Page 55 of The Devil's Heir

Jarek

The whole estate is in an uproar over Liliana's disappearance, but none are as distraught as I am. My office looks as if thieves have come in and ransacked it—broken glass and furniture litter almost every corner.

Every time we get a lead that doesn't pan out, another bout of destruction occurs.

I don't know how much more of this I can take before I start hurting people.

Lily's friends have steered clear of me, not that I care.

The old bat doesn't like me as it is, so I really don't want to keep seeing her glare at me the way she did when she heard about what happened.

"What the fuck do you mean Lily was taken? She was with you!" she squawked. "Leave it to a Falcon to fuck shit up! You better pray that my friend and that babe is found safe…"

The woman pretty much threatened me, but I can't blame her—I fucked up.

It's been two fucking days—Lily can be anywhere.

Make no mistake, I will not stop until I find my pauper and heaven help the motherfucker who took her.

If there's the littlest mark on her perfect body, I'm going to take my time and make the bastard suffer.

"Can I have a word with you, Sir?" A voice asks from the doorway.

I'm sitting on the couch in my office, my head in my hands as I try to keep myself calm enough to function.

However, my head snaps up at the sound of another person, and I see Jackson standing in the doorway.

He's been a wreck, too. He feels at fault because he didn't insist on returning to Lily to take her home that day.

The fault is all mine—I told him it wasn't needed.

Heath fucking Richards.

There's no doubting his involvement now. He's been MIA the whole time, but I can't for the life of me understand what his motives were.

Sighing, I motion Jackson in with my hand, saying, "Come in."

I sit back, leaning against the couch, and watch Jackson shut the door before taking the armchair to my left. There's concern in his eyes as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers together.

"I didn't know it was the same guy," Jackson starts off, adding, "I never knew his first name because you always referred to him as Richards.

I try not to get into your business unless you want me in it, so I don't pay much attention to the other men you have working for you.

You're my main priority—well—along with Lily now, but—"

"Just spit it out, Jackson," I order, getting annoyed.

"Er, sorry, Sir. Um, I think Richards is Lily's former foster brother who she ran from," Jackson states.

This grabs my attention, and I sit up straight. Goosebumps break out across my skin because this is new information that could help tremendously.

"What are you talking about? What former foster brother, and where did you hear this?"

"Lily told me the day we went on the shopping trip. She had been spooked because she saw the guy at the shopping center and she made us leave immediately. She seemed very fearful of him, Sir."

"Why am I just hearing about this now?" I ask Jackson angrily. He should have told me as soon as he found this information out.

"I'm sorry, Sir. Lily begged me not to ever mention it. She said that it was her past and that she wanted to move forward," he explains, but this doesn't sit well with me.

"Who do you work for, Jackson?'

"You, Sir."

"And who do you answer to?"

"You, Sir. "

"Do you realize how dangerous it is to keep such information from me?"

"I know, and I am so sorry, Sir. It will never happen again."

I glower at him. I've killed men for lesser offenses, but I've come to regard Jackson as a friend as well, and although I'm beyond pissed, I can't kill him.

I scrub my face as I let out a heavy breath. Meeting Jackson's eyes again, I say, "Go on. Finish what you came in here to tell me. I want to know everything you know."

Jackson nods. "Lily didn't tell me too much, just that at some point, this Heath guy had planned on pimping her out, and when she heard his conversation about it, she ran. I don't know when this took place, she didn't say."

"Former foster brother?" I ask to confirm, and when Jackson nods, my mind wanders back to all those years ago.

I remember the young boy I talked to outside her house one day, but there's no way that's who Jackson is talking about. Trying to think back further, back to when I first saw her, I search my memory for anyone I had seen her with. No one comes to mind.

How could I have missed this?

"I don't think it's a coincidence that one of your men has the same name as Lily's foster brother, especially since both are now missing." Jackson points out to me, drawing my attention back to him.

He's right, and now that we know who took her, we have a direction to dive into with our search.

It may have been wrong to think it, but I had still held hope that Richards was lying dead somewhere, not wanting to believe one of my own would betray me like this.

That isn't the case, and I'm going to make his death extra special because of it.

I've had Koval watching the address Heath had put on file, but now I'm texting my capo, ordering him and his men to go in and try to find anything that may lead us to Lily. What comes out of Jackson next has me pausing and fixing my stare on him.

"I think Carmen may also be involved."

My hand fists around my phone hearing this, and through gritted teeth, I ask, "How so? "

"Carmen was also at the shopping center that day. In fact, that's why I hadn't noticed Heath. I was in the middle of having heated words with your aunt because she was taunting Lily. Again, I don't think it was a coincidence."

