Chapter 2 - The Silent Interrogation
The wind picked up across the estate, rustling the autumn leaves against the polished stone drive. Nobody moved. The silence between the security chief, the mafia boss, and the vehicle manager stretched thin like a wire about to snap.
Dominic stepped sideways, subtly cutting off Frank’s only path toward the main gate.
"Frank," Vincent said smoothly, his voice dangerously quiet. "You want to tell me how your personal cuff link ended up in a three-year-old’s toy truck next to a magnetic device on my vehicle?"
Frank swallowed hard, his throat tight. He reached down to touch his missing cuff, his fingers trembling slightly before he caught himself. "Boss... I—I was doing the late check on the fleet last night during the storm. It was pouring. My cuff must have caught on the undercarriage while I was inspecting the exhaust line. I didn't even realize it snapped off."
Vincent didn't blink. He slowly turned the silver crest between his thumb and forefinger. "You inspect the undercarriage of my primary transport yourself, Frank? Since when does the residential access manager crawl under vehicles in a rainstorm?"
"I was making sure everything was secure for your four o'clock departure to the harbor," Frank stammered, taking a tiny half-step backward. "You know how strict I am about the fleet."
Alina held Mia tightly against her, backing away toward the heavy oak doors of the mansion. She knew enough about the Marchetti family to understand that when Vincent's voice dropped to a whisper, danger was at its peak.
Vincent looked down at Mia once more. The sharp edge in his gaze softened for a brief second. "Alina. Take your daughter inside to the kitchen. Have the chef bring her whatever she wants."
"Yes, Mr. Marchetti," Alina murmured hurriedly. She lifted Mia into her arms, keeping her head low as she backed away toward the security doors.
Mia rested her head on her mother's shoulder, her big eyes staying fixed on Frank until the heavy glass doors closed behind them.
Once the child was safely out of sight, Vincent turned back to Frank. The gentle warmth vanished completely.
"Dominic," Vincent commanded without looking away from Frank. "Call the sweep team. Have every car in the garage checked. Then sweep the perimeter sensors."
"Already on it, boss," Dominic replied, touching his earpiece to issue quiet orders to the guard detail surrounding the property.
Vincent took two slow steps toward Frank. His broad frame loomed over the older man, casting a long shadow across the marble stairs. "Frank, you’ve worked for the Marchetti family for twelve years. Your father served my uncle. You know the rules of this house better than anyone."
"Vincent, please, I swear on my life—I didn't put that thing under your car!" Frank cried out, his composure cracking entirely. "Someone is setting me up! Why would I leave my own cuff link at the scene if I was trying to hurt you?"
Vincent paused, his blue eyes narrowing slightly as he weighed the sentence. It was a logical point. A seasoned inner-circle manager wouldn't leave his own marked silver cuff link at the exact site of a trap unless he was careless, panicked, or being framed.
"Who else had access to the master garage after eight o'clock last night?" Vincent asked calmly.
Frank shuddered, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. "Only three people have the biometric codes for the primary fleet bay. Me, Dominic... and your brother, Julian."
The mention of Julian Marchetti caused Dominic to tilt his head, his eyes shifting beneath his dark sunglasses.
Vincent’s jaw tightened. "Julian is in New York until Friday."
"His car was in the lower motor pool at midnight, boss," Frank whispered frantically, realizing his life hung by a single thread. "I saw his black Sedan pull in near the service wash. I thought he came back early from the commission meeting. Check the security logs!"
Dominic checked his hand-held device, tapping through the encrypted security logs for the lower estate garage. After a few seconds, his brow furrowed beneath his dark hair.
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"He's right, Vincent," Dominic said in a low tone. "Julian’s keycard logged into the lower bay at 11:42 PM last night. It was wiped from the live feed five minutes later."
Vincent stared at the silver cuff link in his palm. The mystery wasn't ending with Frank Caruso—it was opening up into a much larger, far more dangerous web inside his own bloodline.
