Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 568 -

*Natalia*

After my meeting with Alessandro and Vinny, I found it difficult to relax. I was checking my phone every few seconds to make sure that I hadn't missed a text or phone call from one of them.

I hated the fact that we had to look within the family for answers, but it would be foolish not to explore every possibility. We had to know for certain who was responsible.

It was the only way we were going to get Tallon home.

I had to replace a way to clear my mind, or I was going to go crazy. Nothing that I tried was helping though. Showering only made my mind wander to Tallon, and that made me remember our stolen moments at the prison. I managed to keep myself from crying, but it wasn't easy.

I tried listening to music and going for a walk in the garden. I even tried reading, but nothing took my mind off the situation.

I considered having another drink to take the edge off, but if something did come up, I needed a clear mind to deal with it.

I picked my phone up again to replace that there were no notifications. As I was about to put it down, it occurred to me that I could probably call Mia. Alessandro was busy, so she was probably free. It was getting late, and I hadn't eaten a bite. Inviting her to dinner seemed like a pretty good way to keep busy and get out of my own head.

Mia answered after a few rings.

"Hello, Natalia," she said with a sigh.

"Is this a bad time?" I asked.

"No," she said. "I'm just feeling sorry for myself. Alessandro isn't going to make it home for dinner tonight."

"That's my fault, I'm afraid," I said. "He and Vinny are working on-"

"I know," she said quickly. "Please, don't feel the need to explain. Like I said, I'm just feeling sorry for myself."

"Can I treat you to dinner?" I asked. "It won't make up for missing out on a romantic night with Alessandro, but it could be fun."

"That sounds great," she answered. "I always have fun when we go out. I'll get ready."

"Great," I said with relief. "I'll see you in about an hour?"

Mia agreed and we hung up.

I let my driver know about my plans, then I started to get ready to leave.

I did feel bad that Mia was losing out on time with Alessandro because of this mess. But she seemed to understand the urgency of the situation, and she didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge.

Wedding plans had been put on hold for the time being, and I had been hard at work managing the family, so I hadn't seen Mia since the day we'd gone out to dinner.

I was looking forward to hanging out with her again. I checked my phone the entire drive to pick her up, fully expecting that something was going to happen to interrupt the evening. Nothing went wrong though. We picked Mia up and the two of us chatted politely as we made our way downtown.

We ended up at the same restaurant we'd eaten at last time. It was a comfort spot for me, and that feeling was very welcomed right now.

It had only been a few days since Tallon's arrest, but it felt like a lifetime. Every second since then had been filled with fear and suspicion, so this was the first time I was really trying to let my guard down.

Things were a little awkward between us when we ordered our food. We both had a lot on our minds, and our attention kept wandering away from the conversation.

When our food arrived, Mia looked at me and smiled guiltily.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I haven't been very good company."

"I haven't either," I replied. "I just can't stop worrying about this."

"I can't even imagine what you're going through," she said sympathetically.

"I know that we're going to get Tallon out. It's just a matter of time. The waiting is so difficult, though." I poked at my food as I spoke. "I still get to hear his voice, but in a way that just makes the separation harder, you know?" "I don't know how I could cope if Alessandro were in that situation," she said. "I would be so angry."

"I am," I agreed. "When I think about replaceing the person responsible I just...."

I stabbed my fork down forcefully. "I don't know what I'm going to do when we replace them."

"You're confident that you will replace them?" she asked hopefully. "Alessandro wants to know who did this to his little brother. The look in his eyes when he talks about it is almost frightening." She looked at me hopefully. "Do you really think you're going to replace the true killer?"

"It's just a matter of time," I assured her. "We won't leave any stone unturned. It's clear to me that whoever did this has some motivation to be angry with Tallon and wants to punish him in some way. The fact that they didn't attempt to kill him but framed him instead gives us some direction to start it. I know that we'll replace them soon."

"That's such a relief to hear," she said. "I really hope that you're right."

I nodded. I hoped that I was right, too. We were going to keep looking until we figured it out, but there was no telling how long it was going to take. I could only hope that it was going to be soon, and I wanted to reassure Mia, even if I couldn't guarantee what I was saying to her. Sometimes, maintaining hope was more important than being one hundred percent truthful.

