"I swear I saw them, it was the same man that was in the news and the same girl was with him," a teenage boy explained, "They are living down there, I was sent to deliver the milk, I was supposed to just leave it in the middle of nowhere."

"Then where did you leave it?" Scott asked.

He pointed to the ground, "Right here, I put the milk right here and hid behind the bushes. I was curious."

He pointed towards the area that was covered in leaves and tree branches, "The man came from under there." 

"You can leave now," I ordered.

"But I can help—"

"Leave," Scott told him.

"Alessandro."

Alessandro nodded and grabbed the boy's arm, taking him away from us. I went over to the pile of leaves and ordered my men to see what was under it.

As they did, a trap door came into my view. I nodded to them to open it, it was way too quiet for anyone to be there.

A broken-down wooden ladder was the way in, Scott and Lorenzo stepped down and I did as well. I had no fucking hope that she was here, for the last two months every single lead had been a dead end, I couldn't find her, not even a trace of her.

I felt like a fucking failure.

They turned on the flashlights and we walked in, I looked around the abandoned safe house, there was no one there, just a bunch of furniture. Dusty old junk was everywhere, it was fucking hard to move around.

I frowned as I looked at the two plates resting on the table in the corner. There were two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It was an old-style safe house probably used and owned by some criminal.

They checked out one bedroom, while I stepped into the other along with Lorenzo. Lorenzo looked around, opening up the wardrobe, and turning over tables.

It didn't matter, nothing did because she wasn't here.

Lorenzo kicked over the old bed before he turned over its mattress. Something dropped to the floor with a sharp clank and I went to it.

A cold wave embalmed me as I dropped to my haunches and realized what it was. My blood ran ice cold in my veins, my eyes narrowed and my teeth clenched together.

"She was here..." I managed to say.

"What?" I heard Scott's voice behind me.

"She was here," I stood up straight with her wedding ring in my hand, it rested in my palm, dusty and thrown away like a piece of trash; just like she did with our marriage.

"How do you know?" he stilled by me, staring at the wedding ring on my palm, "Is that hers?"

I slowly curled my fingers, making a fist; the ring's sharp edges dug into my skin. For a second, I imagined that my fingers were curled around her neck, I squeezed it hard; my jaw ticked.

She can run all she wants; I will find her and when I do, one of us will fucking die that day.

"Scott, find anything you can about this safe house. Who does it belong to, who used it, and when was she here? For how many fucking days did she stay here? I want everything."

"Yes."

I went back up the ladder, clutching the ring in my hand. I stood under the clear blue sky and opened my fist, again just staring at the fucking ring.

No one has ever been able to get away from me. She did and I can't seem to find her. I feel like I'm working with only half of my brain, she messed with it. She fucking ruined me and then she left.

She betrayed me.

I don't forgive traitors, Evangeline.

No matter what I feel for you.

I will not forgive you for this insult, this betrayal.

You will pay for it and I'm gonna be the one who will make you pay for every single second of this brutal heartache that you have caused me.

╌───═❁═───╌

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death," hushed prayers fell on my ears.

"Good Evening, everyone, I'm Nikolai Costello, the son of Luciano Costello. I want to thank you all for coming today to honor my father. I know some of you traveled a very long distance to pay your respects and I know that pops would have loved to see you all together."

Behind me was a huge portrait of my father hung on the wall. He was laughing in the picture, smoking a cigar, and my mother was in his arms. She was staring at him with a wide smile. They were each other's world; this picture showed that. 

I stood at the podium and gave a eulogy for my father; most of the anecdotes I mentioned weren't even true. This eulogy was written by a professional. The media was here taking as many pictures as they could, the reporters were ready to ask me questions, and the FBI and CIA agents were sitting there with hateful smirks on their faces.

My men were standing all around this building inside and out. With a straight face, I delivered the eulogy as if it were all true. I was playing a part, towards the end of my father's life, he and I barely talked.

He had turned into a bitter old man; we were nothing like the father and son we used to be. I hated the man with every fiber of my being and he hated me right back for marrying her.

He was ecstatic to find out that she had run away. He made sure to remind me of that betrayal every chance he got. I was glad that his fucking mouth was closed forever, I don't have to listen to what I did to my mother's memory.

I looked around the crowd, some eyes were wet. There were a few families that he had helped a lot in his time as the head of the family. He loved doing charity, he loved to gather praises, all of them were here today; singing his songs.

"I don't know how long it will take me to grieve this tremendous loss. My father was the most important person in my life and I feel heartbroken to no longer have him here with us. His memory will forever carry on."

I stepped down the stage, people came to me to pay their respects. I nodded to Scott and he gestured towards a safe way out and into my car.

