen and she slowly turns to me. My heart rate spikes and I feel something disgusting washing over me.

'Why aren't there any reports on this?'

'We've made some complaints to the manager, but he always told us that he would deal with it.'

Why didn't I see any of those in the files about this hotel?

'Nicolo didn't report any of them?' They turn to Veah and shake their heads. 'Nicolo is the head of the staff, John is the manager.'

Whoever John is hasn't been reporting anything.

'Is John around?' I ask, barely able to keep my annoyance in, 'I would like to speak with him.'

'He isn't, lady Curzio.' Celia answers, making me sigh deeply, 'He's away on a holiday until next week.'

And I leave tomorrow...

'Is there any way I could talk to Nicolo?' He has to know more. He has to do more.

'We could send him up here if you would like, lady Curzio.'

'Yes please.' I say, watching as they head over to the elevator and disappear to get Nicolo.

'You're telling me that that sick fucker put his hands on some of the staff members?'

I turn to Neveah, not even needing her to word the way she's feeling right now.

'I don't get why we're only hearing about this now.' Something like this should be dealt with immediately.

They should've done something about this as soon as it happened or at least written something down so that we could deal with it as soon as possible.

We wait for Nicolo to get up here which takes longer than it should, but maybe it's because we're too impatient.

'You wanted to see me, lady Curzio?' He says as he enters the room and gives us a small bow.

'Is it true that mister Banks has been harassing staff members?' His smile fades and his eyes drop to the ground. 'Yes, miss.'

'How long has this been going on?' He shuffles on his feet, slowly looking back up at me, 'Nicolo?'

'A few... years, ma'am.' Years...

'Why is there no report on any of it?' I ask, moving back to the edge of my seat. 'John told us that he dealt with it.'

There's something else. Something he's not telling me.

'But?' I don't want to scare Nicolo off, because he seems like a nice guy, 'You can tell me.'

'He also said that mister Curzio would be too busy to deal with such unimportant matters.'

I know for a fact that Rio wouldn't let something like this slide.

'Is there any way I can get John's info?' Nico nods and starts scrambling through his pocket, searching for a piece of paper. 'Nicolo, from now on I want you to send me emails whenever someone complains about anything.'

He stops rummaging and looks at me, before nodding with tears in his eyes. 'I'm so sorry, miss.' What? 'I let you down and I-' 'You didn't let me down, trust me.'

I need to fire this John dude and find someone who actually listens and helps the staff.

'Give me a list of staff members that have been harassed in the past, I'll do the rest myself.' I say as he goes through his little sachet on his belt.

'Mail it to us, we'll deal with it.' Nicolo takes a deep breath and nods our way, before straightening his back. 'I will do that right away, again, I'm so sorry.'

'It's okay, I promise.' He leads us back to the elevator, telling us how sorry he is time and time again, before helping us back to the car, through all the cameras and journalists.

Once we're in the car and on the road back to the house, Veah sighs deeply while shaking her head. 'I honestly was not expecting all of this today...'

'Neither was I.' I admit.

I for sure was expecting some drama at the meeting, but not this.

'I mean, the way he-' She goes silent when both our phones chime at the same time, and frowns at me before checking to see what it is.

'We need to get back to the house,' She says as she tries to call someone, 'Isabelle said someone's at the door.'

Shit.

I race back to the house while Veah tries to call Isabelle over and over again, but it's like her phone's suddenly out of battery or something happened.

When we get to the house, we jump out, ready to fight whoever it is that's inside.

No one's at the door, but there's a car parked on the driveway. When we get to the door, it seems perfectly fine, meaning they didn't break in.

'What the hell is going on?' Veah whispers, sticking to my side as we try to peek through the windows to see who's inside. 'Call again.'

I slowly open the door and peek inside while she tries to call Isabelle again. We both head inside as Isabelle's phone starts ringing somewhere in the living room.

I expect her to be tied to a chair, gagged by a piece of cloth with guns pointed at her.

But she's not in the living room.

'Where the fuck is she?' Veah whispers as she quickly checks the kitchen and dining room. 'Nothing.'

