Page 167 of His Hell Girl

"Nero?" I ask, my voice sharp.

His gaze meets mine and he nods, stepping aside.

"Put your best act on, Salome. I might even forge his will for you if you're successful," I promise.

Her eyes grow wide, her pupils sparkling with excitement.

"Deal," she agrees.

I start the countdown, and then I tell her to begin.

The camera zooms in on Salome's face, her bloody lip and her purple eye as she's trembling, sniffling.

"It's all your fucking fault, old man! Why couldn't you just let me be?" she cries out, cursing her father and calling him all types of names.

Well, if this is her way of sounding convincing, then so be it.

"Do you know what they threatened to do?" she continues to yell, her face red from the exertion. "A hysterectomy. Say bye-bye to your heirs, Papi dear. I know I won't miss them." She smirks at the camera.

I bring my hand to my forehead, unable to believe howthatmessage is going to get Meester to cooperate.

"I'm surprised the video worked," Sisi comments as she joins me on the deck of the boat.

Everyone is completely geared up for whatever we'll find on the island, and while I would have liked for Sisi to stay behind, since itwillbe dangerous, I couldn't stop her from coming.

I know she would have followed me anyway, because if there's one thing I've learned about her, it's that there's a stubbornness to her that infuses strength into any decision she takes.

She never backs down, regardless of the dangers involved, and the attack in New Orleans had shown me that just as I'd go to any extent to protect her, so would she for me.

She twines her fingers with mine, her head resting on my shoulder as we watch the boat leave the harbor.

"Meester is just as mercenary as I'd pegged him," I tell her, sneaking a glance to where Meester is sitting on deck, restrained and currently being interrogated by Enzo.

The negotiations with Meester had gone according to plan. Although Salome's message hadn't been a traditional one, it had honed in on Meester's interests.

When I'd spoken to him it had taken a while to convince him that we actually have his daughter, but after seeing the recording, all traces of doubt had evaporated and he'd agreed to help us get to the island. He'd given away his trump card too, as he'd asked at least a dozen times to make sure his daughter—specifically her womb—would be safe.

It had also confirmed, without a sliver of doubt, that Meester has been involved with Miles all along, including all those years ago when they'd roped Misha into their plans and attacked myhouse. For that alone, I'm reserving the right to send him to his grave after everything is over.

"We're so close, Vlad," Sisi whispers.

"Indeed," I reply stiffly.

Now that the moment of reckoning is so near, I don't know how to feel about everything. I am especially wary about hoping to find Katya alive. Because she is, she might be just a shell of a human.

After we'd gotten Meester to cooperate, we'd put together a plan of attack, and both Enzo and Marcello had volunteered some of their best men. I'd given them a rundown of Miles' experiment, especially the tests he'd put us through as children.

Anyone reared on those terms is bound to become a deadly motherfucker—if they are lucky enough to reach maturity. And so we'd chosen the men with the most experience in hand-to-hand combat and shooting.

The plan is rather simple.

Taking Meester's boat to reach the island, we've stashed some of the best soldiers on board. The minute we get to the island, the first task is to take out the coast guard and ensure that the port is clear. Then, a few other boats will come in to help with the evacuation.

From what I'd seen on the drone footage, the entire hospital is occupied, so we'll need enough space to take everyone to safety.

Then, after everyone's been evacuated from the premises, we'll raid the basement.

Sisi had brought up a good idea that the evacuation should be organic and not hostile, because the moment we start moving that many people out of the hospital and enforcements are sent from the basement, everyone will be caught in the crossfire.

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