Page 20 of Scarlet Embrace

The voice belonged to a woman, and when I saw her face, I froze. She walked to me and asked Emilio to set me free. She placed her hands on my cheeks and asked if I was hurt. “Looks like I need to teach my men how to escort guests. I’m sorry, we don’t usually pick up guests, so their skills are rusty,” she said, casting a pissed look at Emilio and his colleagues.

Why is Diana LaRosa treating me this way?

“Why don’t we go upstairs and have a chat? There’s a number of things I’d like to discuss with you.”

This is a dream. It has to be a dream.

Pinching myself only made it obvious that I was not dreaming. Diana and I walked into a magnificent room, and I realized that a table had been set in front of us. The dishes were from back home, and my mind drifted to Bianca temporarily. I was meant to prepare dinner for her tonight before Diana’s men had shown up.

“Have a seat, Elena. There’s a lot I want to know about you.”

“Me?” I asked, not sure if I had heard her right.

“Yes. It’s not every time I get to see a strong and beautiful woman like you. You remind me of myself when I was younger. A strong woman who cares for the family.”

Being complimented by Diana LaRosa felt weird. I tried to come up with an explanation as to why she was being nice to me, but I couldn’t think of any. Could it be because of Hector and Javez? Or was it because of Lucas? Or was it something else entirely?

“Thank you,” I said meekly.

“Oh, please,” Diana said, waving her hand. “I’m pleased to meet a woman like you, and honestly, I wish I had a daughter like you.”

Where exactly is this going?

“I’m flattered to hear that,” I managed to reply.

“Good. Let’s have a meal. Once we are done eating, then we can go into exactly why I called you here.”

Left to me, I’d like to skip the meal and go into that, but Diana wasn’t going to be pleased if I made any mention of that. Eating was the only option, but I wasn’t sure I could bring myself to eat. There was enough food in front of us to feed an entire family. Tamales, Ceviche, Nachos, Mole, Pozole and even steak. Diana told me I could have anything I wanted, but in the end, I simply settled for a small serving of Tacos.

After Diana finished eating, she took me to the living room, where Marcus LaRosa was waiting. He was surprised to see me just as I was to see him. Diana introduced him to me, and she asked Marcus if he recognized me.

“I don’t, mama. Who is she?” He asked, his eyes accessing me.

“She’s the woman who was spying on us when we went to that warehouse. The one we thought was a spy?” Diana said as she sat down.

“I am not a spy,” I told her.

“Is that so?” Diana said, her face turning cold.

“Yes. I was there to find the cars because I thought Lucas Cruz was trying to smuggle something into the country, but it turned out I was wrong,” I explained.

Whether Diana believed me was difficult to tell. Marcus asked his mother why she had brought me, and Diana told him that he should prepare for their guests.

“Are we having more guests?” Marcus asked.

“Oh yes. Lucas Cruz. He would be here for her and very soon at that.”

CHAPTER 10: LUCAS

RESCUE

Hunting the one responsible for the theft became my top priority, but the search wasn’t going well. Desmond and his men knew very little, and there was very little evidence leading back to the mastermind behind everything. Having my cars back was a win for me, even if I wanted to punish the person who had dared steal from me.

The woman Elena Rodriguez turned out to be another dead end, though I wasn’t entirely ready to give up on her. Her presence in the warehouse meant she was somehow connected to everything going on, which meant I wasn’t giving up on her soon. Father had finally arrived back home a few days after, and he was quite pleased with the cars. He had taken them off my hands, giving them off to his ‘friends.’ While it wasn’t my intention, the idea of making him happy was more than what I could have asked for. He finally gave me permission to purchase even more cars and start a business with them.

Hearing those words from him filled me with joy, and the past two weeks had been dedicated to running my business plan through my father, who had listened with rapt attention. He had provided me with a warehouse and told me to use every resource available to ensure we could dive into the car dealership business, though we’ll be selling luxurious cars, cars that people would pay through their nose to acquire.

“Lucas, this is a well-thought plan,” Father said as he placed my final business proposal down.