There was also a risk that someone else could get hurt in the meantime. Taking Tallon out of the picture might not be the ultimate goal of the killer. There was still a chance that someone else could end up in trouble.

I couldn't let it come to that. We had to replace this bastard before the family was put at any more risk.

"Alessandro is very happy with your leadership," Mia said suddenly.

My head snapped up and I looked at her in surprise. "He said that?" I asked.

"Oh yes," she nodded emphatically. "He said that he's glad Tallon has found such a capable wife to guide the family."

I smiled brightly at that. Alessandro had been kind to me, and he seemed receptive to my leadership in this crisis, but it was a great relief to hear that he really did trust my judgment. "Thank you," I said. "It really means a lot to me to hear that."

"It's a good thing they had a woman ready to step up," she said with a grin.

I laughed and returned her grin. "You know what they say about a woman scorned," I said.

"That's the real mistake this killer made," she said seriously. "They didn't realize that getting between a woman and her wedding day is the worst mistake a person can make."

I nodded in agreement. "I will not be getting married in a prison," I said firmly. "And this creep is going to pay for even making me consider it."

We kept the serious expressions on our faces for a few seconds, then we both dissolved into laughter.

It wasn't that the situation was really funny. It was just nice for both of us to have a chance to talk about it freely.

It was different when I had to speak to Vinny and Alessandro about this. The stakes were so high and the three of us were responsible for saving Tallon and, by extension, the entire family. With Mia, we were able to blow off some steam and joke about the situation without making light of it at all.

It was such a relief to me that I found myself unable to contain my laughter. This was the first time I had laughed since Tallon's arrest.

Mia fell into a fit of laughter as well and before long, we were wheezing and wiping tears from our eyes. It took a few minutes for us to contain our laughter and start to catch our breath.

Mia's face was red, and she was bent forward with her arms around her stomach. I was sure that I looked the same, but I didn't care.

"God, I needed that," I said breathlessly.

"Me too," she agreed. "I'm so glad you called me."

I nodded enthusiastically.

The rest of our dinner passed with pleasant conversation and a great deal of joking. Before we knew it, a few hours had passed, and it was time to head home.

Mia seemed reluctant to leave, and I felt the same way. We were having fun and when we left here, we had to go back to dealing with the reality of this situation. Neither of us were looking forward to that. We didn't have much choice, though.

I paid the bill, and we made our way towards the exit.

The air was slightly chilly as we stepped outside, and Mia shuddered and stopped to adjust her jacket. I waited beside her and glanced around us. My eyes fell on a familiar form, and I grimaced. It was Bianca.

She was walking down the sidewalk toward us, and she smirked at me as she approached.

I glared at her unflinchingly but didn't say a word.

"Oh, Natalia," she said smugly. "You're the last person I thought that I would run into out here."

Mia looked up in confusion, and I heard her curse under her breath when she saw Bianca. I wanted to curse too, but much louder. I didn't respond to her. I just looked at Mia. "Ready?"

"Absolutely," she replied.

"I mean, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be out in public. I was so sorry to hear about Tallon. I can't even imagine how heartbroken you must be," Bianca said snidely.

For a moment, I seriously considered punching her in the face. It would feel so good to get some of this aggression out, but I restrained myself.

I turned away from Bianca and offered Mia my arm. She linked arms with me, and we turned our backs to Bianca and walked away together.

When we were a few feet away, Mia said, "I don't know how you keep your temper like that."

"She's not worth my anger," I replied coldly.

My driver was waiting by the car and opened the door for us. We got inside and sat in silence for a few moments.

"How would she know about Tallon?" Mia asked in concern.

"Gossip magazines," I said bitterly. "Those rags are run by people far too stupid to keep quiet, no matter who tells them to."

Mia nodded thoughtfully. "That's a shame," she said. "You would think that people would show more respect."

"Not people like Bianca," I spat. "But it really doesn't matter. We have much more important matters to deal with... like getting Tallon home."