Chapter 133: Intercept The Next Delivery

"Marco," Dimitri said quietly.

Marco stepped forward from where he’d been standing silently in the shadows.

"Boss?"

"The medication my father has been providing. Can we trace it? Find out what it’s made of?"

"If we can get a sample, yes. Chemical analysis should break down the components."

Dimitri turned back to Dr. Armani. "Do you have any of the medication? Any samples? Anything left from the monthly deliveries?"

"No. Antonio is very specific. I’m to give Isabella exactly the amount he provides each month. No more. No less. I’m not to keep any for myself. Not to test it. Not to analyze it. Just to give it to her and document it as legitimate anxiety medication."

"When is the next delivery?"

"Next week. Antonio sends it to me on the first of every month. Isabella picks it up a few days later."

Dimitri looked at Marco. "We intercept the next delivery. Get a sample before it reaches the doctor. Run every test we have on it. I want to know exactly what’s in that medication and what it does."

"On it."

Dimitri turned back to the doctor, studied him for a long moment.

The man was pathetic. Weak. Complicit in poisoning a young woman for money.

But he was also terrified. And he’d told the truth.

Or at least, the truth as he knew it.

"One more question," Dimitri said quietly. "Does Isabella know? Does she have any idea that the medication isn’t what you’ve told her it is?"

"No. She thinks it’s anxiety medication. Legitimate treatment prescribed by a licensed physician. She has no idea she’s being poisoned. No idea she’s addicted to something her own body can’t function without." Dr. Armani’s voice was hollow. "She trusts me. She’s trusted me for eight years. And I’ve been lying to her the entire time."

Dimitri felt something dark and terrible settle in his chest.

Isabella had drugged Eve.

Had nearly killed her.

Had done something unforgivable.

But she’d also been a victim.

Since she was fifteen years old.

His father had been controlling her, manipulating her, poisoning her.

Making her dependent. Making her desperate. Making her easier to use.

And Dimitri....

Dimitri had threatened to kill her for being exactly what Antonio had made her.

"Get him out of here," Dimitri said to Marco. "Take him somewhere secure. Keep him alive. We might need him to testify later."

"What about my family?" Dr. Armani asked desperately. "Antonio said...he said if I ever talked, if I ever told anyone...."

"Your family will be protected. I’ll make sure of it." Dimitri’s voice was cold. "But you’re going to do exactly what I tell you to do. You’re going to continue your arrangement with my father. You’re going to act like nothing happened. You’re going to provide the medication to Isabella when she comes for it next week. And you’re going to keep your mouth shut about this conversation. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Yes, I understand."

"Because if my father finds out you talked to me, if he suspects anything....he won’t just kill you. He’ll kill everyone you love. Slowly. Painfully. And I won’t stop him." Dimitri leaned in close. "But if you do what I say, if you help me, if you continue playing your role until I tell you otherwise, I’ll protect you. I’ll get you and your family somewhere safe. Somewhere my father can’t touch you. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes! Yes, anything! I’ll do anything!"

"Good." Dimitri straightened. "Marco. Take him."

Marco gestured to his men, who came in and unbound Dr. Armani from the chair.

The doctor stood on shaking legs, looked at Dimitri one more time.

"I’m sorry," he whispered. "For what I did to that girl. For the lies. For all of it. I’m so sorry."

"Save your apologies," Dimitri said coldly. "You’re going to make this right. And if you don’t, if you fuck this up, if you warn my father, if you do anything other than exactly what I’ve told you then sorry won’t save you."

Dr. Armani nodded, was led away by Marco’s men.

Marco stayed behind, closed the door after them.

"Boss," he said quietly. "What just happened?"

"My father has been poisoning Isabella since she was fifteen years old. Making her addicted to some unknown substance. Controlling her through that addiction." Dimitri’s jaw clenched. "I came here looking for proof she drugged Eve. Instead, I found out she’s been a victim of my father’s manipulation for almost a decade."

"Does this change anything? About what she did?"

"No. She still drugged Eve. She’s still responsible for that." Dimitri moved to the window, looked out at the dark Rome night. "But it explains a lot. Her desperation. Her obsession. Her willingness to do anything to win me back. If my father’s been controlling her through medication...."

"Then he’s been using her as a pawn. Against her own father. Against the Russo family."

"Exactly." Dimitri pulled out his phone. "I need to think. I need to process this. And I need to figure out what the fuck my father is playing at."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Get the doctor somewhere safe. Somewhere my father can’t find him if he starts to suspect. And prepare for the medication intercept next week. I want that sample. I want to know exactly what my father’s been putting into Isabella’s body."

"Understood."

Marco left.

Dimitri stood alone in the empty warehouse, his mind racing.

He’d come to Italy for answers.

He’d gotten them.

Just not the ones he’d expected.

And now he had more questions than ever.

Why was his father poisoning Isabella?

What did the medication actually do?

What was Antonio’s endgame?

And most importantly....

If Antonio had been willing to poison Lorenzo Russo’s daughter for eight years.....

What else was he willing to do?

Who else might he be poisoning?

Dimitri pulled out his phone, stared at Eve’s contact.

She was safe. Guarded. Protected.

But for how long?

If Antonio decided she was a threat....

If he decided to use the same methods on Eve that he’d used on Isabella....

Dimitri felt ice flood his veins.

He had to move carefully.

Had to gather evidence. Had to build a case. Had to find out exactly what Antonio was doing and why.

But he also had to protect Eve.

Had to make sure she was never.....never within Antonio’s reach.

Because if his father could poison a fifteen-year-old girl and maintain that poisoning for eight years....

There was nothing he wouldn’t do.

No line he wouldn’t cross.

No person he wouldn’t hurt.

Including Eve.

Dimitri called Marco back.

"Change of plans. We’re not staying in Italy. We’re flying back to New York tonight. I need to get home. I need to make sure Eve is safe."

"Boss, we just landed a few hours ago..."

"I don’t care. Get the jet ready. We leave in two hours."

"Understood."

Dimitri hung up, looked out at the Rome skyline one more time.

He’d come here for truth.

He’d found it.

Now he had to figure out what to do with it.

And how to protect the woman he loved from a father who’d proven he was capable of anything.