The Slave of Pleasure
Chapter 88

Rachel

As soon as I hung up the phone, I felt an overwhelming wave of thoughts crashing over me, one by one, each one more intense and confusing. Veronica was more dangerous than I could have imagined. The possibility of me getting involved in something so dark and shadowy had never crossed my mind until now. My breathing was heavy, and the weight of the new information was almost palpable.

"Did Vincenzo know all of this? Did he know about her involvement with the Yakuza?" These questions hammered in my mind, impossible to ignore. My intuition screamed that Vincenzo couldn't be in the dark about her past, but at the same time, he seemed so far away from this world that now he seemed to be getting closer to me. If he knew, why hadn't he told me anything? And if he was part of all this, how much could I trust him?

I got up from the bed on impulse, feeling the need to do something, to move to release the tension that seemed to be pulsing through my veins. I needed answers, some way to better understand what was going on around me. I couldn't rely on vague information alone. I needed to see for myself who Veronica was.

A quick idea came to me. If I could buy a laptop, maybe I could replace out more about her, see what the media or other sources were saying about this enigmatic and frightening woman. I picked up the phone and called Nancy again, even though I knew I had already tried her patience today.

"Nancy? I'm sorry to call again, but I need a favor."

"Rachel, are you okay? You sound worried." Nancy sounded hesitant, but at the same time willing to help.

"I am. I mean, I'm trying to deal with all of this. But please, can you help me buy a laptop? I need to research some things, and I can't do that here."

Nancy seemed to understand immediately what I meant.

"Sure, Rachel. I'll make sure you have it today."

As soon as I hung up, I could feel my anxiety mixing with renewed determination. I needed to understand how much power Veronica had and how much it would affect my life. I wanted to know, even if it meant discovering things that might make me question my relationship with Vincenzo even more.

The afternoon passed slowly and densely. With each minute that I waited, the feeling of urgency only grew. Then, finally, I received a message from Nancy informing me that the laptop had been delivered. I opened the door and, as soon as I saw the box there, I felt a mixture of relief and apprehension. It was as if, inside that box, I was about to replace answers and, perhaps, more questions.

Carefully, I took the laptop out of its packaging and settled into bed, adjusting the computer on my lap. My fingers hesitated over the keyboard. I felt as if I was about to cross an invisible line, a point of no return. But I knew that, after everything I had learned, ignoring this truth was not an option.

I typed Veronica's name into the search bar, and within seconds, a multitude of results appeared. Magazine photos, interviews at lavish events, images of her alongside businessmen and public figures. She seemed like a true figure of influence and power. I scrolled down the page until I found an article that subtly mentioned some of her business dealings. Apparently, she was involved in a variety of industries, from fashion to real estate, which explained her fortune. But the subtext told a darker story. According to an unidentified source in the article, some of Veronica's business dealings seemed to be tied to suspicious figures of power abroad. Nothing was said outright, but the references were enough to make my stomach turn. It was as if a veil was beginning to lift, revealing a reality I had never imagined. I continued to search, page after page, trying to absorb all the information. I found some vague mentions of business dealings in Japan, but what caught my attention the most was a photo of her alongside a man who, apparently, was a known member of the Yakuza. That hit me like a blow. There it was, a direct connection between her and the criminal underworld. All of this was more real and dangerous than I could have imagined.

I lay back on the bed, feeling a mixture of fear and confusion. Did Vincenzo really know who he was dealing with? Maybe he was just as entangled as I was. Maybe he was trying to get away, but it was impossible for him to completely disentangle himself from someone like Veronica. Or worse, maybe he was deliberately keeping me in the dark.

These thoughts swirled around in my mind, making it increasingly difficult to maintain any clarity. Had I made the right choice in trusting Vincenzo? In getting involved with him without fully knowing his past? My mind kept going back to certain scenes that now seemed more revealing. Small details es, gestures, expressions that perhaps meant something more than I had realized at the time.

In the midst of these thoughts, a notification on my laptop caught my attention. It was a recent news article about a charity event that Veronica had organized. In the photos, she was smiling, surrounded by influential people, and next to her... Vincenzo. My heart raced. The date was only a few weeks before I had met him.

I felt a wave of panic rising. Vincenzo had been with Veronica shortly before I had entered his life. Had he been hiding the true nature of their relationship from me? Suddenly, Nancy's words about Veronica being just an "ex" seemed much more complex than they had at first glance.

I needed answers. I wanted to confront Vincenzo and demand that he be honest with me, but I knew that acting impulsively now could be risky. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heart, which was beating like a drum in my chest. If I wanted to replace out the truth, I would need to keep my head on straight and seek out the right information before confronting him.

I decided to continue exploring information about Veronica and her relationships, especially the most recent ones. With each new detail I discovered, the feeling of unease grew, but I also felt a kind of determination. I wouldn't let Veronica scare me, I wouldn't let her destroy what Vincenzo and I had built-but I needed to know how committed he really was to me.

The sun's rays had already turned into a soft twilight, and I was still there, immersed in the research, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle that was Veronica's life and, consequently, mine. I knew that the next steps would require caution, and I wasn't willing to back down.