Chapter 5 - The Old Man’s Arrival
By seven in the morning, the rain had started pouring against the high glass windows of the estate. The sky was the color of slate.
Arthur Pendelton, Bianca’s father, arrived in a black Lincoln Town Car. He was sixty-eight years old, wore a tailored three-piece suit, and carried a gold-topped cane that he didn't actually need for walking—he used it as a prop to establish authority.
He walked into the breakfast room expecting to find a panicked daughter crying about a marital spat.
Instead, he found Marcus hand-cuffed to the radiator, two armed guards at the door, and Bianca sitting on the floor in her ruined dress, her makeup smeared across her face.
I was sitting at the head of the table, feeding Emma small pieces of plain toast and warm milk.
"What is the meaning of this theater, Vittorio?" Arthur demanded, banging his cane against the marble floor. "Have you lost your mind? Treating my daughter like a criminal in your house?"
"Sit down, Arthur," I said, without looking up from Emma's plate.
"I will not sit down! You will release Marcus immediately and explain why my daughter is on the floor, or I will have my legal team tear your shipping company apart by noon!"
"Your legal team is currently being arrested at their office in Manhattan," I said, setting the spoon down. I finally raised my eyes to meet his. "District Attorney Vance issued seven warrants twenty minutes ago. Wire fraud, grand larceny, and conspiracy to commit murder."
Arthur’s face didn't crumble like Bianca’s had. Old monsters don't break easily; they freeze.
"You're bluffing," Arthur said smoothly, though his thumb tightened against the gold top of his cane. "You have no proof of anything."
"I have Dr. Aris," I replied. "Geno’s men picked him up at JFK airport an hour ago. He was trying to catch a flight to Zurich. Turns out, old doctors get very nervous when they hear the state police are opening cold case files."
Arthur turned his gaze slowly toward Bianca. "What did you do?" he hissed.
"I didn't tell him!" Bianca wept. "He found the safe, Papa! He found the map rack!"
"You stupid girl," Arthur said, his voice deadly quiet. He didn't offer her a hand. He didn't even look at her with pity. He looked at her like a broken tool that had ruined a decades-long investment.
"She wasn't stupid," I said, standing up with Emma in my arms and handing her to Lucy. "Lucy, take Emma upstairs to her mother's old room. Lock the door from the inside until I come up."
"Yes, Mr. Vittorio," Lucy said, holding Emma securely and hurrying out of the room.
When the heavy wooden doors clicked shut behind them, I walked around the table until I was standing inches from Arthur Pendelton.
"You took my wife," I whispered. "You thought you could take my business. Then you put your daughter in my house to make sure my child died slowly enough that nobody would notice."
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"I never touched your child," Arthur said coldly.
"You let your daughter pinch her until she stopped talking," I said. "In my book, that's the same thing."
