Chapter 4
Back at the main Moretti mansion in Lake Forest, the atmosphere had shifted into a tense standoff.
Caleb Moretti walked down the hallway toward Dominic’s main office, his steps deliberate and controlled. He pushed open the double doors without knocking, expecting to find his cousin behind the massive mahogany desk.
Instead, the office was empty except for Vince, Dominic’s most trusted enforcer and tactical advisor.
Vince was six-foot-four, built like a brick wall, with a scarred face that rarely showed emotion. He was sitting on the corner of Dominic’s desk, cleaning a small silver pocket knife.
“Where’s Dominic?” Caleb asked, stopping near the entrance.
“Out,” Vince replied smoothly, not looking up from his knife.
“Where?”
“Business.”
Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “The maid’s car wasn’t at her apartment building when my guys swept the street. And she didn’t take her usual bus line home. Where did he take her, Vince?”
Vince finally looked up, his dark eyes cold and unblinking. “Why are you keeping tabs on the maid, Caleb? Since when does the head of security track house staff?”
Caleb let out a short, dry laugh, walking further into the room. “Don’t play stupid with me, Vince. She’s been acting strange for weeks. Moving around the upper floor offices late at night. I think she’s leaking internal logs to the Syndicate across town.”
“Is that right?” Vince asked, his voice completely flat. “Funny. Dominic thinks differently.”
“Dominic is letting his judgment get clouded by a pretty face,” Caleb snapped, dropping his polite facade. “She’s a liability. The Syndicate knows our delivery routes through the West Side, and the leak came from inside this house. Who else has access to the third-floor study every single morning?”
“Me,” Vince said calmly. “You. Four lieutenants. And the boss.”
Caleb stepped closer to the desk, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. “She was at the Elm Street intersection last night. My guys saw her meeting two unknown men in a black sedan.”
Vince raised an eyebrow. “Your guys? Or the Syndicate’s guys?”
The room went dead silent.
Caleb’s hand drifted subtly toward the inside of his jacket, but before his fingers could touch his holster, two heavy guards stepped into the doorway behind him, their hands resting noticeably on their sidearms.
Vince stood up slowly, folding his pocket knife with a sharp metallic click.
“Dominic called a board meeting for six o’clock tonight at the downtown high-rise,” Vince said calmly. “He expects you to be there, Caleb. With all your financial records for the last six months.”
Caleb’s jaw clenched tightly. He looked back at the two guards, then back to Vince.
“Tell Dominic I’ll be there,” Caleb said through gritted teeth.
May you like
He turned on his heel and walked out, his chest burning with anger. As he reached the driveway, he pulled out an burner phone and dialed a fast number.
“He knows something,” Caleb hissed into the receiver as he got into his car. “Initiate the secondary protocol. We hit the downtown meeting before Dominic can present the ledgers.”
