Chapter 8

Ellis settled into her chair at the same time that Vittorio fiddled with his tuxedo jacket. From his pocket emerged his cigar and gold lighter, marked with his initials. He calmly lit the cigar and then waved to Ellis, who parted her lips and said:

"So, are you going to tell me where my brother is now?" asked Ellis.

"Your brother is safe," replied Vittorio before taking a puff on his cigar.

"That doesn't comfort me at all, because as far as I know, one of your henchmen said he would chop my brother into a thousand pieces," argued Ellis, annoyed. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was smoke, and that man seemed to be smoking just to provoke her.

"Ezio is not a henchman," corrected Vittorio after exhaling the smoke.

"I don't care what he is. The only thing I want is my brother...in one piece. Not in 500,000 pieces like your henchman said he would make him," retorted Ellis, taking a deep breath. "So how about we get to the point of this conversation, because the police must be looking for me."

"Looking for you?" questioned Vittorio, stopping his cigar between his fingers. He smiled and took another drag before asking through the expelled smoke, "Why would they be looking for you?"

"Well, I don't know if you're well-informed, but I was at the police station when your driver came to get me. They must be curious to know why I left the station when I was about to report a murder involving you and your gang, team, mafia, or whatever you guys are," explained Ellis with an ironic smile on her lips that did not go unnoticed by Vittorio. "Do you understand now?"

"I understand, but I didn't know that inviting someone to lunch was considered a crime..." said Vittorio, leaning towards Ellis. "As far as I know, that's what we did, right?"

— In part, but we both know that I'm here because you kidnapped Jason," corrected Ellis.

"I didn't kidnap your brother, Miss Barker," stated Vittorio as he slowly backed away.

"No?" repeated Ellis, shocked at Vittorio's audacity.

"Of course not. I would never kidnap someone," he said as he picked up his cigar and extinguished it on his plate. "Your brother is... in custody."

"Custody? You've got to be kidding me," said Ellis, indignant.

"I'm not kidding, Miss Barker," replied Vittorio, serious. "This is his custody hearing, and you are his lawyer."

"And you would be what? The judge?" asked Ellis, outraged.

"Also," replied Vittorio. "But I'm also a victim of your brother."

"Wow, just when I think you can't say anything more absurd... now you're the victim," commented Ellis, laughing nervously.

"Miss Baker, you see, we both have something in common..."

"Yes, my brother. But I assure you that if you release him, we will never have anything in common again," promised Ellis, serious.

"I believe you, but what we have in common is our weakness. Our Achilles' heel is our family," continued Vittorio, gesturing with his hands. "You are capable of anything for your brother, who is your only family. And I am capable of anything for mine. But your family got involved in my family's business. And just as you have this protective instinct with yours, I have it with mine. If it were something with me, I might let it go, but it was with my family, and for family, we are capable of anything, right?"

"So, in summary, you're only here to tell me that you won't release my brother because he owes you money?" asked Ellis.

"No, as I said, this is your brother's custody hearing. And you are the one who will tell me whether I should release him or not," informed Vittorio.

"Release him," said Ellis.

"It's not that simple, Miss Barker," said Vittorio, shaking his head. "I need guarantees..."

"Guarantees? What guarantees would those be?"

"Who will pay the debt?" asked Vittorio. "Will it be you or your brother? And before you answer, if you say it will be your brother, I know he cannot pay... And then the settlement would be with his death. Second, how will you pay his debt? If you can bear the debt, I can be more flexible with the settlement and return your brother, unharmed. You see how I'm a nice judge?"

"The only option is me assuming the debt," said Ellis, looking at Vittorio.

"That's it!" exclaimed Vittorio, excited to see Ellis going exactly the way he wanted.

"Okay, I'll assume the debt. What do I have to do?" asked Ellis, shaking her leg nervously.

"What would you be willing to do?" asked Vittorio, leaning his torso towards the table.

"If you deliver my brother today," began Ellis, moving closer to the table until her face was very close to Vittorio's. "I'll do anything to pay his debt."

