Chapter Five | Despair

Time ticked away on the wall clock that is stationed opposite James' desk. It'd almost been a week since Amelia had disappeared, and the investigation he'd started had yielded no result so far. He'd spent most of his nights at the office, the emptiness of their shared apartment always leaving him sleep-deprived and depressed.

Now nearing midnight, James paced around his office frantically, adding pictures and connecting the dots on his investigative board that was placed beside his desk. All possible suspects had been aligned to it, from the files Inspector Kelly had handed to him on the day of her disappearance.

It had to be one of them, he thought, as he placed the last picture of a young Leonelli on the board. He stared at the stoic and hardened expression that the mafioso had even at such a young age. The man was someone that had been of concern to his father, that his own father had feared. Just an old picture of the man brought a feeling of unease to the detective as he stared at it longer than he wished to.

He ran a hand through his brown curls, blinking the drowsy sensation that lingered over his eyes away. He'd been running on only four hours of sleep but it was enough for him. Time was precious and it was slipping away at every minute he wasted on sleeping while he could be looking for more clues on her disappearance.

A knock came at the door before Derek walked into his office with a box of donuts and a crater of four lattes in both hands as he shut the door behind him.

Derek and James have been friends since college, both aspiring to be detectives in the field. They'd lost contact over the years but recently became reacquainted with the help of inspector Kelly who assigned Derek to the case of Amelia's disappearance along with him. James knew it was a way for the inspector to keep an eye on him and his wellbeing but for the first time in a while, he really appreciated the effort.

"Guess what I found" Derek piped up as he dropped the contents in his hands on the table, "Recess Donuts was holding a closing sale on their glazed donuts man, I just had to stop over and grab a batch for us before getting here"

"That would explain why you're two hours late after your dinner break huh?" James joked, a reluctant smile etching on the corner of his lips as he turned to watch his friend already biting into a donut.

"I have a large appetite and you know that" He muttered as he bit down on the half-eaten pastry, "At least I brought something back with me"

"I'm not hungry so you wasted your effort but thanks" James turned back to the board as his gaze wove through the faces that were placed there.

"Come on man, you haven't eaten a proper meal in a while now, at least have a donut. One would even suffice" Derek extended the open box at him, the glazed pastry staring back at a famished James.

Though he wished to just focus on the task before him, he found himself reaching into the box, taking a whooping amount of three donuts in one hand, earning a scowl from Derek, "I said one would suffice, not the whole thing" he whined as he peered into the now half-empty box.

James chuckled at his friend's reaction, grappling for a cup of coffee on his table before turning back to the matter at hand, "Now let's get to work, you can eat and work at the same time. Let's start with the info you got from the IICA"

Derek mumbled as he chewed away, holding up his hand as he struggled to quickly swallow the content in his mouth before speaking, "I don't think you'd like the info I got from them Jay jay" James winced at the horrid nickname before turning his full attention to his glutton friend who now evaded his gaze.

"Why?" He asked, "What did you find out?"

"It's about Amelia's past or rather non-existential past" Derek took a swig of the scorching latte, trying to find a way to break the news he'd gotten in a way that wouldn't completely shatter his already feeble state.

James rushed to his friend's side, intrigued by whatever the IICA could possibly have on his fiancée. It wouldn't be strange if they couldn't find much about her, he knew that she'd mentioned the first time that they met that she couldn't be charged into the system. But not having a past at all, was something that James couldn't quite understand. What about all the information she'd shown him, even the ones he'd confirmed?

"I need you to tell me everything you were told" He prodded, the urgency in his voice putting Derek in quite a tight spot that seemed more conflicting than having to pick one flavor of the donut to add as the last piece in the box, which was quite tasking.

Derek reached into his pocket, retrieving a crumpled picture of a woman. He handed it to James who took the picture within his hands, unfolding and staring at the blond woman who stood, poised and elegant in a ball gown. Her smile was captivating and held a tone of familiarity with James. One he'd seen a thousand times over the past few months.

"Who is this?" He asked, the rashness of his voice bringing Derek's attention to the unraveling man before him. He contemplated whether to divulge more or pretend the picture was his only lead but after knowing the wrath of James Tolland, he was cautious to divulge as much of the truth was necessary despite his instability.

"She's known as the princess of the De Santigo mafia syndicate" Derek muttered, watching as the realization dawned on James slowly, "But she is referred to as Amelia Davis here in New York City"

"Impossible" James whispered, more to himself than Derek. He couldn't allow the IICA to poison his mind and derail him from the mission at hand. The woman in the picture resembled Amelia, yes, but to claim that she was the daughter of the ruling coterie family in Italy was just preposterous. There was no way.