She took two knives from the kitchen and hands me one, before looking around the room.

Everything seems exactly the way it was when we left.

I hear a male grunt in the garden and frown at Veah, who's looking at me with a frown too.

'If she's fucking a random dude, I swear to god-' I walk over to the back door and open it just a little.

I can see Isa's blond hair near the pool and hear her scream for a second. Shit!

The man picks her up over his shoulder or at least tries to, as she struggles to get out of his grip. 'Is that-'

We both run into the garden before the man throws her into the pool, but stop when we hear her laugh as well. What the fuck is-

'That's what you get, you bitch!' The man shouts right before he throws her into the pool.

But I know that voice.

'Brandon?' Veah says, making him turn around in less than a second.

His smile quickly fades when he notices the knives in our hands and I quickly drop the knife, before running over to hug him.

He wraps his arms around me and hugs me tightly, before looking me up and down again. 'You look way better than the boys.' He has seen them?

'Come here Veah!' He hugs her too, almost falling into the pool as they hug for a while. 'What are you doing here?'

'Visiting the girls that I missed more than I thought I would.' He admits as we help Isabelle out of the pool. 'You really didn't have to throw me in there, you know.'

'I did, you ruined my surprise!' I can't help but smile at his tone, god did I miss him.

'Any news yet? Did they find Tiago or catch Hunter?' Veah asks, almost crushing him with questions. 'Not yet, but they will soon.' I hope so...

I just want to go back to Rio. I just want Leon to be back too.

I want everything to go back to normal. Or as far as normal goes...

'When are you guys leaving this place?' Brandon asks, dropping down on one of the sunbeds. 'Tomorrow.'

He nods and pats the sunbed next to his, before leaning back, 'Good, we're going to Milan next.'

'Fine with me.' We didn't really discuss where we were going next yet, but Milan should be fine.

'Okay, so grab some snacks and drinks and tell me all about everything that happened so far!'

Veah drops down next to him, leaving me with a shivering Isabelle. 'You should change, and I'll get some snacks.'

She nods and leads the way back into the house, quickly changing before joining me in the kitchen.

'You know Hunter wouldn't hurt us, right?' I look at Isabelle and frown, wondering if she slept at all.

Because it must be getting to her head.

'What?' She nods and quickly fills the glasses with water. 'He wouldn't hurt us.'

'He came to my wedding with a bunch of men and killed almost everyone.' She thinks about it for a second, before shaking her head. 'But that wasn't his intention.'

Is she- 'What was his intention then?' I know he did it because he wanted revenge for what we did to him. He wanted to ruin our day and he did.

'Hunter's obsessed with you, so I think he just wanted to get you back.'

'So he had to kill a bunch of people and hurt the people I care about? In order to get me back?' I can't help but sound offended at everything she's saying, because it's insane.

And she notices the change in my tone instantly, quickly looking at the counter between us. 'Forget it.'

'Why are you defending him?' I ask, suddenly scared that she had something to do with this. 'He's my best friend, Leya.'

No... 'Did...' Her eyes shoot to mine and I swallow the panic away, 'Did you have something to do with this?'

'No.' She replies instantly, making the panic decrease just a little, 'Leya, I had no idea he would take it this far, but I put the pieces together and it all makes sense.'

Makes sense?

Did she inhale too much poolwater or is she just- Calm. Down.

'He never hurt you. Or me. He just wanted to get us away from the Curzio's.'

'He shot Leon, he tried to kill my husband, he tried to kill my best friend, he let his uncle-' Stop.

I don't want to lash out at her. I don't want to drag her back into something she's trying to forget.

I don't want to do this.

'What?' She asks, curiosity sparking in her. Fuck...

'Nothing, let's just drop it.' She shakes her head and pulls away the glasses I'm trying to take from her. 'Tell me.'

'Hunter is a horrible person, that's all.'

'He's not that bad.' I don't think I've ever been this annoyed with Isabelle before.

Not when she dragged me out of that room when I was in my underwear, not when she told everyone about my tattoo, not when she wouldn't come with me when Leon came to rescue me, not when she kept asking questions about Marco.

