“Pack Your Things,” the Mafia Boss Snarled—By Midnight, His Wife Had Vanished Without a Trace
Chapter 5
Elena used the silver key on a metal cabinet.
Inside was a folded map.
She opened it.
The warehouse was marked with a red circle.
Near the river was another marking.
An abandoned church.
Underneath were three words:
Where we began.
Elena recognized the handwriting.
Her mother’s.
She had seen it in childhood letters.
Gabriel returned.
“What did you find?”
Elena folded the map.
“Nothing.”
He slapped the table.
“Don’t lie.”
“You said my mother hid a ledger.”
“Yes.”
“Then why would she hide it from you?”
Gabriel’s face darkened.
“Because she trusted Matteo.”
Elena stared.
“What happened between them?”
“Your mother knew your husband’s father.”
“That doesn’t answer me.”
Gabriel leaned closer.
“Robert Belladonna and Isabella Rossi tried to expose a network that controlled the docks. They failed.”
“Why?”
“Because someone betrayed them.”
“Who?”
Gabriel smiled.
“You’re beginning to ask the right questions.”
Elena looked at the clock.
12:09.
She had been taken shortly before midnight.
Matteo would already know.
She needed to escape before Gabriel moved her.
She studied the guards.
One near the door.
One by the loading entrance.
A third watching from the office.
Then she noticed something.
The guard by the door had a cigarette lighter.
The gasoline smell suddenly made sense.
The warehouse contained barrels of fuel.
Elena looked at Gabriel.
“Do you really think Matteo will trade the ledger for me?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re mistaken.”
Gabriel frowned.
“He’ll burn the city down to get me back.”
“That is why I have you.”
Elena smiled.
“No.”
Gabriel stopped.
“That is why you think you have me.”
She kicked the table.
The lamp fell.
Darkness swallowed the warehouse.
A flame touched the gasoline-soaked floor.
Men shouted.
Elena rolled beneath the table.
She grabbed the guard’s keys.
Someone fired a gun.
Glass shattered.
Smoke filled the room.
Elena ran.
She reached the loading door and unlocked it.
Cold night air hit her face.
Behind her, Gabriel shouted.
“ELENA!”
She didn’t stop.
She ran toward the river.
Then headlights appeared.
A black car screeched to a stop.
The door opened.
A familiar voice called her name.
“Get in.”
Elena froze.
She knew that voice.
Not Matteo.
Someone else.
A woman stepped from the car.
Gray hair.
Pale face.
Eyes Elena had seen every night in her dreams.
Elena’s lips parted.
“Mama?”
