Falling for My Ex’s Mafia Dad — Episode 68
The woman on the monitor had Victoria’s red hair, older features, and the same broken eyebrow Fay saw in childhood photographs. She appeared equally shocked when the hidden camera switched to two-way mode.
“Fay?” she whispered. The voice matched the cassette. Janeen, watching beside Fay, gripped the desk until her knuckles whitened.
The connection lasted four seconds before someone pulled Victoria away. Technicians captured the routing data, locating the feed at a diplomatic residence leased to a Kozlov company.
Ivan denied knowing she was there. His organization maintained several properties through automated contracts, and Grant had used them without explaining the occupants. The answer sounded plausible but no longer earned trust.
Fay insisted on legal intervention. Mara contacted state authorities and presented the live recording as evidence of possible unlawful confinement. A judge authorized a welfare search within an hour.
The residence stood empty when officers arrived. One bedroom contained women’s clothing, prescription medication labeled with Victoria’s alias, and restraints fixed inside a closet. Whoever moved her had prepared for rapid evacuation.
A note remained beneath the camera. Victoria had written Fay’s childhood nickname and a sequence of numbers corresponding to shipping containers in Lorenzo’s port ledger.
Daniel traced the active container to a cargo yard scheduled for departure that night. Lorenzo’s company owned the shipment; its destination was outside any extradition treaty.
Fay joined the state team at the yard while Ivan provided access codes. She refused Lippert gunmen, knowing Lorenzo would claim a rival-family attack if they appeared.
Officers opened the container and found medical supplies, forged passports, and a concealed room. Victoria was gone, but blood on a chair tested as a maternal match to Fay.
A satellite phone rang inside the compartment. Lorenzo greeted Fay and congratulated her for finally meeting the ghost she had been chasing.
He said Victoria remained alive because he had protected her from Grant and Kent. Fay asked why protection required restraints. Lorenzo answered that illness made Victoria unpredictable.
Fay heard her mother shouting in the background that he was lying. The call cut off before location tracing completed.
Ivan recognized ambient bells from a monastery near the northern border. Lorenzo controlled a private airfield twenty miles away. The group could reach it before the weather cleared for departure.
Mara warned that Ivan remained under monitoring and could not cross jurisdiction without permission. He surrendered his passport and requested temporary authorization to assist, staking his freedom on the rescue.
The prosecutor approved because Victoria was a material witness in Kent’s case. For once, institutional interests aligned with Fay’s personal need.
During the drive, Ivan admitted Grant told him Victoria died after betraying Ilya. Learning she lived meant every story used to shape his revenge required reexamination.
Fay said they could share a search without sharing trust. Ivan accepted the line. His attraction had not vanished, but he no longer used it as an argument for access.
They reached the monastery after midnight. The chapel stood open, candles burning before an empty altar. Victoria’s necklace lay on the floor beside fresh tire tracks.
A helicopter rose beyond the trees. Through its illuminated window, Fay saw Lorenzo holding Victoria—and the aircraft turned toward the private airfield before officers could fire.