'He let his dad assault Neveah.' She shakes her head, too stubborn to accept it. 'That was Adrian, not him.'

'He murdered Jade.' I always thought he was more of a father to Jade than Martin was, yet they both did the cruelest thing towards her.

Martin started it, but Hunter didn't hesitate to finish it.

'He had to pick.' She says, making it seem like he had to decide what shoes to wear to his next meeting. 'And he picked me over his own family.'

'Family never meant that much to him, he only cared about Brooke and...' She shakes her head, knowing that Jade is the other family member he really cared about, 'He loves you too much.'

'He allowed Martin to rape you.' Her eyes widen as if this is news to her. 'What do you mean?'

'He told me that it was you or me and that he would never let Martin near me. That's why he tried to keep me away from you.'

She shakes her head in disbelief and takes a deep breath. 'You're lying.'

'Why would I lie about that?' I ask, wondering if she really didn't know about this. 'And you- why didn't you tell me?'

'Hunter said you already knew.' I don't know why I believed a thing Hunter said, I mean, I knew he was lying most of the time, but I genuinely thought she knew about this already.

But by the look on her face- by the tears forming in her eyes, I don't think she knew.

'You're lying.' She stammers as a single tear escapes her eyes.

I shake my head and take a step forward, 'I'm not.'

'He- Hunter, he- He wouldn't let that happen- He knows about-' She stammers as she quickly wipes her face and steps away from me, 'You're lying.'

This is a hard pill for her to swallow, but it's the truth.

Now I know it would hurt like a bitch if Neveah betrayed me like this. I wouldn't know what to say or do either and I for sure wouldn't believe a word at first.

But the other events that took place are proof. At least to me.

They're proof enough.

Hunter Steel doesn't care about anyone else but himself.

'Isabelle, I wouldn't lie to you about something like this.'

And then everything falls into place in her head.

The lies, the secrets, the betrayals.

Everything just clicks.

And her world starts to crumble.

'I... Thought he- cared?' I take a step forward, ready to hold her in my arms if needed, but she leans on the counter instead.

'I'm so sorry Isabelle, I thought you knew.' She shakes her head at me and looks at the only empty glass left.

As if she'll break it with the anger in her mind.

'I just- fuck this.' She runs out of the kitchen crying, running back to her room.

I want to go after her, but what good would that do?

The only thing I'll be doing is talk shit about Hunter, and that's not what she needs right now.

'Where's Isabelle?' Brandon asks as both Veah and him enter the house through the back door. 'She's in her room.'

'Everything okay?' Veah asks when she notices my mood, 'Did you guys have a fight or something?'

'It's nothing.' I say, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Brandon nods and grabs the glass of water, before leaning against the counter. 'Celine is back with Kai.'

'What?' He nods at our confusion and sighs deeply. 'I feel like she's moving on too quickly because she's alone and I don't want her to do that to herself.'

'Maybe she's happy with him?' Veah asks hesitantly as if she's uncertain herself. 'It's a bit quick, don't you think? I mean Vincent has barely been dead for two weeks and-'

Brandon stops mid-sentence and takes a deep breath. 'Everyone's all over the place and I absolutely hate it.'

'I do too.' I say, making him smile a little, 'Why the smile?'

'I feel like you might hate it the most, because you have to be away from your husband and all.' He jokes, making me smile as well.

'Why aren't you with Killian by the way?' The last time I spoke to Brandon, he said he was helping Celine settle in in France and that he would stay with Killian in the Netherlands.

'You want me gone that badly, huh?' He retorts, making me roll my eyes. 'That's not what I-'

'One because I missed you guys too much, two because the dutch have too many bicycles to count, and three because he kind of told me to go.' What?

'He told you to go?' Veah asks as she grabs a bag of chips from the cabinets and all Brandon does is nod.

'What happened?' I ask, seeing a soft hint of pain in his eyes.

'He just wants some alone time, you know, with everything going on. I told him to call me when he was ready to talk again.' Veah walks over to him and gives him a hug, before turning back to me.

