Second Marriage, The Billionaire's Planned Love novel Chapter 178

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178 Chapter 178 Fresh Start Beckons

178 Chapter 178 Fresh Start Beckons

Martinez’s POV 1

After the compound raid, our first stop was the safe house where the fugitive Rossi was supposedly hiding. The place turned out to be a dead end.

According to our contacts, Rossi and his wife had been there earlier but vanished shortly before our arrival.

Exhaustion weighed on my shoulders like lead, but stopping wasn’t an option. The interrogations of those idiots we’d arrested during the Thorne operation still awaited me. After that, I’d catch a flight back to my territory. I hadn’t managed a proper conversation with Xavier yet, but I planned to call him once I got some rest. That petite woman I’d spotted at the Thorne compound kept nagging at my thoughts.

I dropped into the chair facing Lieutenant Adler’s desk. She offered whiskey, which I accepted gratefully. The liquor might chase away some of this bone–deep fatigue.

“Adler, something stinks about Rossi disappearing right before we showed up. What’s your take?” I asked, savoring the burning liquid.

“I hate it too,” Adler settled into her chair with her own glass. “I keep circling back to the same conclusion. He’s got an informant inside the Thorne Syndicate. Someone even his criminal partners don’t know about.”

“That tracks. You planning to warn Caleb?”

“Absolutely. This whole case is like untangling a spider web. Multiple betrayals running for years and nobody caught on.”

“Yeah, honestly, I can’t figure out if Rossi’s motivated by greed, hatred, or jealousy.”

“All three, Martinez.”

The memory of finding that boy chained to the table hit me again. “What

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those two psychotic women did to that kid was beyond sick. He was shackled by his ankle, filthy, starving, crying. I wanted to empty my clip into both of them. Think they’ll cooperate?”

“Highly doubtful. We’re dealing with two seriously unhinged individuals. That Rossi woman is completely detached from reality.” I recalled her meltdown during transport about the lack of proper accommodations. Adler nearly cried laughing when I told her. “My only regret is having to fly back to my territory after these interrogations. I’d really like to see this vendetta through to the finish.”

“Martinez, you’ve got the time and experience for a specialized position in a bigger city. Why are you still stuck managing street operations?”

Adler leaned back, genuinely curious.

“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure myself,” I admitted. “It’s home, I guess. Stayed out of convenience, being near family connections. But lately, I’ve been feeling restless. My territory’s too quiet and I love fieldwork like today’s operation. I’m built for action. After this case, when I get back, I’m calling the family council to see what’s available. Time for a change.”

“You could come here. Our other enforcer retired recently, position’s open. I liked your field performance. You’d be valuable here. I’m getting too old to chase suspects, so we could help each other. We work well together, having a partner to command the other crew would be perfect.”

“That would be incredible, Adler. We do click. But the council probably already has someone lined up. The specialized enforcement unit is extremely competitive.”

Adler smiled and held up a finger. She grabbed the phone and called the family’s security coordinator. She explained the case, how I’d found the kidnapped boy, how crucial my help was during the compound search. She listened, smiled, hung up, and turned back to me.

“The coordinator’s an old friend. Maybe he can help bring you here,” Adler explained, grinning.

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“That would be amazing. Thanks for the support!”

We started the interrogations. Rossi’s daughter went first. As the fugitive’s child, maybe we could squeeze something useful from her. They brought her in restrained. The recorder positioned himself at the side table and began documenting.

“Rossi,” Adler began, “you realize you’re in serious trouble, right?”

“I don’t know why. I didn’t do anything wrong. I was only at that awful place with the boy because my father sent me. Besides, it was just a harmless prank. Obviously, I wasn’t going to stay with the kid forever.” Her voice was shrill, painfully high–pitched.

“You understand this constitutes kidnapping?” I asked, amazed by her cluelessness. “The penalty’s severe. Plus, you used the boy to prevent Caleb from marrying his woman.” I glanced at Adler questioningly, making her chuckle. “I’m not sure if this qualifies as extortion by kidnapping or straight

blackmail.”

“Caleb belongs to me!” The deranged woman shrieked. “If that nobody Ivy hadn’t interfered, we’d already be married.”

“So you thought kidnapping a child would make Caleb marry you?” Adler

asked.

“He was going to marry me if you hadn’t meddled. By now I would’ve returned the brat.”

“Why did you chain the boy?” I demanded, still furious about this detail.

“Because I wasn’t going to chase after him and Monica told me to tie him to the table leg,” she responded as if it were perfectly normal. I wanted to

throttle her, but Adler signaled me to stay calm.

“Rossi, where’s your father?”

“Daddy must be hiring the world’s best fixers to get me out of here. He’ll arrive soon and destroy you for treating me like this.” She displayed her

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restrained wrists.

“I think you’re mistaken. Your father’s a fugitive,” Adler stated.

“A fugitive from who? You’re insane!” She laughed shortly.

“He’s wanted for various crimes, including kidnapping Ivy, who’s been found, naturally. But your father and mother fled. Apparently left their little girl behind.”

“Daddy wouldn’t do that,” Rossi whimpered.

“Oh, he not only would, he did,” I said cynically.

Rossi began wailing, volume escalating steadily. She cried with her mouth wide open, tears streaming like waterfalls. This woman crying was apocalyptic. She sobbed uninterrupted for an extended period while Adler and I sat as unwilling spectators. I thought she might dehydrate from crying so much.

We continued questioning, but each inquiry triggered fresh tears. Eventually, she claimed the kidnapping was Monica’s idea, that she’d assured her it was just a harmless prank and they wouldn’t hurt the boy. Beyond that, between crying like she was dying and complaining that she’d changed her appearance and he didn’t even notice, which made no sense, her testimony was useless.

After Rossi was returned to her cell, they brought in Monica. She was shrewd. Monica possessed psychopathic coldness and refused to answer our questions. However, for certain questions, like why she kept the boy chained in those conditions, I caught a brief glimmer in her eyes and the shadow of a minimal smile, as if she was satisfied.

But at the interrogation’s end, Adler asked a question that shattered her cold, indifferent facade.

“Monica, Rossi fled with his wife. It would benefit your situation if you provided information to help us find him.”

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