As soon as we are somewhere close to the convent, I park the car, doing one last check.
Sisi has an entire artillery strapped to her body under her habit, just like I do. We'd wanted to be as thorough as possible, and since Sacre Coeur's been involved in shady dealings for years, we shouldn't underestimate the place.
"Check your comm," I say as she gets out of the car.
The plan is to have her go inside first, pretending she's returning to the convent after a prolonged visit with her family, and I'd soon join her after going through the validation process at the gates.
She lifts her hand to her ear, clicking the device and prompting me to say something.
"Works," she confirms.
"Good. Give me a signal when you're in," I tell her, almost wont to see her go alone.
"See you in a bit," she gives me a quick kiss before leaving.
While I wait, I listen attentively to everything that's happening around her, my thirst for blood only increasing as I hear some off-handed commends from the guards about her.
"Don't mind them," she whispers as she passes through the security check point, "they probably just heard the rumors about me," she says as if it's no big deal that they just called her an outcast.
I clench my fist, my rage mounting as I realize this is just a tiny bit of what she's had to endure over the years.
And ah, but they will definitely wish they'd have kept their mouth shuts today. Especially after I'm done with them.
"I'm near the graph," she speaks into the comm, "you should leave in about five."
At her signal, I get out of the car, once more double checking that all my weapons are in place. Since I am a new addition to the convent, they will definitely make me go through the metal detector. And so I'd had to be a bit clever, and arm myself with obsidian knives. I'd also stacked 3D printed parts of a gun in my cloak, ready to assemble them should the need arise.
All in all, I should be able to pass any security check.
Entering through the gates, I meet two guards who look me up and down, immediately treating me ten times better than they had Sisi.
Probably because I'm a man.
Fucking bastards, I scan their faces carefully as they go through all the protocol with me, ensuring that I will know who to kill later on.
There are some papers to be signed, but soon I'm vetted and ready to go.
"Where are you?" I ask Sisi when I make it past them.
They'd been unusually lax with me, not even bothering to make me pass through the metal detector.
"Close to the chapel," she answers.
"Good, I'll meet you there."
I don't even get to finish my words as I hear someone address Sisi.
"Oh, look who's here," a girl says. "Assisi," her name is uttered with disdain as she continues to insult my wife. "What happened, did they realize what a loser you were and they returned you," she continues, laughing at her.
"They probably had too much bad luck and decided to get rid of her," another one joins in, and they both seem to be laughing at Sisi.
My Sisi.
My feet swiftly carry me in that direction, my vision tunneled as I only see one thing—death.
"Auch," my eyes widen as I hear a voice yelp in pain, "Stop," she continues, and just then I round the corner, having a perfect view of the chapel.
A smile pulls at my lips as I still, crossing my arms over my chest and watching with pride as my girl takes care of those bullies.
Sisi's standing over the two girls, holding one in a chokehold, while the other is on the ground, her face fitted to the pavement as Sisi pushes her foot in her cheek.
"Please," one continues to beg for mercy.
"Really? What did you do when I said please?" Sisi asks, her voice unyielding. "Here, this is what happens when you say please," she smirks before she twists the other nun, pushing her to the ground, her head smashing on the pavement.
There are only gasps of pain as she cannot even stand up anymore, her hands trembling in a poor attempt to move.
"Do you want to say please as well?" Sisi asks the other nun, stooping low to look at her.
She doesn't answer, or can't answer since Sisi's foot is still holding her down. Just when I think she might let them go, though, she goes one step further as she lifts her foot, using the momentum to crash it into the girl's face.
There's a small sound through the comm as I'm completely sure that she's shattered her brow ridge.
"Sisi, come here," I tell her, on the one hand extremely proud of her, on the other worried this might draw unwanted attention to us—which I am fine with, but only after we've secured what we're looking for.
She lifts her face up, spotting me in the distance. Her lips curl up and she starts sprinting towards me, a carefree expression on her face that makes me still, staring at her and her magnificent beauty.
Fuck. Me.
I'm pretty sure my mouth is gaping open as I can only watch her run towards me, her smiling fucking blinding me.
"Did you see," she asks me, excited yet out of breath, "I gave them back what they deserved," she continues, pure delight in her voice.
"I'm proud of you, hell girl," I praise her, gently patting her head.
Somehow her habit makes her seem even smaller and daintier, the top of her head barely reaching the middle of my chest. I'd gotten so used to her around me all the time that even our size differences had become a moot point. Though she's tiny compared to me, her personality is a force to be reckoned with, making me completely forget I'm dealing with a bite sized human.
She's just my Sisi.
I'm trying my best to keep a comfortable distance should anyone see us. Still, the sight of her joyful smile as she enthusiastically tells me how she's wanted to do that for the longest time only makes my heart beat faster.
"I've never really resorted to violence before," she sighs, "mostly because they had strength in numbers and I knew that I may have hurt them once, but the next time they would ensure they paid me back in spades. But now..." she looks up, her lips parting in such a stunning smile, I'm having a hard time not to ask her to let me fucking paint it and immortalize it forever. "That felt so good," she exclaims, jumping up and down in a happy dance.