I sat back, low music was playing through the radio as Marco drove the car. I lit up a cigar, taking off the fucking black hat, I tossed it over to the seat and relaxed back, watching the long line of cars. The cemetery was close by and they all wanted to be there for him for his last rituals.

Scott rambled on and on about the girl he was fucking and how she just loved to get on his nerves.

"I tried, Niko, I fucking tried to be patient with her but that bitch is fucking crazy. First, she asked me to slap her hard while we were fucking and when I did, she started to fucking cry and complain. She said I wasn't supposed to hit her so hard."

Marco laughed, "You shouldn't have hit her that hard, bitches say crazy things all the time while fucking."

"I hit her softly at first but then she yelled at me to hit her hard again and again then I fucking did it under pressure, and she cried for a fucking hour. Didn't even let me finish."

I laughed, taking a long drag of the cigar, "Fucking Cindy..."

"Fucking Cindy," they both laughed.

"What do you guys say, we could go to Vegas this week. Niko you said you wanted to check up on our casinos."

I nodded, "Haven't been there in years."

"Man, I just want to fucking get out of this city. I need a break from psycho Cindy anyway."

I blew out the thick smoke, "You sure, she'll fuck you again?"

"I'm fucking sure! She always fucking comes back, she has my apartment keys, she makes herself at home before I even get home."

"You ready to get back in the game, Niko?" Marco asked.

I shook my head, "I'm over the game; you guys have fun."

"Niko, it's Vegas, baby!" Scott announced excitedly.

I breathed out a laugh, "Why don't you take Cindy along with us?"

"Oh hell, no!"

Marco parked the car and we stepped out. I dusted my trench coat and looked at the dark winter sky. It reminded me of the day mama had died, it rained heavily.

We made our way to the burial area. Everything was ready, I ordered the man to bury my father as soon as possible.

The casket was brought over, the priest again started to say his prayers before they lowered him to the ground.

I was the first one to throw the dirt over his casket and then everyone followed before they finally buried him completely under the ground.

For a moment after burying him, I felt alone. I felt like the only Costello here. My mother was taken from me, my father was gone, my wife had run away and I was fucking left alone. All this made even more violent emotions run through my blood.

I was always wary of having weaknesses and now they all were fucking dead. I hoped that Evangeline had died too, I wanted her to be fucking dead.

What a day it will be if someone sent me her dead fucking body.

I will throw a fucking party, I will fucking dance over her grave. No, no, I won't bury her, that would be too easy for her. I will fucking have her body taxidermized—fucking stuff it with a bunch of stuff and then hang it in my living room for everyone to see what I do to the traitors.

Someone placed a hand over my shoulder, "Niko?"

"Bianca."

"Are you okay?" she asked

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

She licked her lips, nodding. "Any word?"

I raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"About her..." her voice lowered as she mentioned her.

I nodded. "Yeah, she fucking dead,"

A sharp gasp left her lip, and her eyes widened. "What? When? How?"

I lifted a shoulder. "At least I hope she is fucking dead because if I got my hands on her, it will not be fucking pretty, Bianca."

She heaved a sigh of relief and then gave me the stink eye. "Oh, thank god..." she whispered under her breath.

Sometimes even Bianca seemed like a fucking traitor when she cared more about her than her own fucking family.

"Don't worry, when I will find her, you're gonna be the first person I'll call, so, that I can torture her to death right in front of you, B," I mockingly called her by the name, she used to call her.

A look of horror crossed her face. "Niko, you don't have to be so rude. You can just tell me how much her absence had hurt you, it won't make you any less of a monster to admit that. Don't take it out how much you miss her on me."

I glared at her, one Costello had died today and I was tempted to kill another one, "Go home, Bianca."

I also went back to my car. Alessandro will take care of everything here. My father's funeral was over, I had played my part, and everything went on perfectly.

Marco drove me to our company. The entrance was filled with the fucking bouquet, the whole fucking country knew about Luciano's death by now.

The men made way for me, getting the bouquets aside. I was in the middle of the deal of buying an oil company in Sicily, something had to cover my ass with all the money coming in from the drugs. I have made our family money legitimate and in a few years, the American government will be completely off our backs.

Having no family and no one to care for made me a sharper and more ruthless businessman. At least I had something to thank her for, she made this, she made me what I am today.

She turned me into a lethal force.

I sat back in my chair and pulled her wedding ring out of my pocket.

I haven't been home in a year, I lived in my apartment on the upper west side since the day she had run from me. It's been a whole year, a whole fucking year. I wish I knew where she was or maybe how she was doing. I just wanted to fucking know if she was fucking safe.

My eyes went back to the wedding ring...

Don't even think for a second that I have given up on us, Evangeline.

I'm closer than you think I am.

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