Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 381 -

*Giovani*

Joey Mancinni was a patient young man. That much was clear from the anxious way he tapped the edge of his fingernails on the table he sat at. The seat itself was made of velvet cushioning, and he shifted every few seconds like he couldn't get comfortable.

The hotel room around him was clearly above his station, and he knew it. With a glorious floor-to-ceiling window view overlooking the massive gardens and lake features of the expensive hotel, Mr. Mancinni hadn't glanced out at it even once. He'd taken his seat at the table and ignored the luxury bed and expensive artwork hanging from the walls. He didn't even search through the drawers where gold jewelry had been planted for him to replace.

No, Mr. Mancinni knew his place; that much was evident.

A single night at this hotel was clearly more than he could ever afford, even if he worked for the rest of his life.

Mr. Mancinni sat there, nervous and panicky since the moment he'd been escorted inside hours ago, and a less patient man would've gone mad in the isolation. But even as the sun died and the night cast long shadows into the hotel room, he did not move from his seat. He waited.

I tilted my head, watching the man behind the two-way mirror we'd set up on the wall. It had only been twenty minutes since I'd arrived at the Firenze and first laid eyes on the man who had slipped those terrifying notes to Olivia and Dahlia. "You're sure it's him?" I asked again, unable to believe the scrawny prick of a kid in the hotel room was working with the Russians. Did he even know who he was working for, or had they hidden their identity?

"Yes," Gabriele nodded beside me. "Besides the waiting, he's been treated to the utmost hospitality. He seems to think it's the Russians he's talking to."

"Flight risk?" I asked, frowning as Mr. Mancinni nervously glanced around the room, his backpack held in his lap tightly. His fear of the men he'd been working for was obvious.

So then why'd he do it?

"Not likely," Gabriele shook his head. "He's just a third party in all of this, only following orders. I doubt he has the balls to run."

I hummed in acknowledgment.

"Block the doors anyway," I declared. "And shut down the hallway for maintenance. Leave no chance of letting him escape. He's the best lead we have right now." "Done," Gabriele said, pulling out of his phone to make the call.

I stared at the kid. He was clearly around Olivia and Dahlia's age, if a bit older, and I wondered what had gotten him so caught up in all of this mess.

But none of that mattered right now.

Willingly participant or not, he'd taken the money and threatened Olivia and Dahlia.

There was no empathy left for me to give to him.

"We're ready," Gabriele declared once he put away his phone.

"Good. Let's go."

I turned away from the mirror and headed for the room on the other side. The halls were empty just like I wanted, the plush velvet carpet sinking under the weight of my shoes as I made my way to the next door. The plaque claimed it was room 1145, though the hotel didn't have nearly that many rooms. Two guards posted themselves to the wall beside the door, both nodding at me and Gabriele as we passed. "No one goes in or out until I say so," I firmly instructed them.

"Yes, sir," they both replied.

I twisted the gold handle to the door, entering a room that was mostly fake, something we'd created to give an impression.

Joey Mancinni jumped as soon as the door opened, his whole body radiating nervous energy as he got to his feet. His backpack fell to the ground with a thump, something heavy rattling around in there.

"Who are you guys? Are you new?" he asked with suspicion in his eyes as he rounded the table, backing away from the two of us.

"Take a seat, Joey," I said calmly, as I heard Gabriele shut the door and the lock clicked into place.

Mr. Mancinni paled two shades of white.

"You're not the guys from before, are you?" he whispered fearfully. "I don't know anything-"

"Don't play that game with us, Mr. Mancinni," Gabriele said, giving him a piercing stare, "not if you want to walk out of here alive. Now, take a seat."

Joey's breath hitched as I reached to the holster on my side and pulled out my gun. I dragged the chair out from the table and took the seat across from where he'd been sitting. I kept my eyes locked on him, not a hint of emotion breaking through as I placed my gun on the table, just within reach.

"Fuck," he stammered. "Look, I don't know who you are, but I swear I didn't-"

"Sit," I demanded with no room for disobedience in my tone.

Joey gulped, his fear just the way I liked it before he cautiously slunked over to the table and retook his seat. Gabriele hovered just out of sight over my shoulder, and we'd done this so many times I could envision the dark glare on his face. We'd gotten our point across.

"You've made quite a mess for me to deal with, Joey," I said, testing the waters.

"I didn't do anything!" Joey yelled out, swallowing when I narrowed my gaze on him. "I didn't."

His weak protests only further solidified his guilt in my mind. There was no doubt he knew who he had been working for, or at the very least knew what he had done was wrong.

I sighed, holding out my palm to Gabriele, who slid me the yellow file he'd been carrying. The thin file slapped onto the table, and I flipped to the page I wanted.

Gently, I grabbed the plastic baggie filled with a sheet of paper we'd recovered. It was plain notebook paper, but the handwritten note on it was what we really wanted.

