Page 22 of They Found Us (Found #5)

“Hello, Mother. Bea Martelé.”

I watch as the reality hits Vanna’s mother, Bea. It takes her a moment, and there’s a strong frown on her face as her eyes settle on Vanna’s. She gasps, putting her hands over her mouth, and sinks back into her chair. Tears stream from her face. “It can’t be.”

“Uncle Joe,” Vanna greets her uncle coldly. “He’s not the only one who can come back from the dead.” She gestures in my direction.

“You!” Vanna’s mother looks at Alex and stands again angrily. “You took her away.”

“No, you all pushed me away. Dad had him killed. Well, almost. Luckily my husband is made of tough stuff.”

“Your husband?” Uncle Joe growls in protest. “You married a Guerra.”

“Yes. Now that the introductions are over, I’d like to get down to business.” Alex pulls up a chair at the table, and Vanna takes a seat. Alex stands behind her and passes her the documents, which she places on the table in front of them.

“’My final will and testament…’” Vanna begins to read her father’s will and the conditions upon which he has left everything to her on his passing.

“Is this some kind of joke? You don’t think you can just walk in here and take over everything.” Uncle Joe laughs.

Vanna’s mother picks up the documents and slumps back in her seat while reading, the penny dropping, Vanna’s words clearly hitting hard. “It’s true,” she says.

Uncle Joe snatches the documents from her hands, rips them up, and throws them back at Vanna. “You have nothing. For all we know, you are an imposter. And even if you are Vanna, you are a Guerra now. Guerra cannot be Martelé.”

“I am still a Martelé. It just doesn’t mean the same as it used to.”

“Well, you are married to a Guerra. Our men will never work under your control.”

The guards behind him nod and grunt in agreement.

“Oh, but you see, Uncle, my husband married me, so he is a Martelé.”

Alex quickly picks Vanna up just as the table is thrown by her uncle. Marco, Van, and I quickly step into action, standing between Vanna and her uncle, whose guards are also stood beside him, ready for action.

“Vanna. My daughter. This is too much.” She cries.

Vanna moves us out from behind us to stand in front of her mother, uncle, and the guards.

“I am Giovanna Martelé. The organisation was left to me when my father was murdered. This is my birthright, my destiny. I am the heir, the last of the true immediate bloodline. You will bow to me.”

“Never!” Uncle Joe shouts and lunges for Vanna, but this time, it’s the Martelé guards that get to Vanna first, grabbing her uncle by the arms and throwing him to the floor.

“How dare you lay your hands on me. You will pay for that!” Joe shouts.

“Oh, but they won’t.” Vanna nods in thanks to the guards.

Van appears from behind me and hands Vanna a bag.

She takes it and reaches inside. “Here are your phones. If you’d like to check your bank balances, I think you will find it very interesting.”

Both of Vanna’s relatives take their phones, as do the guards. After a moment, the guards look very pleased with what they see, showing one another their devices.

“I can’t get on it. It says ‘account suspended.’” Bea continues to put in her password as though it might change.

“Mine too.”

“Yes, dear uncle—yours too. Both of your accounts have been closed. Your access to all of the Martelé businesses, legit and underworld, have been terminated. You have nothing. Guards, you have been paid a well-overdue bonus. Every worker has. If you comply with the future changes, you will again be compensated and continue to be while working under my reign,” Vanna continues.

Marco and I look at each other. I had no idea the takeover was already in progress.

This must have been what Alex and Vanna wanted to sort out before they came.

I’m annoyed I wasn’t told about this before we came.

I thought it would be Alex making all the decisions and that he was the one who I would have my work cut out with, but it looks like it’s actually Vanna who is pulling all the strings.

Vanna is taking over the Martelé as a Martelé, and my brother is at her side.

I cannot get my head around what is happening.

“Vanna, please, can I speak to you alone?” her mother asks gently.

“No. You cannot. I will be arranging meetings with each of you, but at my convenience. For now, you can return to your homes. But I own the houses, and I will be using them how I decide.”

“Bitch!” Uncle Joe goes for her again, and this time he is met with crack to the face by a Martelé guard. He drops to his knees, holding his face. It looks like Vanna has them under her control already.

“Make no mistake. This is happening, and unless I have your complete cooperation, you will be out, completely cut off. I’ll give you twenty-four hours to get your head around it or to try and find a way to stop me, which you can’t. Then we will meet back here, and I will go through my plans.”

