"As I said, I'll go alone. You mustn't follow me or inform the police." Dylan said firmly.
Just because the Mafia was ruthless, if they found out he was not alone, they might hurt the little woman or even kill her.
He couldn't bet.
"But I can't see you run the risk of going alone..." Garwood was not at all reassured.
If anything happened to Mr. Sterling in the foreign land, old Sterling would kill him.
"Well, don't talk nonsense." Dylan puckered up his brows.
Garwood knew he could not change Dylan's mind. He sighed and then frowned.
"But why did the Mafia kidnap Miss Schultz? Did you ask them on the phone just now? Is it for money or?"
Dylan thought for a moment and said, "I tried. It didn't sound like they wanted the money. It seems that someone is behind Nicolo Barzini."
"What do they want if not money?" Garwood got puzzled.
Dylan didn't know what the hell they wanted to do, but if it wasn't for the money, it would be a lot tougher.
Garwood, uneasy and alarmed, tried to sound breezy, "Miss Schultz's social relationship in Italy is very simple. She's just an ordinary student, and she has nothing to do with the Mafia. The Sterling family never offended them. Maybe there's a misunderstanding…"
Dylan didn't answer.
Everything would be clear in the morning.
***
A black car sped down the path, raising clouds of choking dust, and screeched to a halt at the discarded warehouse.
The door opened, and Dylan got out, looking around.
The guards at the door stared at the coming man, overwhelmed by his imposing manner.
The American man dressed in a customary white linen shirt, black jeans, black tie, and black jacket. He was tall with wide shoulders, messy hair, and cool eyes. He was overbearing, full of charm. When he fixed on them with the very searching eyes, they all shuddered and turned their eyes away.
The guards immediately knew he was that famous Mr. Sterling, from a noble and powerful family in LA.
After the initial shock, two guards came forward. One went to the car to search, looking around to make sure he didn't bring anyone together with him.
The other one looked Dylan up and down and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but according to our boss's instruction, we have to frisk you before we let you in."
Dylan didn't resist, knowing they were afraid he carried a tracker or a phone or something. He just held up his hand in a casual way for the man to check.
They searched him at once, and after a while, they nodded, "You can go in."
Dylan strode into the warehouse. In the middle of the vast empty house, he saw a burly looking man sitting on a sofa surrounded by several musclemen. It must be Nicolo who had talked to him on the phone, and it was he who tied Savannah away.
It was the first time Nicolo saw the big shot in the business circle, and he had also heard of his powerful family background. Impressed by the imposing manner of the man, he laughed.
"Mr. Sterling, it's nice to put a face to the name."
Dylan was not in mind to beat about the bush.
"I don't care what grudge you have against me, let go of my woman right now. After that, we'll talk about it slowly," he said dryly.
Nicolo looked surprised and then laughed again.
"Mr. Sterling, you're as arrogant as what people said about you. You asked me to let your woman go? But did you forget that you're not in LA, but Italy? Here's not your place." He was not one of those Italian cops. He didn't have to show any respect to him.
"Who told you to kidnap my woman, and who asked you to ask me out?" Dylan asked icily. "Ask him to come and see me. I don't want to waste my time."
Nicolo was a little embarrassed, not expecting that the businessman was so s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e that he had seen there was someone else behind the kidnapping. But he was quite annoyed when Dylan talked to him in a perfunctory tone as if he was a nobody. He repressed the anger and looked the other way.
Following Nicolo's gaze, Dylan saw a slender, short-haired teenager walking slowly toward him, accompanied by a poker-face young man.
As soon as the boy appeared, Nicolo, who had been so defiant just now, stepped aside immediately and gave up the sofa.
The pretty boy, thirteen or fourteen years old, had a place in the Mafia. He was the one who had instructed Nicolo to kidnap Savannah.
Dylan was a little surprised. He fixed his eyes on the boy and had a strange feeling.
There was something familiar about this boy. It seemed that he had seen him somewhere.
"Mr. Sterling." The boy stopped in front of Dylan and spoke in standard English.
"Let her go," Dylan said in an imperative tone.
"Mr. Sterling is indeed different from others. You didn't ask who I am or why I kidnapped Miss Schultz. You just asked me to let her go." The boy raised his eyebrows.
"It doesn't make any sense to me who you are and why you kidnapped her." He came here today only to save Savannah.
The smile on the boy's lips widened.
"Good. Very good. It seems that you would like to see Miss Schultz. Well, Let's show Mr. Sterling first."
As his last word fell, all the lights in the warehouse went out.
At the same time, a huge projection screen appeared in the middle of the warehouse.
On the screen, Savannah's hands and feet were tied, and her long hair hung down, hiding half her face.
"Miss Schultz, your man, has come to see you. Don't you want to say hello to him?" The boy raised his lips, teasing.
There was a monitoring camera in the room where Savannah was being tied.
Savannah heard the boy's voice and looked up in alarm. She saw the camera in the upper corner of the room pointing at her.
At the same time, Dylan could see her tired, frightened eyes and a cut on her cheek.
His face sank with deadly frost, and it was only by gripping his fingers that his anger could be suppressed.
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Dearest Lovies,
Today is mass release day. I'll be adding volume two, and it's a standalone novel yet almost the same genre for this one, reason? It is to cover the privileged benefit for those who purchase the privileged chapters. If you haven't seen any update coming, kindly remove this book from your library and re-add it again, you don't have to worry about access to those premium chapters you've purchased earlier as it will remain to be accessible.
The sequel of this novel which all about the young Greta Sterling, will be posted late this year. I will give an announcement at the end of this novel for that sequel. Thanks for the love & support. Each coin you use to purchase the premium chapters has changed the lives of those less fortunate people who were the beneficiary of all my charity works.
From the bottom of my heart, a million thanks!
Love you all,
Anna Shannel Lin