'We should order a bunch of food and watch movies all day.' She suggests, making Brandon smile almost instantly. 'I think that's a great idea.'

I grab my phone and look at some places we could order at, before telling them about the options we have.

After ordering a bunch of food and bringing some to Isabelle's room, we watch some movies and enjoy the rest of our day inside.

'We should do this more often.' Brandon chimes as he throws away the empty box in the trashcan. 'We definitely should.'

I stretch and rest my arms on the kitchen counter, watching as they clean up the last empty bottles and boxes from all the food we ate. 'I feel like I'm ready to give birth at any moment.'

They laugh at my statement and finish up cleaning.

'We should head to bed because we have to drive at least six hours tomorrow morning.' Six hours... Sometimes I forget how far away places are.

'Leya, can I sleep in your room tonight?' Veah asks, 'So that Brandon can take my room. Or I'll take the couch?' I frown at her, wondering why she's even suggesting taking the couch.

'Of course you can sleep in my bed, what the hell?' She nods and gives me a quick hug, before heading to her bedroom, probably to grab some clothes.

'Sweet dreams Leya.' He chimes as she brushes past me, giving me a slight push towards the bedroom. 'Goodnight Brandon.'

I walk into the room and quickly change into my pajamas before I walk over to the bed.

Just as I drop down on the bed, the door opens and Veah walks in.

She's already changed as well, holding her laptop again.

'What are you doing?' I ask as she climbs into the bed and starts up her laptop. 'The list came in.' Oh.

'I thought I'd make a start on it.' I look at her screen, seeing a long email from Nicolo.

At least a hundred names of different staff members. Women and men.

'Holy shit.' I say as I watch her scroll down even more.

The list goes on and on, until we finally come to an end.

So we're finding all the information on every single one of them, staying up until the sun comes up again.

And when I hear someone knock on the door, we look at each other and then the time.

It's already nine in the morning and we said we we're leaving at half ten.

Shit.

'Are you too up or do I have to drag you two to the car!?' Brandon shouts as he knocks again.

'We'll come out soon.' Veah replies, trying to find the energy to get out of bed.

I climb out as well and head to the bathroom. 'We're going to get some food for on the road!'

The bedroom door opens and I hear Veah and Brandon talk to each other, before their voices fade away.

Once I'm done in the bathroom, I head into the kitchen to see if there's any food left.

Veah is wearing comfy clothes, her hair a mess, but hands me a plate with some bread with cheese.

'The last two slices.' I say as I notice she made another one for herself.

She nods and stretches, before grabbing both of us a bottle of water.

We wait for Isa and Brandon to return and all head to the car.

Isabelle doesn't say a word to me for most of the drive, but for some reason it goes by fast.

'Okay, so before we get to the house,' Brandon starts, making us frown at him, 'They said nothing about accidentally running into each other, so tell him not to kill me, okay?'

They... Him...

My hearts start racing as Brandon nears the big gates surrounding the house.

'Also... he's kind of sick because he's overworking himself to get Leon back and to reunite with you and all.' What?

My heartrate goes up again, almost jumping out of my chest.

Brandon has been driving pretty fast to get us here, but it suddenly feels like he's driving too slow, even though he's driving the exact same.

'Wait. Are we-' The gates open and I notice the cars parked in front of the house.

There were no cars at any of the other houses we stayed at so far. This means...

I jump out of the car and run towards the front door, banging my hand on it until someone opens.

Marco, who has bruises on his face, opens the door with a gun pointed at me.

His eyes widen when he sees me and he quickly lowers his gun.

'Cataleya-' I brush past him and run up the stairs, opening every door to see if he's here.

When I finally open the last door, a room in the corner of this mansion, my heart stops.

Not just my heart, but everything.

Rafael is laying on the bed, bloody pieces of cloth covering his bruised body.

'Valentina?'

---- A/N: WELL WELL WELL...

Is Leon alive or not? And where is Hunter? What about the list?

I LOVE YOU GUYS AND I'M SORRY FOR THE WAIT!

Hope to see you in the next chapter, have a great day/night my loves<3