Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Web
Vittorio leaned forward, folding his hands over the pristine white tablecloth that looked bizarrely out of place in the derelict warehouse. He wore a tailored velvet coat and an assortment of heavy gold signet rings that clinked against the porcelain cup. ""I must apologize for Marco's rough handling. He lacks refinement. But time is of the essence, Rebecca. You and I have a common problem, and that problem is Alessandro’s catastrophic lack of discipline.""
Rebecca glared at him, refusing to flinch despite the sharp throbbing in her temples. ""Don't pretend you care about his morality, Vittorio. You’re a parasite who has been waiting for Alessandro to slip for ten years. You broke into my studio like a common thief because you don't have the courage to face him in an open boardroom.""
Vittorio’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second, his jaw clenching before he regained his smooth veneer. ""Courage? My dear, in this business, courage is what gets young men buried in unmarked foundations beneath Queens. Cunning is what keeps you alive. Alessandro grew weak. He fell in love with two different women, and in our world, love is an incurable disease that rots leadership from the inside out.""
He stood up, walking slowly around her chair, his polished leather shoes clicking sharply against the cracked cement floor. ""Alessandro thought he was clever. He established private trusts under shell corporations in the Cayman Islands—hundreds of millions diverted from family operations. He told the council those funds were tied up in European logistics investments. In truth, he was preparing an escape hatch. One trust for you, to keep you wealthy and silent when he finally decided to break your heart. And a massive inheritance for Camille’s newborn daughter.""
Rebecca’s chest tightened painfully. ""Why are you telling me this?""
""Because Alessandro has put the entire Romano syndicate in mortal danger,"" Vittorio said, leaning down until his whiskey-scented breath washed over her ear. ""The commission won't tolerate a boss who embezzles family funds to finance his personal indiscretions. The ledger containing those private accounts—the encrypted files that detail every illegal transfer—are kept in a private biometric vault inside your home. In the safe hidden behind your portrait in the library. Only you and Alessandro have the retinal signatures and passcodes to open it.""
Rebecca scoffed, staring straight ahead. ""You think I’m going to rob my husband for you?""
Vittorio straightened up and pulled a sleek smartphone from his pocket. He tapped the screen and held it before her eyes. Rebecca’s breath hitched in her throat.
On the screen was a live video feed. In a modest, sterile living room, Camille Bennett sat on a sofa, clutching her seventeen-day-old infant to her chest, trembling violently. Standing directly behind the sofa was another of Vittorio’s armed enforcers, a silenced weapon pointed directly at the infant’s ivory-silk blanket.
""Camille was foolish enough to believe Alessandro’s safe houses were impenetrable,"" Vittorio purred, his voice dripping with malice. ""She was captured three hours ago. If you don't retrieve that ledger for me by three o'clock this afternoon, I will order Marco to execute both the mother and the child. And then, Rebecca, I will ensure Alessandro believes you were the one who gave the order to wipe out his secret family out of pure, unadulterated jealousy.""
Rebecca stared at the screen, her stomach churning violently. Camille had stolen her husband, shattered her dreams of motherhood, and made a mockery of her seven-year marriage. But looking at that tiny pink blanket, seeing the innocent infant with Alessandro’s piercing gray eyes sleeping peacefully in the face of imminent death, Rebecca felt something fundamentally human burn away the bitterness in her heart.
May you like
""You're a demon, Vittorio,"" Rebecca whispered.
""I am a businessman who plays to win,"" Vittorio replied coldly, motioning for Marco to cut the zip-ties around her wrists. ""Marco will drive you to the penthouse. You will walk in, retrieve the ledger, and bring it back here. If you contact Alessandro, if you alert the authorities, the feed goes dark—and the baby goes to the bottom of the Hudson River. Do we understand each other, Mrs. Romano?""