"Hell girl," I stop suddenly, and she turns to me, tilting her head and looking worried.
"This," I tell her as I place two fingers at the corners of her mouth, tugging them down in a neutral position. "I'll have a hard time concentrating if you keep on smiling, so please, hold it off until we're done," I instruct her, my tone serious.
She starts chuckling at me before shaking herself, a sudden serious expression on her face as she nods.
"Understood," she replies, even though her lips are quivering with unreleased laughter.
The minx.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Vlad can't help his sly smile every time he looks at me, and for all his protests that I shouldn't tempt him further he sure does a good job of eliciting that response from me.
As we head to the administrative buildings, I realize that the convent is quieter than I'm used to. Especially since it's not quite curfew yet.
There had been the not so welcome meeting with Sofia and Carlotta who just had to spew their venom at me. But for the first time I'd given them what they deserved, even though it was reckless for me to do so.
But when they'd said I was bad luck I'd just snapped, years of being called that to my face making me forget about everything but revenge.
In all honesty, I'd expected Vlad to chastise me slightly for going off plan, but instead he'd just said he was proud of me, his expression full of so much support that I almost melted on the spot.
Still, I can't stray from the plan again until we finish with Mother Superior.
And so as we enter the building that houses her office, Vlad's skills in lock picking have a chance to shine.
"And that's another skill to add to your arsenal," I note, amused.
"You'll see, hell girl. There's few things I'm not good at," he winks at me, the door sliding open with a minimal push.
"Show off," I mutter just as he motions me inside, intoning ladies first.
The office is very simple, with a desk, a chair, and a few drawers.
"According to what I've observed, she only comes to the office every Tuesday and Thursday, so that means we have plenty of time to search without fear she'll show up," he says as he opens one drawer, taking out the files.
We start sorting through everything in the office, but most of the documents are administrative papers from Sacre Coeur or from one of the orphanages.
"This is mostly donations," I sigh as I finish with one drawer.
"Nothing on my side either," he comments as he shuffles through the papers, his eyes quickly scanning for keywords.
Sometimes I forget I'm dealing with someone who's not quite human. In the time it has taken me to go through one stack, he's gone through three.
"We might have to check her room," I add, disappointed. I'd hoped we'd find everything we were looking for in her office so we wouldn't linger more than necessary.
"Not yet," Vlad says, his eyes still on the papers.
When he finishes his perusal, he drops them on the desk with a thud, looking annoyed.
"You said she only kept physical records," he starts, his thumb stroking his jaw.
I nod.
"She was pretty known for her dislike of technology. They even tried to add some more devices to the church and other places around the convent to make it easier for us. But she wouldn't have it. It was a huge scandal a couple years back. She kept saying that technology is the work of the devil and it has no place in the house of God. Unless she's a bigger hypocrite than I gave her credit for, I don't think she'd have any technology."
"You might be right," he goes around the desk, taking out the chair and inspecting the wall. "See? There are no wires for ethernet, or even a socket. On that note, who doesn't use at least a lamp?" he shakes his head, a smile on his lips, "unless she's reading all these documents at candle light?" he jokes.
But just as I turn my head I spot an empty candle holder, and I show it to him. "Candle light it is," I tell him and he chuckles.
"Why would someone who is clearly not interested in the commodities of modern life be involved in human trafficking? What is she even doing with the money?" He purses his lips, continuing to look around.
"We should go to her room since there's nothing here," I dust my habit as I stand up, putting everything back inside the drawers so it doesn't seem as if someone's been here.
"No, not yet," Vlad mumbles, taking a few steps back and studying the walls.
While the convent is old, the administrative buildings were built more recently, somewhere in the later part of the twentieth century, so everything around is pure concrete.
"If she doesn't trust computers to keep her things safe," he narrows his eyes as he studies the wall behind the desk, "then she must trust something, right?"
His shrewd gaze moves slowly over every inch of concrete. I frown as I reach his side, trying to see what he's staring at but finding nothing out of the ordinary. Just plain, white walls.
"What is it?" I ask when he takes a step forward, immediately focusing on one spot in particular—the one that's hiding behind the drawers.
He doesn't answer. Instead, he moves the drawers to the middle of the room, heading back to the wall and knocking lightly in the cement. He continues to do this, moving a few inch to the right every time.
Until he stops.
"Hear that," he says, his ear to the wall. When I'm at his side, he knocks again, and my eyes widen as I realize what he means.
"It's hollow."
He nods, his hands moving around the surface of the wall as if he's looking for something. When he reaches a few bumps in the lower half of the wall, he flattens his palm against them, pushing them in.
A few tries, and a trap door built inside the wall snaps open.
"I'm guessing this is her trusted place," he smirks, clearly pleased with himself.
Wrenching the fake wall open, we find a very small storage space, all filled with boxes.
