Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 748 : The Plan in Action

*Caterina*

There was truly something to be said about those who possessed the ability to shift their emotions depending on how the situation was turning in order to best suit themselves.

I always considered it to be one of Elio’s most troublesome features. It alarmed me at times whenever I’d catch him using this ability of his. It left me constantly wondering just how anyone could do it.

I honestly believed that I would never acquire such a skill... yet here we both were.

Our day had started out completely different. Elio had actually taken me to work with him and I honestly had a ball. It was enjoyable talking to some of their clients with a positive goal in mind. It was the perfect distraction from the insanity that has been surrounding us lately.

I hid my emotions behind a pleasant smile and tried my best not to think about the plan that was put into place.

‘It’s going to be over soon,’ I told myself continuously.

Everything felt normal until Elio and I made it back to the house and proceeded to get ready to head out again. It was so imperative to me that I try to remain as calm as possible... calm and realistic.

Artem Katz was merely one part of the problem. He needed to be dealt with, but there was still the major issue of Junior. He was the orchestrator of this madness. To bring down Artem only meant dealing with part of the dilemma. But it still needed to happen, nonetheless.

Elio and I finished getting ready, then we made our way to the living room and sat down on the couch. We slipped into a kind of silence that almost felt ceremonial. It was as if we knew what was coming.

I’d felt the same way the night we captured Antonio and were trying to lure Junior out to the warehouse. Because of that same dark, grizzly sensation that settled in the back of my mind, part of me already knew what to expect.

But it wasn’t as if it made things any easier.

No matter how much I tried to justify why a man like Artem needed to be brought down, it didn’t exactly shine a superior light over Elio and me. I certainly didn’t feel like the better person, knowing that I would play a part in putting an end to his life.

‘Oh, Cat. But think about all the lives that you’re saving, knowing that The Ghost would no longer exist.’

Part of me didn’t even try to justify our actions. Why bother?

We were no better, and deep down I knew that Elio felt the same.

We sat on that couch for as long as we could before I felt Elio’s eyes burn into me.

“It’s time,” he said.

I nodded my head and slowly picked myself up. I felt Elio slip his hand around the small of my back and lead us out to the car.

The drive to the warehouse was kept in pure silence. And even though there were a hundred wild thoughts on my mind that I could have easily brought up, I remained quiet. The moment we reached our destination, my stomach churned in knots. It wasn’t as if I’d never been put through this exact situation before. Why was I feeling so horribly shaken by it?

‘Because there’s always the possible chance that something could go wrong,’ a voice in the back of my head said.

It wasn’t as though Artem Katz was our typical, everyday enemy who hijacked a shipment or stole a client away from us. No, this man was a killer, one who had been abducting and disposing of his victims for over twenty years.

He possessed a more dangerous track record than Junior and Antonio combined. All that time he’d always remained invisible and elusive to the authorities. He existed as the very name he’d given himself. He was nothing more than a ghost.

Was someone like him truly capable of being brought down? That was the million-dollar question that had been in my mind ever since Franky explained his plan to all of us. It seemed like what we were attempting to do was ultimately impossible. I felt like one of the people who was trying to capture a picture of some mythical creature for proof or evidence of its existence.

I wanted to believe that everything was going to go smoothly. Elio had informed me that Franky had successfully planted the seeds necessary for the plan with the two remaining men who worked in shipping. He told us that he would be leaving his house in approximately ten minutes.

Something awful told me that those ten minutes were going to feel like an eternity.

Meanwhile, Leo was acting on the other end of the plan. While Franky needed to appear unsuspecting and just kept going about his business, Leo and his crew were going to be tailing Franky from a distance. The point was to track Franky and bring him back to the warehouse with Artem in tow.

‘This plan feels too simple,’ I thought quietly to myself.

But maybe this sort of ordeal didn’t require a complicated plan. Artem always made his kidnappings appear effortless. How ironic would it be if he were to fall for such a simple trap as well?

Elio and I stepped past the two heavily armed men that guard the main doors and headed toward the back rooms. Over a dozen computer screens lined the walls that showed surveillance coverage over the entire area.

And now we were back to waiting.

