Chapter 4 - Secrets in the Library
My hand shook so violently I nearly dropped my phone onto the driveway.
Dante saw my reaction instantly. Without a word, he reached out, taking the phone from my hand. He read the text message, his grey eyes darkening into dangerous shadows.
"Marco," Dante called out sharply. "Trace this burner signal. Now."
Marco rushed over, scanning the screen before jogging toward the security booth at the estate gates.
Dante placed his large hand gently against the small of my back, guiding me inside the warmth of the foyer. The estate was breathtaking—soaring ceilings, marble floors, antique oil paintings, and soft, warm lighting. It felt like a fortress disguised as a palace.
"Is... is my sister really dead?" I choked out, a sob finally breaking through my throat as we walked into a cozy, wood-paneled library.
Dante guided me to a plush leather armchair near a crackling fireplace. He took Lily gently from my arms, laying her softly on a velvet sofa pillow beside me while I wept into my hands.
"Victor wants you to believe she's dead so you give up," Dante said, standing beside my chair. "He uses psychological terror before he uses physical violence. Until we see absolute proof, we operate under the assumption that Natalie is alive and hiding."
"I should have known," I sobbed, wiping my face with a tissue Dante handed me. "When she called me three months ago, she sounded terrified. I thought she was just overwhelmed by being a new mother. I didn't ask enough questions. I just took Lily and let her walk away into the rain!"
"You protected her child," Dante said firmly, kneeling down in front of my chair so we were at eye level. "You sacrificed your job, your savings, and your health to keep Lily fed and safe. You did everything a mother would do, Sophia. Do not blame yourself for Victor Belandi’s evil."
His voice was so grounded, so absolute, that the suffocating weight of guilt on my chest began to lift. I looked into his eyes—the eyes of a man feared by the entire underworld, yet currently kneeling on a rug to comfort a woman with eleven dollars in her bank account.
"Why are you so kind to us, Dante?" I asked softly, my voice trembling. "Everyone in Chicago says the Moretti family is ruthless."
"We are ruthless to our enemies," Dante replied, his gaze unwavering. "To the innocent, we are a wall."
Before I could answer, the library door opened, and Marco stepped inside holding a lap-top.
"Boss, we traced the text message," Marco said grimly. "It was routed through a cell tower near the South Side docks. But that's not all."
"What did you find?" Dante asked, standing up seamlessly.
"Victor Belandi just called an emergency meeting of the five syndicate bosses for tomorrow night," Marco reported. "He’s claiming that you kidnapped Natalie Bennett’s child and stole thirty million dollars of his investment capital. He's asking the commission for permission to initiate a full gang war against the Moretti family."
My heart slammed against my ribs. "A gang war? Because of us?"
"Let him ask," Dante said coldly, a dark, lethal smile touching his lips. "Victor thinks he holds all the cards because he has the political bribes in his pocket. He doesn't realize we hold his master key."
"Dante," I spoke up, reaching for the cream envelope on the coffee table. "If this key has the evidence of his crimes... can't we just give it to the FBI?"
Dante turned to me. "Half the field agents in the Chicago FBI office are on Belandi’s payroll, Sophia. If we hand this over through normal channels, it will vanish, and you and Lily will be eliminated before the weekend."
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"Then what do we do?"
Dante walked over to his massive mahogany desk, opening a secure floor safe behind a painting. "Tomorrow night, we crash Victor’s meeting. And you are coming with me."
