Chapter 12 - The Day the Mafia Boss Begged
Dante's Weakness
Dante survived.
Barely.
The bullet entered his shoulder.
The twins were gone.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I forced myself to think.
The police were not an option.
Dante's enemies would reach them first.
Matteo sealed the estate.
Every gate closed.
Every road monitored.
Still nothing.
Then I noticed something.
Sophia's red ribbon was lying on Dante's desk.
She never went anywhere without it.
I picked it up.
There was writing underneath the fabric.
Tiny letters.
CARMELA'S HANDWRITING.
LOOK WHERE HE HATED TO LOOK.
I knew immediately.
Dante's locked room.
Not Carmela's.
His.
The office he had never allowed anyone to enter.
Inside, behind his desk, was a large painting.
Dante tore it from the wall.
A safe appeared.
He opened it.
Nothing.
Then Sophia's voice came from a speaker.
“Dante.”
He froze.
It was a recording.
“I know you're sad.”
Dante sat down.
“You're not lonely now.”
His eyes closed.
I realized something.
Carmela had recorded Sophia.
Years before Sophia could possibly understand what she was saying.
The recording continued.
“Walk to the window.”
Dante looked at me.
We went to the window.
Another compartment.
Inside was a ledger.
Names.
Payments.
Dates.
And one symbol.
A red rose.
Matteo's face changed.
“The Rose Syndicate.”
Dante stared.
“They've been operating inside our organization.”
“Who?”
Matteo pointed at the ledger.
“Every person marked with the rose.”
There were twelve names.
Eight were dead.
Three were missing.
One was still alive.
Salvatore.
Dante finally understood.
His uncle had built the betrayal from the inside.
But Salvatore wasn't acting alone.
The final page contained a family tree.
At the bottom were two names.
Sophia Bennett.
Adrian Bennett.
Beside them:
SUCCESSORS.
Dante stared.
“They wanted the twins alive.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever controls the children controls the inheritance.”
I looked at him.
“Then why take them now?”
Matteo answered.
“Because Salvatore wants legitimacy.”
Dante's face became cold.
He picked up his gun.
“We're getting them back.”
“And if this is a trap?”
Dante looked at the red ribbon.
Then at me.
“They took my family.”
He walked toward the door.
“So I'm taking theirs.”
Before he could leave, every phone in the room began ringing.
Same number.
Same message.
ONE HOUR.
COME ALONE.
OR THE GIRL DIES.
A second message arrived.
A photograph.
Sophia stood in a dark room.
She was holding hands with Adrian.
Behind them stood Salvatore.
May you like
And beside Salvatore was someone Dante had believed was dead.
Carmela's father.
