Chapter 5 - the bloodline of silence
Marco spun around, raising his silenced weapon, but Roman was faster. With a swift, powerful strike of his broad arm, Roman knocked the gun from Marco’s hand and slammed his lieutenant against the heavy oak desk.
The crystal lamp crashed to the floor, shattering in the dim light.
"You," Roman growled, pressing his gun barrel beneath Marco's jaw, his dark eyes burning with terrifying rage. "You were the one keeping track of the mansion's perimeter tonight."
Marco gasped for air, his face turning red under Roman's crushing grip. "R-Roman... listen to me... New York knows! They’ve known about the room for months!"
"Did you touch the housekeeper and her children?" Roman asked, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper.
"No! I swear!" Marco choked out. "Dante has them secured in the vault room downstairs! I came up here alone... to get the key before you found her!"
"Who paid you?" Roman demanded, tightening his grip. "Who ordered you to keep my mother locked away like an animal?"
Marco grinned through blood-stained teeth, a bitter laugh escaping his throat. "You think your father built that room to protect her, Roman? Ask your sweet housekeeper who her father really was!"
Roman’s brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"Grace Harper isn't just a maid you hired off the street five years ago," Marco sneered. "She’s the daughter of Anthony Moretti—the New York boss who ordered the hit on your family twenty-three years ago! She was sent here to monitor the mansion!"
Roman felt a cold drop of sweat trickle down his neck. Grace? The quiet, hardworking woman who cooked his meals and washed his clothes? The gentle mother who wept when her daughter had a nightmare?
Before Roman could process the revelation, Dante—his towering, loyal head of security—entered the study holding a shotgun, his face grim.
"The perimeter is clear, boss," Dante reported. "Three intruders neutralized in the garden. Grace and the kids are safe in the vault."
Roman looked down at Marco, then handed his lieutenant over to Dante. "Put him in the cellar. Don't let him die until I get back."
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"Understood, boss," Dante said, dragging the struggling traitor out of the room.
Roman stood alone in the wrecked study, looking at the open bookcase leading to his mother, and then toward the door leading down to the vault where Grace was waiting.