The Martelé guards help Uncle Joe to his feet and escort him and Vanna’s mother out of the building.

When they have gone, Vanna breathes a sigh of relief, and her persona relaxes slightly. I’m still in shock over what I have just witnessed. The Vanna I have seen here tonight is a completely different version of the one I met on the island.

“You were amazing.” Alex kisses Vanna’s head.

“Hold on a minute. What the fuck was that?” Marco booms. “Why were we not told this information before we came?”

“We weren’t sure how we were going to play it. But when I saw my uncle and mother and how they reacted, I thought, fuck it, I’m taking it all.”

“So, you are now the head of the Martelé, our arch enemy?” Marco scoffs.

“Yes, Marco I am.” Vanna smirks proudly.

What the hell is going on here?

“Scotch, anyone?” Van asks. He has a habit of appearing out of nowhere.

“Give me that.” Marco takes the bottle from his hand and grabs a glass from a nearby cabinet.

He pours himself a shot, downs it, then pours himself another and downs that too.

“What are these plans that you are going to go through with them tomorrow?” Marco is very agitated.

He doesn’t like not being kept in the loop. It makes him not trust people.

“How the structure will change, what deals we will be terminating, and the different connections we will now be working with.”

“Connections, what connections?” I ask, confused as to how they have any new connections. It seems Katie was right. Alex may be my brother, but I do not know him or his wife at all. “Actually, don’t answer that. I’ve had enough surprises for one day. Come on, Marco. Let’s go home.”

Van appears again out of the darkness. “There’s some trouble outside. Don’t leave yet.”

“What kind of trouble?” I groan, hoping this doesn’t delay my return home.

“Some of the Martelé guards that were doing the searches got a bit arsey when I was giving them their weapons back. I need Vine to teach them a lesson.”

“Can’t you just shoot him yourself?” Marco inquires.

“I could, but Vine does scary sick things that will haunt their nightmares for years.”

Hold on a minute. I know that name. “Vine?”

“Yes. Have you seen him?”

“Yes, I left him at the house with my wife and children.”

“Why would you do that?” Van asks, concern filling his face.

“Because I asked you who you could trust, and you said Vine.”

“Yeah, trust to be ruthless and kill someone on the spot, not trust anywhere near women and children. Fuck, he ripped out a man’s voice box with his teeth. He is an actual monster.” Van physically shudders.

My heart pounds in my chest. I look at Marco, who already has his phone in his hand.

He dials, but it rings out. I check the house cameras.

Nothing. Nobody is in any of the rooms. The only rooms the cameras aren’t in are ours and Mark’s room, which has the baby monitor.

That monitor, I do not have on my phone.

“Shit,” I say. “Get in the car now.”

We all get into the car. It’s about a twenty-minute drive away. Each of us tries Katie’s phone, the house phone, and Alga and Sergio, who live on the grounds. There’s no answer on any of them. Van tries Vine, but it goes straight to answer phone.

“I’m sure they will all be fine, Leo,” Van assures me. “They’re probably all just asleep. It is almost ten o’clock.”

“They better be. I cannot believe you, Van. How could you say you trusted him? if anything has happened to them, I will be holding you responsible!”

I know it’s not Van’s fault, but at this moment in time, I am angry—mostly with myself for leaving my family in danger again. They may well all be fine, but the familiar tug in my gut tells me that something is wrong.

“I’ve got Sergio.” Marco holds his phone to his ear.

“Pass him to me.” I take the phone from Marco. “Sergio, where are you?”

“Sorry, sir, I’m at home. I was asleep. Alga is still at the house.”

“Where are Katie and the boys?”

“They were in bed when I left the house about an hour ago. Asleep, I presume, as they remained upstairs after you had gone.”

“Where is Vine, the guard?”

“Oh, that angry-looking guard dog? He was patrolling the grounds when I left.”

“I need you to get back to the house, lock all the doors, and do not let Vine into the building. We are on our way back now.”

“I’ll return immediately. Are they in danger? Alga is still at the house, finishing the laundry.”

“Hopefully not. Just lock the doors and tell Vine I have requested that he keeps a lookout on the grounds and not to enter the house. In fact, tell him to answer his fucking phone!”

“Will do, boss. I’m leaving now.”

“Ring me as soon as you are in the house.” I end the call.