"Well? What was so important that you had to call me down here at this time of night," I ask my men who are all crowded around the conference table in our meeting room.
I was woken up at three am with a frantic phone call from one of my most trusted men telling me I had to come down immediately so here I am, my hair a mess and dressed in just a pair of joggers as I wait for them to finally spit it out.
They all look around at each other, silently urging someone to tell me but none of them have the courage to be that person.
"I'm sure you're all aware of the consequences of wasting my time," I say calmly, tapping my foot impatiently as I lean back in my leather chair.
"Yes boss," One of them nods. "We've received a... tip of sorts," He finally explains. "A tip about what?" I ask, knowing that the cartel is currently running smoothly.
The room is deathly silent for a moment, "A tip about Aria sir," He mutters.
My breathing hitches the second her name is brought up. We have a rule around her, no one is to dare mention her name unless they've found significant evidence of her being alive.
For the first five years after she was taken I spent every hour of everyday searching relentlessly for her. I pulled all my men off their usual jobs and had them scour the entire world for her but it's as if there was no trace of her left.
After awhile I took a different approach, I set up a team to constantly work on finding her but I ordered them to never tell me anything unless it was good news. That was nine years ago and I haven't heard from them since, that is until today.
"What did you find?" I ask, my voice coming out a lot more quiet than I had intended.
"We captured a member from the Delgado's and during torturing he told us he would exchange some information about Aria for his life," He explains. "What did he say?" I ask curiously.
"Well that's the thing he refused to talk to anybody but you," He clarifies.
"Take me to him," I command, standing up and pushing my way into the hallway. I grab a plain black shirt from my room, pulling it over my head as I follow my men down the dark hallway.
We eventually make it to the lockup which is just a row of dingy cells in my basement. There's only three people currently down here and only one of them is conscious so I make an educated guess that this is the guy that wants to talk to me.
"Speak." I command bluntly.
"Luther longtime no see," The man greets even though I'm fairly certain I've never seen him before in my life. "I have a deal for you, if you let me live I'll tell you everything I know about the disappearance of your daughter."
I nod, indicating for him to carry on.
"No I need to hear you say it, I know you're a man of your word Luther promise me you'll let me live," He pleads.
"You have my word," I say calmly when in reality I'm desperate to hear what he knows about my Ari. "But how do I know what you're saying is truthful," I add.
"Because I played a part in her kidnapping," He reveals, causing me to raise my eyebrow sceptically. "You don't remember me?" He asks.
I stare at his face for a few moments, trying to rack my brain for any memory of him but with how swollen and beaten he is it's pretty much impossible.
"I worked for you as a gardener remember?" He divulges. I stay silent for a moment, trying to remember all those years ago until suddenly it hits me.
He worked briefly for me as a gardener but quit two weeks after Aria's disappearance. "Diego Perez." I state.
"There we go," He laughs. "Except it's Alessandro Delgado," He smirks.
"Hm," I hum in understanding. "So tell me Alessandro, what do you know about my daughter?"
"Well I haven't seen her since the day she was taken but I do know she's alive, my boss talks about her all the time," He says.
A feeling I haven't felt in years suddenly starts coursing through me, hope.
'They keep her hidden in their underground base on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, it's completely untraceable that's why you haven't been able to locate it."
One of my men hands him a notepad and pen. "There," He says, handing it back to me with an address written on it.
I turn around and nod to one of my men who immediately pulls out his gun, executing him on the spot as I walk back towards the stairs.
See he was half right, I used to be a man of my word. That is until I broke a promise, I told Aria that nothing in this world would ever harm her as long as I live.
I whip out my phone as I make my way through the mansion, sifting through my contacts until I land on my brother Rafael.
"Hello?" He questions groggily, clearing having just woken up. "I have a lead on Aria, I need your help," I tell him bluntly.
"Oh shit," He exclaims, probably more surprised that I'm asking for help which is something I'm very against doing.
"Pick me up in an hour," He orders before hanging up.
I open my bedroom door, turning on the light and heading over to my closet. I change into an all black outfit before slipping on my shoes and heading back towards the door.
As I'm walking across my room something catches my eye.
The little wooden box nudged under my bed pokes out ever so slightly. It's filled with pictures of Ari as well as some of her keepsakes and toys.
I haven't touched it in years, it's too painful to look at her knowing I let her down but today it's different. Today I am going to allow myself to actually feel hope.
I open the box, staring down at all the pictures for a few moments before picking one up. This one was only taken a few weeks before she was taken, she's smiling brightly with that big goofy grin and her bright orange hair is illuminated by the sun shining down on her.
My heart swells at the sight of her.
Before she was born I couldn't even possibly fathom loving something that much but the second I held her in my arms I knew I'd literally do anything in this world to make her happy.
I pick up another picture of me, Ari and Rafael at DisneyLand Paris. Me and Raf used to be close when Aria was around, he never wanted to be away from her for more than a week so I'd always find him crashing at my place.
Once Aria was taken we grew apart, we just couldn't seem to find any other topic to talk about except her and eventually it got too painful.
I pick up one last picture, one of me and Ari when she was just a little baby. I'm laughing, something I haven't done in years as she grabs at my nose.
I had Aria with a random woman after a one night stand who immediately signed over any rights to Aria after she was born so it's always just been the two of us.
A single tear falls from my eye as I stare down at her little face.
I'm coming for you baby.