Island

Mia woke up when they were about to land. She noticed that Reed is still sitting opposite her reading another file. She frowned. She had a dream where she is stuck in that basement. This time those dead men whom she killed woke up and tried to kill her. But Reed came there and protected her as he helped her today. 

'Strange, why did i get a weird dream like that? This Asshole would not care if i am dead or alive. The only reason why he came searching for me is because of my father. Then why is my brain imagining him as my savior? He is nothing but a judgemental asshole who thinks i am not good enough for his friend ' she thought feeling bitter.

The thought of Alesso is leaving a sour taste behind. After she got engaged to Alesso, she was very loyal to him and even tried to love him. But she never felt that connection with him which she always saw between her parents and then in her brother's relationship. She was resigned to the fact that she will never find someone like that and tried to be happy with Alesso. But he betrayed her and left her alone to die.

Their plane came to a stop, and she saw her parents, brother, and Chloe standing there, waiting for her. The tears that she tried so hard to conceal threatened to fall, but she bit her cheeks to stop them. She learned from Matteo that her mother is fine and Chloe delivered a premature baby girl who is currently placed in the incubator. Mia is happy for her brother and Chloe.

Doors opened and her father came inside to escort her out himself. When she saw him standing there, with so much love and guilt in his eyes, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

"Dad" she choked on a sob.

Luca rushed towards his daughter and hugged her tightly.

"I am sorry Mia. I couldn't protect you" he apologized sincerely, which made her cry harder.

She cried for the wrong man whom she trusted and for the people she had to kill.

"No dad, you trusted the wrong man to protect your daughter" she whispered bitterly.

Luca became stiff. What Alesso did is wrong and he is going to pay for it.

"I am sorry Mia. Ifsaviourdidn't ask you to marry him, then you never would have chosen him as your life partner. I thought he is a perfect match for you. But I am wrong for the first time in my life. You are punished for my mistake" he accepted.

He led his daughter from the jet, with a nod of thanks towards Reed who is watching everything silently.

Reed followed the father-daughter duo silently. Nero, Chloe, and Emma hugged Mia and tried to console her. He watched everything silently. Mia left with her parents and sister-in-law, leaving Nero behind.

"Thanks, man" Nero thanked Reed for his help.

Reed gave a curt nod. Reed is forever indebted to the Vitiello's. He can never repay their kindness. In their world, no one will think about others. But Luca Vitiello is a man of few words, with a heart of gold. He gave a chance to Reed to rebuild his destroyed life. They never asked anything back to repay them, until the day Nero asked Reed to take over the outfit. Reed agreed.

After Mia was kidnapped, Nero was ready to go after her kidnappers, but Reed volunteered to find Mia and bring her back safely. He didn't know why he did it, but the urge to kill everyone who touched her was so strong, that he couldn't stop it.

"No issues. Did you find anything about Alesso?" Reed asked Nero.

Nero's face became hard, reminding Reed the mob boss from the past. 

"No, but what he did is wrong" Nero gritted his teeth.

Reed is angry as well. He never thought Alesso would abandon Mia like that. He used to think that he loves Mia more than himself. But Alesso proved everyone wrong.

"It is. I heard he is in Russia" Reed supplied helpfully.

Nero is furious.

"Let's not talk about him now. If it is proven that he is involved in all of this, then he will be dead soon" Nero declared.

Reed is on the same page in this matter. 

"Alright, I have to get back to work. Has some important things to deal with" Reed announced.

Nero gave a single-figure salute, sending off his friend.

Reed travelled back to New York leaving Mia with her family.

Reed deals with things differently. The pub which has been coming down from generations in the Vitiello family is still under Nero, who turned it into one of his legitimate businesses.

On the other hand, Reed Carter is known as a big businessman who is into construction. He buys land and builds a high-profile gated community before selling them off for a huge profit. That business is his legitimate front. He has a huge office building in the middle of downtown, where hundreds of people works under him. 

In the same building, he lives in the penthouse and uses half portion of the basement for his illegal activities. That part of the basement is soundproof and is guarded twenty-four-seven. It is under surveillance and entering inside the basement is not easy. It only takes retina detection and only a handful of people have access inside. The concrete walls around are thick and they are not easy to breach. 

Reed entered the basement like usual. He walked inside his private lift. Instead of pressing 'p' for penthouse or going upstairs to his office, he opened a hidden door which opened a screen. He scanned his retina and the other side of the lift door opened into his dark kingdom. 

The basement is brightly lit. The elevator opened into a narrow corridor, at the end of which is a small lobby. The lobby opens into various sections. The left side is where the torture cell is and also the place where they lock up people whom they kidnapped or whoever would be dead soon. The right side is where the weapons are stored. If you straight, it opens into a rectangle-shaped room with a long narrow table in the middle. There is a chair on one side and many small chairs for guests on the other side. This is the place where Reed will hold his illegal meetings, which is rare. He prefers to finish everything on phone in code language. 

"Good evening boss, we found his right-hand man. He is in the torture cell" he informed his boss.

Reed walked inside the basement and in the general direction of the torture cell. He didn't speak anything or gave any indication of whether he heard what Matteo said or not. But Matteo is too scared to ask. Quietly he followed after his boss.