Chapter 2 - The Secret Behind the Crucifix
The quiet inside the grand living room turned heavy and suffocating.
Vincent Romano’s hands stiffened at his sides, his silver hair catching the amber light of the chandelier. His calculating expression wavered for a microsecond before he smoothed his dark suit jacket, offering a polite, practiced smile.
"Mr. Moretti," Vincent said smoothly, his voice low and respectful. "The child is mistaken. I was merely reorganizing your private ledgers this morning before the accountants arrived."
Alessandro didn't look away from the mirror immediately. He reached down, his broad, tattooed hand gently taking three-year-old Emma’s tiny hand into his own. He wiped a small trace of yellow paint from his jaw with his thumb, his dark eyes shifting toward Vincent’s reflection.
"Emma," Alessandro asked softly, his deep voice carrying a quiet authority that filled the room. "What did he hide?"
Emma pointed her paintbrush toward the heavy mahogany desk in Alessandro’s private study across the hall. "He pulled a shiny black box out of his jacket and put it inside the wall behind the big books."
Sophia dropped to her knees beside the shattered porcelain on the floor, her hands shaking violently. "Mr. Moretti, please... she's just a child, she doesn't know what she's saying!"
"Sophia," Alessandro commanded gently, without turning his head. "Stay here."
Alessandro walked out of the living room, holding Emma’s hand as she skipped beside his tall frame in her mustard-yellow dress. Vincent followed two paces behind, flanked by two armed bodyguards who had stepped into the hallway upon hearing the commotion.
They entered the private study—a sanctuary of leather, dark oak, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
Alessandro walked straight to the third row of the mahogany bookcase. He reached out, sliding four leather-bound volumes aside to reveal a hollow compartment in the wall.
Inside sat a small, encrypted black steel drive.
Alessandro picked up the drive, his dark eyes burning with liquid nitrogen as he turned around to face his estate manager.
"Vincent," Alessandro whispered, his voice dangerously calm. "This drive contains the biometric security codes for the South Chicago shipping docks. Only two people in this city have this encryption."
Vincent’s face drained of color. He took a small step backward, but the two bodyguards blocked the doorway.
"Boss... I can explain," Vincent stammered, his hand instinctively reaching toward the silver crucifix resting on his dark tie. "Don Valenti offered ten million dollars for the dock schedules. He promised no one would get hurt!"
Alessandro didn't raise his voice. He handed the steel drive to his chief enforcer and looked down at Vincent with absolute, unyielding indifference.
"Take him to the basement holding cells," Alessandro ordered flatly. "And search his quarters."
As the guards seized Vincent and dragged him down the corridor, Emma looked up at Alessandro, swinging his hand playfully. "Is the silver man going night-night?"
May you like
Alessandro looked down at the three-year-old girl, a rare, genuine softness touching his rugged features amidst the watercolor flower on his cheek.
"Yes, Emma," Alessandro murmured softly. "He's going away for a very long time."
