Mauris never trusted that man. He wasn't crafty or cunning, but he definitely was persistent. And the sparkle in his eyes, ever since he met Inessa, were a proof enough that this was his doing.
"Any evidence?" Mauris asked. He stared at Inessa, his eyes trying to assess her. Inessa was like his daughter. And he would kill a thousand but would let no harm come to her. But he trusted her. She was brave and powerful.
"The man we caught today said that the person who ordered him had the tattoo of snake with the F initial." Inessa told him, shifting slightly, so Lena can snuggle better into her arms.
"But it's not a solid evidence." Inessa sighed. No matter how accurate her intuition has always been, she can't declare a war with the French mafia. A war meant people losing their lives. And Inessa wasn't one who favored useless bloodshed.
"Then make it solid." Mauris said, giving her a meaningful stare. Inessa nodded. She understood what Mauris meant. She needed to resolve this issue. It can't go any longer than it already has.
"Lena baby, let's go. Do want the mama special pumpkin cupcakes?" Inessa asked her daughter.
Upon hearing about the cupcakes, Lena's sullen mood brightened up. She eagerly nodded, bouncing away from her mother's embrace and pulling her into the kitchen. It's been more than a year since she stopped living with her mother and came to live here with Mau. Ever since that accident. She despised the thought of being separated from her mother, but still she agreed.
But Lena, even though young, understood things far beyond her age. She knew that her mother wanted to keep her safe, and currently her safety was not with her. Lena never complained, but she was still a child. And with each passing day, she missed her mother's warmth more and more.
As both Inessa and Lena baked the cupcakes, Mauris stood in the doorway, gazing fondly at his precious princesses. He was concerned for his Inessa, but there wasn't much he can do right now.
As the clock struck seven in the evening, Inessa knew it was time to go. Her eyes watered again as Lena held onto her, not letting her go.
Lena cried into her mother's shoulder, her tears raining on her mother's heart like acid. "Please don't go, mommy! I miss you so much. Please don't go!" Inessa couldn't stop the tears anymore.
Mauris hugged both of them before gently prying Lena away from Inessa. Inessa wiped her tears, plastering a smile on her face.
"Lena, why are you crying? Mommy, will come visit you soon. Promise!" Inessa tried to say brightly, trying hard to contain her emotions, and extended her pinky finger towards her daughter.
Lena looked at her mother, knowing that she was hurting just as much as her. She reluctantly wrapped her tiny pinky finger with her mother's, giving her a tearful smile.
Inessa smiled in return and pecked Lena's forehead one last time before saying goodbye to her baby and Mau.
As she walked out of the door, she didn't look back. Knowing that if she did, her daughter's crying face would definitely not allow her to go. She silently cried as she walked in the nearly empty street. The sun was already down and the dark settled over her, just like pain surrounded her heart.
Last year, when a suspicious explosion destroyed her estate, she was not in Russia. She was in California when she received the news that many of her men had died. Including Mau and Lena.
Lost in her own thoughts, Inessa didn't notice the group of masked men following her until a hand clasped her shoulder.
"Hey, pretty baby. Where are you going? It's dark. Do you need some help to find your home?" Inessa stiffened.
She slowly turned around to find some local thugs surrounding her. There were six of them, looking at her hungrily.
She rolled her eyes before snatching the hand of the man from her shoulder and twisting it; successfully breaking his arm. She glared at the other, making them cower.
When one of the man ran towards her to avenge his brother, she embraced his body and kneed his balls hard, slapping him hard when he bent down from pain.
"Leave, before I get angry." she said slowly, enunciating each word. Giving them one last glance and seeing the fear in their eyes, she turned around and walked back to the café.
But before she could enter the café, something hard hit her in the back, making her grit her teeth from the pain. She turned around, and the man aimed for her head, but she tilted her head to the side, the heavy rod hitting her shoulder. The pain increased, as well as her anger.
Inessa clenched her fists and punched the man hard, snatching away the rod from his hands. She rolled her shoulders before hitting the man's knees hard. The man crumbled to the floor. But Inessa had no intention of stopping. She kicked the man in the stomach and then in his balls. The man screamed from the pain, but she bent down, pulling his head up by his hair.
"Do you still want to have a go at me?" Inessa growled. The man glared at her before suddenly spitting on her face. Inessa's eyes closed as her face flushed red.
"Fine, then." she said, before getting up and hitting the man's balls repeatedly until he lost consciousness from the blinding pain. Even though she wanted to kill the man, she knew this would be a better punishment.
She dropped the rod and left his body, lying right where it was. Good thing there wasn't anyone except for Carl, who was waiting for her on the counter. She entered and greeted him, hurriedly going to the washroom to change back to her original attire.
She got her phone and car keys out, too. Inessa never carried her phone when she went to meet Mau and Lena. Dmitri and Nikolai knew they kept a special number inside the house that they only called if there was an emergency. Luckily, the need hasn't arrived yet, except for when she called to let Mau know she wouldn't be visiting for some time.
She bid Carl goodbye as she climbed in her car and drove through the empty roads towards her estate. Her body ached, and she knew it wasn't only from the heavy hits.
Upon entering her estate, she removed her mask and took a deep breath. Sometimes she hated to wear the mask, but she never regretted it. It was a decision she took to ensure her Lena's safety. And no matter how suffocating it got, she would never reveal her identity.
She parked her car in the garage, and put her fingerprint on the sensor at the door as the heavy doors open. They automatically close behind her. Inessa heard the loud sounds of Nikolai snickering and chatting away, and she walked into the living room to find him playing video games.
"But I have to say, Inessa is no joke. Honestly, sometimes when I see her in the investigation room, she terrifies the living daylights out of me." Inessa rolled her eyes as Nikolai faked a shiver. That man was a devil incarnate, and he was terrified of her. Bullshit!
Inessa sneaked behind Nikolai, twisting his ear. Nikolai groaned, "What th-" he yelled, but stopped when he turned around to find Inessa standing behind him.
He glared at Inessa. "What the hell, Ness!" he exclaimed, shaking off her tight grip.
"Stop back-bitching about me. I'll kill you." Inessa playfully warned him.
"See, this is what I was telling you. She is a bitch!" Nikolai grumbled. Inessa glared at him, but her face scrunched as she registers the second person beside Nikolai.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" she demanded.
"Do you suffer from short-term memory loss? Are you forgetting that I am your guest?" Luca smirked, enjoying the flushed, angry look on Inessa's face way too much.
"I meant who told you, you can move around my house?" Inessa gritted out. Her lips pressed in a thin line as she continued glaring at the blue-haired goon. She was exhausted and hurting, and didn't have any energy left to fight with this dumb-head.
"Well… nobody told me, I can't." Luca replied smugly. Inessa wanted to punch the smug look off his face, but she held back.
"Now I am. Go back to your room. You cannot move around my house until I say so." she ordered.
"And what if I don't listen?" Luca drawled out. Inessa's body was shaking as she tried to control her anger.
"Then you'll find a bullet lodged in your head, sooner rather than later." she informed him.
Luca raised his hands in surrender, but couldn't deny the fire that ran through his body. It was apparent that the woman had a lot on her mind, thus making her forget one crucial thing. Her mask. As he took in the glaring eyes and plump red lips, he felt his stomach tightening with want.
Inessa turned around to leave, but stopped in her tracks as she heard, "By the way, I didn't know this is what you were hiding. If it weren't for the mask, you would have hundreds of men falling at your feet. You look beautiful."
Her eyes widened in horror as she belatedly realized what she has done. Fuck!