Chapter 11
Alessandro did not speak immediately. He let the silence stretch over the connection, listening to the faint sound of classical jazz playing in the background of Matteo’s penthouse.
"Carter?" Matteo’s voice sharpened, losing its aristocratic polish. "Answer me. Is the girl secured?"
"Carter is currently indisposed, Uncle," Alessandro said softly into the receiver.
A sharp intake of breath hissed through the line. The jazz music in the background suddenly cut off as if someone had knocked over a glass.
"Alessandro..." Matteo’s voice dropped, trying desperately to sound bewildered. "What is the meaning of this? Why are you on Vance's phone? Where are you?"
"I am standing in my wine cellar," Alessandro replied smoothly. "Looking at the man you paid to invade my home. And looking at my brother's daughter."
A heavy, suffocating pause hung over the line. When Matteo spoke again, all the warmth of a loving uncle was gone. Only the cold, pragmatic rasp of an aging predator remained.
"You always were too sentimental, Alessandro," Matteo said coldly. "Julian was weak. He wanted to take five hundred million dollars of family wealth and run away to play house with a common waitress in Vermont. He abandoned the Romano empire."
"So you ran his car off the Skyway bridge," Alessandro said, his knuckles turning white around the phone.
"I tried to make him see reason," Matteo sneered. "He wouldn't listen. But the money belongs to this family, Alessandro! To our legacy! That bastard child shouldn't inherit what your father and I built with our blood!"
"Her name is Zoe," Alessandro said, his tone icy enough to freeze water. "And she is more of a Romano than you will ever be."
"You have no proof," Matteo snarled. "Vance’s word means nothing against mine in the Commission. If you move against me, the council will tear you apart."
"I don't need the Commission, Matteo," Alessandro said quietly. "And I don't need your permission."
Alessandro hung up the call.
He turned to Victor. "Call the inner guard. Bring six men who were loyal to my father. Tell them we are holding court at Matteo’s residence in one hour."
"Boss," Victor said, his eyes hard. "Let me take the front line."
Alessandro nodded once. Then he turned to Emily. She was leaning heavily against the vault frame, her strength fading as the adrenaline wore off and the fever took hold again.
"Emily," Alessandro said gently.
May you like
She looked up, her eyelids heavy. "Alessandro... what happens now?"
"Now, you rest," Alessandro said. He scooped Zoe into his arms with practiced ease, then offered his other arm to Emily for support. "You and Zoe are moving into the family wing tonight. You will never clean another floor, and you will never fear another shadow."
