MADALINA WAS TOGETHER WITH FLORENTINA, NINA, her mother, and her mother-in-law, choosing things for the Damian's marriage with Rebecca in December 17th, as per their family tradition, when Millie Armstrong called her in a video call. "Morning, Madalina."
"Morning, babe!" She exclaimed with a big smile, as the for woman jumped two on each of her sides, all anxious to hear anything they could about her future daughter-in-law.
"Hi, Millie!" They all said together.
"Hello, girls," she smiled gently. "So, yesterday Khloe went with Nairi to Rebecca, since she hadn't met her yet, and she seemed considerably more social than she had been until now."
"Did she get the photo?" Natalia asked excitedly.
Millie nodded, "Yes. After asking Rebecca many times, she got her annoyed enough to send the picture to her, plus more curses than she had ever heard in her life!" That made the Scarlat woman laugh. "Rebecca is the brunette, Ruby is the blonde, Ryan is the blonde young boy. Sienna looks like an older version of Rebecca, just as Rufus looks like an older version of Ryan. Ruby came out as a mix of both," she explained as she sent the picture to Madalina's phone. "But don't post anywhere, or Rebecca will be livid. She also has no idea that we asked the picture to sent to you."
"Thank you, aunt Millie!" Florentina spoke.
"No worries, sweetheart."
"Did you also get her measurements, Millie?" Keira asked leaning closer. "Her body measurements for the dress!"
Another nod, "Khloe got it. She said it was surprisingly easy. The second she asked for it, Rebecca got up, stripped, and allowed her to get them for us. But my daughter added that Rebecca said that, if those measurements were intended to make a something for her, that you shouldn't make it like a second skin, because she might regain more of her previous weight in the meantime."
"Did she said what was her measurements, before she lost her weight, aunt?" Florentina tilted her head closer to the camera.
"Mm. Nairi and Khloe said that Rebecca told them that her previous measurements were 95-60-95. Now she's a 89-58-89. But they also said that she looks surprisingly fit and toned, thus, they suspect she might have been training her body for some years before all this happened!" She chuckled softly, "And they also added that her legs are long despite her being shorter than all of us."
Nina gasped, "89 is still a big measurement for breasts to me. How humiliating. They must be huge in 95. Life if unfair!"
"Khloe said something similar," Millie licked her lips. "And five more things. She has some tattoos here and there, similar to the ones Damian has, according to Khloe. Rebecca also showed interest in participating on the preparations of the marriage. She mentioned that she has someone in her mind to be her bridesmaid. Khloe also said that she has a place in mind for the honeymoon!"
What? They caught all of them by surprise. Good surprise.
"We thought she wouldn't want anything to do with it, given the circumstances," Madalina pointed, with a silly smile.
"I get it. We all thought the same," Millie exclaimed. "But it seems like we were wrong. We'll be able to directly talk to her about this after the dinner in October. She'll talk to us regarding that, by then. I guess she doesn't want to miss out on her marriage, since it's the only one she'll have! She isn't happy with the matrimony, neither is she happy with having to marry Damian, but Khloe said she seemed enthusiastic to be part of the marriage preparations."
Reasonable. "We can understand that," Keira exclaimed.
"What's the last thing you want to tell you, aunt?" Nina asked.
"It seems like Rebecca mentioned something about her being connected to a person who was her father's apprentice. She didn't tell them much, and she only said it from above!"
Madalina frowned, "Rufus had an apprentice? Rufus? He had an apprentice who wasn't blood related and whom he taught directly? The same Rufus we know?"
"Seems like he did. She didn't say if it was a man or a woman, but she said something on the lines of this person being one of her childhood friends," Millie added.
"You think she had a romance with this person?" Nina asked confused to why she was telling them that.
Millie chuckled loudly, "A romance? No. That is not the case here. I just thought I should tell you about this, because it could be of use for you, since she'll be entering your family by the end of the year and that could come in hand."
"If it was an apprentice from Rufus, you believe it's a hacker then?" Natalia connected the dots.
Chiara's aunt nodded, "Yes. I'm sure it is."
"Did she drop the name?" Madalina raised her eyebrows.
"Black Mamba." She dropped the bomb. "That's all. I have some work to do here, but let's keep in touch. Don't let what I told you get out, okay? She has no idea that Khloe and Nairi told me about it. Let's keep it like that. Have a good day, girls!" Then she hang up
Leaving them in pure shock. That was when Nicolae burst inside the living room, panting, with his computer open in his hand. "Madalina, my love, you have no idea who just contacted us!" But he stopped when he saw their faces, "What happened? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"
"Millie just called us!" Natalia, his mother, spoke.
He blinked, "Did anything happen with Rebecca?"
"She has ties with Black Mamba!" Keira dropped it. "Not just that, as it seems like Rufus was Black Mamba's mentor. And Black Mamba was Rebecca's childhood friend!"
Nicolae turned pale. Now it makes sense. "Black Mamba just contacted me." As if using an Uno reverse card, he dropped his bomb, "It was a simple message telling me to wait for him in 15 minutes, with you, my love. I thought he had chosen us because of the company, but it seems that Rebecca is the reason. If they are close friends, she probably told him about the marriage to our familie."
His wife jumped from the couch with he phone in hand, "They connected you? Are you serious, my love?"
"Yes!" He turned the scream of the computer to her, showing the black screen with a black mamba snake on it, in waiting. "In two minutes the stipulated time will run out and he'll contact us again."
Euphorically, she sat him down on the chair in front of the coffee table, when she made him put the computer. "We've been waiting for this for a long while, Nic. We can't let this pass, no matter the reason why they are reaching out to us, okay?"
"Madalina is right, son!" Natalia exclaimed.
"Every company and conglomerate that was reached by Black Mamba, became a powerhouse, impossible to get in, and with the best cyber security service implemented on it. That would make our name even stronger!" Keira rested her elbows on her knees.
They all gasped when the snake disappeared from the scream and three moving dots took over the center. "He's back, sweet baby Jesus, he's back!"
Black Mamba: Yes, I am back.
Rufus gasped, "Can you hear me?"
Black Mamba: Hear and see. I have access to your webcam. What kind of hacker do you think I am?
Black Mamba: Have some respect, if you desire for my help, Nicolae Gatten Scarlat. It is not like I had not seen your seven failed tries of getting my attention.
"What did he said, son?" Natalia asked.
"He took control of my webcam, and has access to it. Thus he can both see us through it, and hear what we are saying!" He gulped.