Chapter 5 - Whispers in the Shadows
The accusation hung in the air like a poisoned blade. Marco threw his hands up in theatrical disgust, laughing with false bravado. ""Sister, your grief has completely rotted your mind! You pick up a stray waitress off the floor of Leto and expect the council to bow to her? I demand an independent investigation! I demand this meeting be adjourned!""
""Sit down, Marco,"" Alessandro whispered.
The command was so quiet, yet so lethal, that Marco immediately sank back into his leather chair, sweat beading along his hairline.
""The council will reconvene tomorrow night for the formal transfer of the trust,"" Alessandro declared, his voice echoing across the silent hall. ""Until then, my cousin remains under my personal protection. Anyone who looks at her with ill intent will be buried under six feet of concrete. Dismissed.""
The capos hurried out of the room, casting nervous, calculating glances at Eleanor. When the hall finally cleared, Eleanor felt her knees tremble. The sheer hatred radiating from Marco had felt like a physical heat against her skin.
""He's going to try to kill me, isn't he?"" Eleanor asked, looking at Alessandro.
""He tried once before,"" Alessandro answered bluntly, stepping closer and reaching out to adjust the heavy silver chain around her neck. His fingers brushed against her throat, warm and unexpectedly gentle. ""He burned a house down to prevent your mother from handing her assets to you. For twenty years, Marco has been skimming millions from Chiara's frozen trust. If you are officially recognized, he loses everything. And worse, he faces the family code for murdering blood.""
""Then why let him walk out of here alive tonight? Why not just shoot him?""
Alessandro looked down at her, a dark, calculating glint in his eyes. ""Because in our world, Eleanor, an execution without proof creates a civil war. We don't just kill traitors; we destroy their standing first. We need the original ledger he used to pay off the arsonist. And Marco will be desperate enough tonight to try and destroy it.""
Later that evening, unable to sleep in the palatial silence of her bedroom, Eleanor wandered into the private library. The moon cast long, silver slivers across the Persian rugs. She ran her fingers along the spine of an antique book, trying to reconcile the penniless girl she had been forty-eight hours ago with the target she had become.
May you like
Suddenly, a floorboard creaked behind her.
Eleanor spun around, but before she could scream, a heavy gloved hand clamped down over her mouth, dragging her violently into the dark recesses between the towering bookshelves.