"I guess we'll be spending quite some time here," I add drily as we take out the boxes, placing them on the floor. "Or not..." I roll my eyes when I see him already putting down a couple of files, done with them.
"I'm a fast reader," he shrugs.
"No, you're an insanely fast reader. What is that even?" I take a box, removing a few papers and starting to go through them.
"I can read almost two thousand words per minute," he says casually, "it helps to sift through lots of information."
"Wow, of course you'd measure yourself," I add playfully, "good stroke for your ego."
He lifts his eyes, looking at me strangely.
"It was Miles who made us test our speed. He wanted us to excel in all areas. And I, of course, was his star pupil," he jokes, and while he tries to seem amused, I can tell he's not unaffected by that memory.
I want to apologize for bringing it up, but I know he wouldn't appreciate that. Vlad likes to pretend he's invincible, especially when it comes to matters of a more emotional nature, since he's not quite used to his feelings.
That doesn't mean he's still not human, with perfectly humane reactions. He just doesn't know how to deal with them.
We continue to look through each paper in part until Vlad finally comes across something interesting.
"What's that?" I ask as he removes a stack of folders from the bottom of the box.
He frowns as he spreads them out.
"Medical files," he says, reading the names of the people they belong to.
"I know those people," I immediately interject. "Everyone is from Sacre Coeur. Wait... does that mean there's one for me too?" I get up, quickly taking a seat next to him.
"Let's see," he shuffles through them until, surely enough, there is one with my name on it.
I grab it out of his hands, too curious to see what's inside.
"This doesn't make sense," I mumble as I go through all the lab results. Vlad leans in to read, his brows furrowing as he points at something.
"Sisi," he starts, and I can tell by his voice alone that it's something bad. "These are all tests that they do for organ compatibility."
"What do you mean?"
"Here," he takes the folder from me, pointing to one page, "this is a confirmation of compatibility for bone marrow," he continues to scan the information, but I'm having a hard time digesting what he just said.
"A bone marrow transplant. For me? But I don't remember being sick," I tell him.
"According to this file, you were three years and seven months old when this happened. And you weren't sick," he says grimly, and there's a hint of violence in his words, "you were the one who gave the bone marrow. Fuck, Sisi..." he curses under his breath, quickly going back to the other files.
"This. All this," he says, opening each file and looking at the many lab results, "these are all compatibility results. Fuck," he closes his eyes, his fists clenched.
"Vlad, slow down," I touch his arm, a hint of panic swelling inside of me. "What's happening?"
"Illegal organ transplants. That was the missing piece. That's why everyone would be so willing to get involved, and that's why there are so many levels of corruption. Because what wouldn't people give for a new kidney, or a new lung, when through official channels you wait years for a new organ that may never come."
"Vlad," I take a deep breath, too overwhelmed by this. "Are you saying that they took bone marrow from me to sell to someone? Just like that?"
He nods grimly, the papers in his hand crackling under the pressure of his grip.
"Fuck, Sisi. I'm so sorry," he says, but I can't hear anything more.
I close my eyes, vaguely remembering the hospital visits when all the kids had been given candy after some procedure. I try hard to remember what had happened, but nothing comes
to me.
"Who else? Who else donated?" my voice trembles slightly as I turn to Vlad, snatching the folders from his lap. "What did they donate?"
But as we go through each and every file, what we find out is horrifying. There are cases of every organ being taken from children.
Children!
And the more we go delve into the other boxes, the more names we find from the other orphanages.
"It's an entire ring," I whisper. "And they've been doing this for decades. Decades, Vlad. And no one's found out?"
"But that's just the thing, hell girl. Everyone knew about it. They just protected their own interests because they knew they would, at some point, need these services too."
"So this is what Miles leveraged to get funding for his project. He'd set up the facilities for the transplants, and he'd provide medical personnel, right?"
"Yes. Exactly. And that means that Mother Superior should know where his headquarters are, since I bet he's housing all his procedures in the same place."
"I want to know too," I whisper, my eyes on him. "I want to know who took that from me. I want to know who paid for my bone marrow. Hell, Vlad, I..." I trail off, my throat clogging with emotion as I realize just how much this place had exploited me.
Me and all these other children.
"Sisi," he grips my nape, bringing my forehead to his. Closing his eyes, he holds me to him, his breath on my lips, his warmth on my skin. "We'll find out. I promise you. And I'll kill everyone who touched a hair on your body, you get me?"
His hands move slowly to cup my cheeks, urging me to look him in the eyes.
"You get me, Sisi? I'll kill everyone you want me to. You just give me a name, and it's done. Fuck," he releases a ragged breath. "Fuck, Sisi. I can't..." he leans closer, kissing my forehead, my nose, and finally my lips. "The thought of you, small and defenseless on a fucking hospital bed while some makeshift nurse is sticking a needle into your spine is killing me," he sighs deeply. "It's fucking killing me."
Morally Ambiguous: A Dark Mafia Romance (Morally Questionable Book 4) Page 65