"Let's just continue what we were doing and get an accurate report by tomorrow" He moved over to the board, almost stumbling as he approached it, his hands shaking as he focused his attention on the Don of the De Santigo clan, his hands running along with the resembling features that just became apparent.

"That's not all" Derek wiped his hands with a serviette, tossing it in the trash as he stood straight, his facial features devoid of all humor as he stared at his friend squarely in the eye, "You may want to take a seat for this one," he said, exhaling as he prepared to relay the information he'd gathered.

*

Fariello De Santigo sat at a table in his courtyard right behind the mansion, a glass of wine in his hands as he stared into the distance, watching his newly returned daughter approach him. The expression on her face was evident even from where he sat, it reminded him of the days he'd sat in the exact spot watching as she approached him, ready to throw a tantrum or report an incident.

This time though, he seemed to be the subject of her anger.

"Is it true?" She snapped as she neared the table, her face red and surly with anger as she spoke.

"Mi sei mancata, bambina mia" He says, a bright smile which was reserved only for his little girl, beamed back at her livid expression, which she couldn't help but falter slightly at the unique smile that he let slip up only when she was present, "siediti"

[translation: I missed you, my little girl; take a seat]

She took a seat opposite him, a maid quickly hurrying over to place a basket of breadsticks with an extra wine glass and an additional bottle of champagne before her, as she did, "vorresti qualcosa da mangiare, signora"

[translation: would you like anything to eat ma'am]

"Just wine is okay" She muttered; her attention fixed on her father.

The maid bowed her head before sauntering off, leaving the two of them alone.

"Is it true, Father" She spoke up, "What that Leonelli man said, is it true? Did you really sell me out to him?"

"Of course not" He retorted, taking a sip of his wine, "I only agreed to a temporary arrangement where you'd move to New York with him in order for us to curb a mutual enemy"

"What does me being with him have to do with your mutual enemy?" she snaps, watching as her father places his wine chalet on the table, his expression now docile and serious as he watches her.

"It has come to my attention that you were frolicking with a police officer that had a target on all our backs. The only reason you weren't detected by the police department or that retched IICA was due to Mr. Gianpiero's plan. He watched how close you became with the man and contacted me with a proposition I couldn't quite refuse" he twirls the wine glass in his hands, "I want to see this man's life exterminated right before me. His father strained all our business dealings and killed an ample amount of our men as well as other syndicates as well. I thought we'd be left alone after taking him out, but I guess his son decided to grow up just like his father but this time,"

He lets out a laugh that's devoid of any form of humor whilst Emilia watches him with wide eyes, her heart racing as she waits for him to finish, "He decided to bide his time with the wrong woman and for that, he will be punished severely. I will revel in his torture and hand him over to Leonelli when I'm through but for now," he points a finger at her, "we are going to deal a major blow to his heart with your help, that is"

"Please don't do this, papa" Emilia found herself wrought with despair and confusion. If only she hadn't allowed herself to be drawn into James' world, maybe she would have sat back and ignored her father's antics or stayed quiet while the guilt ate her alive just like it'd done with Rafaello but she couldn't. Not when they were about to start their family together.

"La mia bambina, you know I can't listen to you at times like this, business comes before family. This detective of yours is already a dead man, all you have to do is comply with whatever you're told as usual or face the consequences that are thrown your way" he says, moving to stand from his seat.

"There has to be another way" Emilia muttered, "I could convince him to leave our family alone, I can persuade him to stop whatever investigation he's carrying out, please papa"

Fariello waved her off as he stretched momentarily, a smile etching at his lips as he spoke, "There's no need to stress yourself, Emilia. You will never see him again. There would be no avenue for you to persuade him because if you do meet him, he may be forced to put a bullet between your eyes"

"He'd never do that" She sputters, standing as well to face her father, their eyes fixed on each other's, "He loves me, he would never want to kill me"

He scoffs, "After what we fed the IICA moles about you, He'll never be able to forgive himself for falling in love with an imposter. I mean, from what I recall, he's in love with Amelia Davis and you certainly aren't her"

"How cou-"

"Enough" Fariello retorts, holding a hand up to stop her, "I've said what I had to say about the situation, it's best that you reserve your comments and follow me to say goodbye to your siblings. Your plane to Sicily leaves in an hour's time"

Emilia stared at her father, confusion shrouding on her expression, "What do you mean, I just got here"

"Well, Leonelli is in a hurry to return to his residence in Sicily from which He'd leave to New York afterward. He insisted on taking you with him. And I intend on complying with him"

With that, he brushed past her, heading towards the mansion whilst Emilia trailed behind him, contemplating the rate at which she'd lost all form of control.