"Son of a bitch!"

This time, I do throw my phone and it smashes into pieces when it hits the stone fireplace across the room. I then pick up the already broken coffee table and throw it across the room, too.

Jackson just sits there, letting me take my frustrations out. He'd probably let me hit him if it's what I really needed, but he's not the one I'm angry with. I'm pissed at myself for letting my guard down where Liliana was concerned. Now, I don't know what's going to happen to her.

If Jackson is correct, and Carmen is involved, it's got to be because of the baby. I'm no fool—Carmen wants to retain her title as the donna of Falcon Estate—she's said as much when offering to have my heir. My stomach churns just at the thought of sticking my dick in her.

"That fucking bitch will pay dearly if she's involved. I now wonder whether Carlos also has his hands in this," I state.

I've always known Carlos Greco craved more power—that's the only reason he married his niece off to my uncle in the first place. He must have realized I'd eventually inherit everything once my uncle was gone, which makes his true motives all the more unclear.

"Having Carmen under this roof is dangerous, Sir. Even if she isn't a part of this scheme, she's still a threat to Lily. I can feel it in my bones. The vibes I get from her presence aren't good ones."

"Yes, I believe you're right. I've felt the same thing," I agree.

I've put off signing the paperwork, giving me complete control of the estate now that we have proof of conceiving my heir. I figured I had time, but it's now run out. I need to sign those papers, so I can get that bitch out of our lives for good.

Grabbing my spare phone from my desk drawer, I send a text to the attorney, I request that he send the papers via messenger as soon as possible. I can't take the time to swing by his office, not while Lily is still missing.

Now that we have more leads, I also send out a message to all my top men to come to the estate so we can formulate a new plan. Hopefully, Koval finds something.

Jackson goes to take his leave, but I stop him. "Stay. I want you on the search team, Jackson. I need people I can trust, and I know you care for Liliana—"

"We're only friends, I swear—"

I hold my hand up, stopping his reassurance because I don't need it.

"I know this, which is why I trust you the most. You think I don't watch the two of you, but I see everything. Every glance, every whisper, every interaction you think goes unnoticed—I see. I know there's nothing but friendship between the two of you."

I'll admit, at first, I felt a twinge of jealousy. But as time passed and I watched them closely, it became clear that their feelings for each other never went beyond friendship. If I had ever thought otherwise, I wouldn't have been so willing to leave them alone.

"Your trust means a lot to me, Sir."

I only nod at Jackson's statement, not wanting to veer off the subject of Lily's abduction for too long.

We still need to figure out where they are keeping her.

I have men working on the city's video footage.

We had lost sight of the Bentley when it went into a tunnel.

The footage had been tampered with and never showed them exiting the tunnel.

Luckily, the tracking app led us to the hotel, where they had left the Bentley, hidden behind the old establishment. The footage from the bank across the street has them leaving in an older Oldsmobile, the car we're now watching for.

What people need to remember is that I own this fucking town, and I will find them. Hopefully, it's sooner rather than later.

"So the bank's camera feed saw the car heading Northeast. I've already had men searching that area, but we can't dismiss the possibility that they may have switched directions.

I want to widen the search area. Are there any places north of town that would work well when hiding someone?

" I ask the thirty or so men who answered my text .

"There's not much there unless you cross over into the next territory," Joey replies as he looks down at the map I have spread on the dining room table.

"Exactly. Whose property is north of Rushwood?" I ask.

Joey meets my eyes, and I see the recognition in them. My jaw clenches as I nod subtly. It's Greco's territory.

"Wait a minute," Jackson speaks up, pointing to a small area on the map. "If they continued Northeast, it would have taken them straight to this forest dividing the territories."

"Yeah, what about it?" I cock my brow as I wait for his answer.

"Carmen has a small cabin about two miles into those woods," Jackson exclaims. "It's where she meets up with guys—a little love shack, if you will."

A few other men in the room agree with Jackson, and I glance at each of them, disbelief dancing across my face. Carmen sure was fucking her way through my men.

"How many of you gave the bitch information that she asked for?" I can't help but be suspicious now that I've already been duped. It's possible that is why she's choosing my men to satisfy her needs.

Either they're scared to speak the truth, or they aren't stupid enough to let a warm cunt sway them into betraying me because they all shake their heads. I stare down each man who fucked around with Carmen, but none of them fold.

"You know what? It doesn't even matter at the moment. What's important is that we get to that cabin and see if Liliana is there," I state. Turning, I walk toward the door, and without looking over my shoulder, I order, "Get strapped. We head out in five minutes."