"Anything is a lot, Miss Barker," repeated Vittorio, looking at Ellis's red and parted lips. "And I will have full power to choose the way you pay the debt. Is that right? Will you do anything?"

Ellis took a deep breath, for some reason, she knew that it might not end well for her. As she twisted her lips lightly, thinking about his words, Amorielle felt an impulse to kiss them. "What's happening to me?" thought Vittorio as he realized he was still staring at Ellis's lips.

"Everything," Ellis repeated, drawing Vittorio's attention. She moved away from him and continued, now with her arms crossed defensively. "But I want my brother home before 10 o'clock tonight, understood?"

"Consider it done, Miss Barker," replied Vittorio with his best smile. "Rocco!"

In a matter of seconds, Rocco entered the space and stopped next to Ellis.

"Rocco, take Miss Ellis home," requested Vittorio, watching Rocco pull out Ellis's chair as she stood up, surprised by the gesture. "I'll be in touch, Miss Barker. Oh, and I ask that you don't speak to anyone about our lunch... I wouldn't want to revoke the terms of our hearing..."

"As you wish, sir...?" began Ellis, realizing she couldn't remember his name.

"Amorielle. Mr. Vittorio Amorielle. You forgot my name, Miss Barker?" asked Vittorio, surprised, as he stood up.

"Sorry, but until 24 hours ago, you were nobody to me," explained Ellis, standing up. She looked at him with a certain contempt as she said, "And I hope we continue that way soon."

"And I completely hope the opposite," said Vittorio, raising his hand towards Ellis.

Ellis looked at his hand and, without shaking it, moved away from the table, accompanied by Rocco, while being watched by Vittorio, who was already thinking about when he would have the opportunity to meet the brown-eyed brunette again, the most vivid eyes he had ever seen in his life.

***

Ellis watched the scenery change as the car drove through the city. Despite her desire, she didn't feel completely confident about the words exchanged with Vittorio. In addition to the feeling of contempt for that man who had only brought her trouble since he appeared in her life. Perhaps that's why she couldn't stop thinking about him, about the way his deep voice dominated the entire environment and that calmness that just thinking about it made Ellis angry.

"We've arrived," Rocco announced as he lowered the internal access window. He parked a few safe meters from Ellis's house. "I'll leave you here, as you have a visitor."

His words made Ellis look towards her house and see a police car parked outside. Officer Smith was standing outside, analyzing the young woman's house.

"And what about my brother?" Ellis asked Rocco. "When will I have him back?"

"As Don Vittorio said: Consider it done, Miss Barker," replied Rocco, unlocking Ellis's door. "Have a good afternoon."

Ellis got out of the vehicle, which slowly drove away as if Rocco was observing the car cautiously. She walked with some haste and was only noticed by Smith when she was already on the sidewalk in front of her house.

"Miss Barker?" asked Smith, looking around surprised. "Where have you been?"

"Lunching..." replied Ellis, arms crossed. "What do you want, officer?"

"What do I want?" questioned Smith, running his hand through his blond hair. "Well, I couldn't talk to your brother yesterday and you came to the station today to report... What's going on, Barker?"

"Nothing, I just came to let you know that everything is fine and you don't have to worry," Ellis lied. "Then I went to lunch."

"Excuse me, but it didn't seem like you were there just for that," retorted Smith. He took two steps toward Ellis's house as he said, "Where is your brother? I need to talk to him."

"He's not here," said Ellis, standing in front of the police officer. "Jason went to community service..."

"Lie. I passed by the reference location, and your brother didn't set foot there today," Smith revealed, staring at Ellis sternly. "Step aside, Miss Barker, I need to search the house. If Jason Barker is not here, he will be considered a fugitive from justice, and his probation will be revoked."

"No," Ellis refused, standing in front of the police officer. "Please don't."

"You're obstructing a police operation, Barker," Smith explained. "Step aside, or I'll have to arrest you for contempt, for being an accomplice to a fugitive, and obstruction of justice."

"You can arrest me then because I won't let you into my house," Ellis replied, extending her hands toward the police officer.

"Hey guys, what's going on here?" Jason asked, opening the door of the house.