Chapter 7 - the trap in the rose garden
Bianca backed away from the desk, her breath coming in shallow, ragged hitches. The terrifying realization that her federal protection had vanished overnight shattered her illusion of control.
"You think you've won?" she gasped, her pale eyes wide with frantic rage. "I still have the physical drive! It's hidden where your men will never find it!"
"Then go fetch it," Vittorio said, his voice cold as a winter morning. "Because starting tomorrow, you don't leave this property."
Before Bianca could reply, the study door creaked open. Maisy stood in the hallway, holding her stuffed bear, her light-brown hair loose over her shoulders. She looked at Bianca, then at her father.
"Dad," Maisy said softly. "The lady dropped her bracelet in the rose garden earlier. I saw her hide a black box under the stone fountain."
Bianca spun around, her face turning an ashen gray as she stared at the eight-year-old girl. "You little brat—"
"Language, Bianca," Vittorio growled, rising to his full height behind the desk, his presence filling the room like a dark wave.
Leo stepped out from the shadows of the hallway behind Maisy, holding a small waterproof black case in his hand. He popped the latches open, revealing a high-capacity encrypted flash drive resting on black foam.
"Found it right where the little boss said it was," Leo reported smoothly, offering a small, respectful nod to Maisy.
Bianca backed into the bookcase, her hands shaking violently as she realized her entire trap had been disassembled piece by piece by an eight-year-old child and a father who refused to break.
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"You can't prove anything," Bianca whimpered, her voice losing its icy arrogance, replaced by raw desperation. "I didn't kill Elena! I just passed the message! It was someone inside your family who gave the order!"
Vittorio walked out from behind his desk, stopping two feet from her. "I know who gave the order, Bianca. And now that I have your drive... I'm going to finish what my wife started eight years ago."