I took a seat at one of the tables and allowed myself to get better familiar with what I was seeing on each screen. It was a good distraction—for about five minutes until suddenly the worry started to creep back in.

I was eager for a proper distraction, but I knew that it would be ill-advised if I were to leave the room. I lowered my head and let my eyes fall to my stomach.

“Tell me what you’re hoping for,” I said out loud.

Elio pulled his gaze away from the screens to look at me. He noticed how my hands were splayed across the underside of my stomach and instantly knew what I was referring to.

A soft smile touched his lips. “You know that it doesn’t matter whether we have a boy or a girl,” he told me.

A smug smirk touched the corners of my mouth. My tone was laced with a mixture of playful doubt.

“You know, most men usually hope for a boy,” I commented.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Oh, please,” he murmured. “I’d be thrilled if we were to have a baby girl, knowing that she’ll grow up to be as beautiful as her mother.”

I felt the heat rush straight to my cheeks; my heart swelled hopelessly with love. Truthfully, I didn’t care whether the baby turned out to be a boy or a girl, but I was deeply curious to know Elio’s thoughts on the matter.

“And if it’s a boy, there’ll be zero doubt that he’d look just like you,” I said.

I couldn’t wait to find out the gender of our baby. I wondered if Elio wanted to know before or after the birth. We could have one of those gender reveal parties and have some kind of intimate get-together with our families.

If we knew the gender beforehand, then maybe he and I could start planning out nursery designs and maybe a cute theme of some kind. I liked the concept of zoo animals, or maybe even some kind of astrology theme.

I wanted something positive and beautiful to look forward to. That way, once this whole ugly mess was over, I could put it all behind me with ease and never have to think about it again.

“Honestly, all that really matters is that the baby is healthy and happy. But... if it does turn out to be a boy,” Elio started, “then we should name him Vincenzo.”

My heart skipped at least a beat. My chest was swamped with an ache of both pain and love that it became difficult to breathe. A gasp slipped past my lips and hot tears started to gather in the corners of my eyes.

All I could manage to do was nod my head.

Elio’s smile deepened. He closed the space between us and took me in his arms. I rested my head against his chest and soaked in the much-needed sensation of security and love.

I wished this night would end already. I wanted nothing more than to go home with Elio and lose myself in him.

A buzz rang out and just like that, our heartfelt moment as two new parents was instantly dissolved. He pulled back and reached for his phone.

“It’s Leo,” he said. He opened the message and read it out loud. “Artem took the bait. Incoming in twenty.”

My nerves came back but this time around, I felt a little bit better. Talking with Elio about something so personal and domestic had truly lightened the mood around us.

But now our eyes were glued to the screens in front of us. My fear and touches of worry were gradually replaced with a strong sense of human curiosity of wanting to know just what Artem Katz looked like. What could a man like him—The Ghost—actually look like up close and in person?

I’d silently hoped that Elio would permit me to stay once everyone else arrived. We’d been sticking to each other’s side like nobody would believe lately. I hated to think that that was going to change once Artem was brought in.

Surely, Leo and the team would have the man securely detained, and he wouldn’t have any chance of escaping.

That thought was enough to cause chills to run down my spine.

Before either of us knew it, we were watching the vans pull up outside the warehouse. My stomach felt wedged high up in my chest until we spotted Franky stepping out of the van. The doors slid up and out came a man with a beige, burlap bag over his head and his hands secured tied behind his back.

Artem Katz.

Franky grabbed the man by the back of the arm and led him toward the main doors.

We heard the shifting of the metal accompanied by the sound of several pairs of footsteps coming toward us. Elio reached out his hand to my shoulder, guiding me to turn around and face the group.

“I see it went well,” Elio noted dryly.

Both Franky and Leo shared a knowing look and smirked.

“It went just as we expected,” Leo said.

Elio nodded his head and gestured toward one of the empty chairs. “Sit him down.”

Two men grabbed Artem’s arms and practically dragged him over to the chair and forcibly made him sit down.

Elio broke away from my side to stand in front of Katz. His hand reached out to snatch part of the bag off his head. As soon as his face was uncovered, my eyes were glued to him indefinitely.

“Hello, Artem.”