I shoved it onto the table, staring him down as he paled at the sight of the note.

"If you didn't do anything, Joey," I said softly, "then why did you leave a note for your family members?"

"It's-it's just a note," Joey stammered, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Oh really?" I raised an eyebrow, then glanced at the note as I began reading the first few lines, "If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, take the money out of my account, and get on the first plane out of here. I don't have time to explain, but I did something you wouldn't be proud of-"

"Stop!"

The outburst rang in the silent air, and I leaned back in my chair, hiding my smirk as Mr. Mancinni trembled in front of me. His fists were clenched, his head lowered in shame, and he couldn't look either of us in the eye. "What do you want?" he asked shakily. "Did you hurt my family when you got that note?"

Now we were getting somewhere. I didn't feel like answering his question, so I ignored it.

I flipped the page in the folder, taking out another preserved note, two in fact, and shoving them right next to the one he'd written for his contingency plans. The paper of the notebooks was of different quality, and the notes left to Dahlia and Olivia had more scribbled writing, but it was clear they were written by the same exact person.

"Look at that," I said, feigning surprise. "It's a perfect match."

He gulped, and glanced between me and Gabriele with a wide, panicking look.

And then, he cracked.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, shoving his face into his hands. "I swear I didn't mean to hurt anybody! I just needed the money! They were just notes, pieces of paper! I didn't do anything illegal!"

"I'm afraid, Joey, that is where you are wrong," I said grimly. "Letters containing threats, even if you were just paid to write them, are considered harassment. That will get you a stint in a cell, Mr. Mancinni, and quite a hefty fee." Joey's eyes were wider than a deer in headlights. For a moment, I swore he had stopped breathing entirely as he just stared emptily at us.

"I-" he stuttered, struggling to say something, anything of a defense, "I... I can't afford that. My-my mom's sick. She can't work, and we can't... we can't pay the bills, and I just wanted to help her. I didn't mean for this to happen...I just..." The poor student was trembling like he was about to combust. Tears flooded his eyes as he stared at the table in pure shock.

There was a small part of me that felt sympathy for him, for the situation he had found himself in. He was still just a kid, and what he'd done was wrong and utterly stupid, and he hadn't considered the damage he had caused. But a stronger, harsher part of me still remembered Olivia's tears like acid on my skin. The fear and anxiety she'd felt all these weeks were as visceral as my own, and there would be no forgiveness. He'd fucked up.

And he would face the consequences.

"I understand, Joey," I sighed like I was sympathizing with him. "You were just a bystander in all of this. You didn't know what you were doing."

His head lifted up, his eyes shining with hope as he hurriedly nodded his head in agreement. "Yes! That's right. I swear I just did what they said, nothing else!"

"So here's what I'm going to do," I smirked, leaning forward in my seat. "You give me anything you have, anything at all that will lead me back to the people you worked for, and I'll give you fifty thousand euros right here, right now, in cash, no strings attached. Then we can both walk away."

His eyebrows shot up in sheer surprise. He glanced from me to Gabriele, hesitantly.

"For real?" he asked.

"That is," I said, coyly, "if you give me information valuable enough."

Joey swallowed, considering his options. I could see the wheels turning in his mind as he thought long and hard. Finally, he pulled out of his phone, unlocking it easily as he scrolled through it.

Finally, he set the phone on the table, screen up, and pushed it over to me. I stopped it with two fingers, glancing down at the screen. It was a contact. The number was clear as day with no name attached.

"This is the number they call me with," Joey said nervously, watching our expressions as Gabriele leaned over my shoulder to see as well. "It still works. Would this be enough?"

He shifted uncomfortably as I pressed him with a stare. Finally, I smirked, grabbing the phone and handing it over to Gabriele. He quickly walked out with the phone and the door shut behind him.

"My... my phone?" Joe swallowed, nervously glancing at where Gabriele had disappeared.

"You won't be needing it anymore," I said, getting to my feet. I reached into my coat pocket and threw a bundle of cash onto the table.

Joey's eyes lit up with greed, but he didn't touch the money. Instead, he glanced at me for permission, and I nodded.

"You made a good choice, kid," I said. "Someone will drive you home, and they will take you and your family out of town. I'd suggest you pack light. You don't want to be a target when they replace out you sold them out." He gulped, but grabbed the stack of money and stuffed it into his backpack.

"Thank you, sir," he muttered quietly, but I didn't respond. My mind was elsewhere as I left the room in full confidence.

Gabriele noticed me as I walked out and smirked as he handed me the bagged phone.

"We traced the number," he said, looking rather happy. "We have a name and an address. Lorenz Ariotti-turns out Dmitri got a new second."

A grin spread across my face.

Checkmate, Dmitri.