Irresistible Boss Succumbing to Your Touch (Maria Anita) novel Chapter 3

Cam’s POV

What a hellish night we had. My father was devastated, Olivia was nervous, and Flavian was about to explode. Still no news about Manu, and it was already midday. The police officers had gone out during the early hours to patrol the city and check the addresses I had given them of Calvin's properties, but Flavian hadn't reported back yet.

Neither my father nor I could go to work. I couldn't focus on the company, so I just told the secretary to postpone everything. My phone rang, and looking at the screen, I saw it was the devil herself calling. I put it on speaker so my father and Olivia could hear, but I signaled them to stay quiet.

"What do you want, Rita?" I asked when I answered.

"Well, to talk to you, obviously. What else would someone call for?" She was trying to act smart with me.

"Rita, I don't have time, and even if I did, I wouldn't waste it talking to you." I tested to see what she would say.

"Well, if I were you, I would make time. I'm waiting for you at my house." She said and simply hung up.

"You're not going alone!" My father spoke before I could say anything.

"I'm going to call Flavian." I sighed and made the call.

Flavian decided it would be better to go with me to Rita's house. He and Breno came back, and an hour later, the three of us walked into Rita's living room.

"I hate this place!" I said more to myself than to him.

"You found time, didn't you, Cam?" Rita entered the room with a mocking smile. "And look, you brought your little friends. How's my daughter, Detective?" Rita was so two-faced. Flavian's look at her was deadly.

"Just say what you want, Rita?" I was out of patience and felt suffocated in that house.

"I want to know what you did with Manuela's inheritance." Of course she did.

"Protected it from you. Even if you force my sister to sign a paper in front of a judge, you still won't get your hands on what's hers. Oh, and just so you have no doubt, the money in her account has already been transferred to an account in my name too. In other words, Rita, Manuela has nothing." I said, trying to keep calm.

"You scumbag!" Rita cursed, but then laughed. "What a shame you couldn't protect the little rat as well as you protected the money."

At that moment, Flavian lost his patience and lunged at Rita, grabbing her by the neck.

"Listen carefully, you have no idea who you're dealing with. You better tell us where Manuela is right now." Flavian squeezed Rita's neck as she was starting to run out of air.

"Flavian, calm down. I know this is hard, but let go of her," Breno intervened. "She's not worth it, Flavian."

Slowly, Flavian released his grip on Rita's neck. She coughed and rubbed her neck.

"You will never lay eyes on her again," Rita said between coughs. "Get out of here! GET OUT!" She screamed, and I approached her.

"How much do you want, Rita? How much to free my sister and leave her alone?" She looked at me with a demonic smile.

"Are you willing to pay, Cam? Well, I want everything that belongs to her, every single penny. That's the price. Either that, or you'll never see her again." Rita was not joking around.

My phone started ringing - it was Olivia. I did not want to answer at that moment, but she kept calling.

"Well, she's exactly who we came to talk about." Teresa spoke up.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Cam, I'm almost certain I saw the young lady," Jefferson said, and I focused on him. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't come earlier, but I didn't know where you lived, and I couldn't find you at the company. I had to ask around town."

"Where did you see her?" I asked.

"Well, it was last night. I was coming back from college, must have been around midnight or so. We live near the sinkhole, and I always pass by this seemingly abandoned farm there. Do you know where that is?" Jefferson was trying to explain, but I just wanted him to get to the point.

"I think I do. Is it the one at the end of the street?" I asked.

"Yes, that's the one. I passed by and saw Calvin with a young woman and two other men. She looked a lot like the woman in the photo you showed, but there was only light coming from the house, so I'm not completely sure. But I found it strange, and this morning when I passed by, I took a look and saw that woman enter - Rita. So I rushed to your company, but the secretary said you weren't at work and couldn't give me your address or phone number." Jefferson was right - it had to be Manu.

"Breno, call the whole team back," Flavian said. "I'm going to that place - you meet me there."

"Look, Flavian, I don't think you should go alone. Calvin has two armed guards there," Jefferson warned.

"Flavian, we know where she is now. Let's go with the team. Think like a detective, as hard as it may be." Breno tried to contain Flavian, who seemed uncontrollable.

"Fine!" Flavian responded. "Breno, gather the team and find out how Rita got there without anyone noticing. I want someone to keep watching her house too."

It took more than an hour for everyone to arrive and get organized. Flavian seemed like a caged animal, he was so nervous. When they finally left, they wouldn't let me go with them. I stayed behind, anxious and worried.