The Mafia Boss Watched Her Dance With His Brother—Then She Slipped Him a Bloody Note
Chapter 4
Matteo didn’t use the thirty seconds.
He used five.
“Because I was protecting him.”
Elena stared.
“You kidnapped my father.”
“I saved him.”
“From who?”
Matteo looked at Luca.
“From the people who want both of us dead.”
Luca’s expression remained cold.
“Start talking.”
Matteo pointed toward Gabriel.
“Your father discovered the ledger.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“Don’t listen to him.”
Matteo turned.
“Tell him.”
Gabriel said nothing.
Matteo continued.
“The ledger proves our father wasn’t the real architect.”
Luca looked at Gabriel.
“What does that mean?”
Gabriel’s voice was weak.
“Your father worked for someone else.”
Silence.
Luca stared.
“Who?”
Gabriel looked toward the ceiling.
“The organization had a name before the Romanos.”
“What name?”
“The Council.”
Luca knew the word.
It was an old rumor.
A network of wealthy businessmen, politicians, judges, and criminals who had controlled Chicago through backroom agreements.
He had always assumed it was mythology.
Gabriel continued.
“Your father wanted out.”
“And they killed him?”
“Not exactly.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed.
“What happened?”
“Your father made a deal.”
“What deal?”
“His sons.”
Luca froze.
Matteo looked away.
Gabriel continued.
“He agreed to build the Romano organization in exchange for protecting his family.”
Luca’s voice was quiet.
“From whom?”
“The Council.”
Elena stepped closer.
“Why would they want Matteo?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Because Matteo found the ledger.”
Matteo shook his head.
“I didn’t find it.”
“Then who did?”
Matteo looked at Elena.
“She did.”
Elena’s face changed.
“What?”
Matteo nodded.
“Your father hid it.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
“I hid it because I knew they would kill you.”
Elena whispered:
“Where?”
Gabriel didn’t answer.
Luca looked at him.
“Where is the ledger?”
Gabriel finally spoke.
“Inside the ballroom.”
Luca frowned.
“Where?”
“Under the floor.”
Elena looked toward the ceiling as if she could see through the building.
“Why would you hide it here?”
“Because the ballroom was built over the old courthouse vault.”
Luca understood.
There had been a courthouse on the site before the mansion.
A century earlier.
The vault had never been fully removed.
The old foundation remained beneath the ballroom.
Matteo spoke.
“The Council wants that ledger.”
Luca looked at him.
“And you?”
“I wanted it first.”
“Why?”
“Because if I gave it to them, they’d kill me.”
Luca stepped closer.
“So you planned to take my place.”
Matteo’s eyes hardened.
“I planned to survive.”
Luca stared at him.
“By killing me?”
“I never ordered your death.”
“You told someone to kill me.”
Matteo looked down.
“I told them to scare you.”
Luca laughed once.
It wasn’t amusement.
“You hired men with guns to scare me?”
Matteo said nothing.
Elena looked between the brothers.
“What happens now?”
Luca turned toward her.
“We get the ledger.”
“And then?”
“We burn the Council.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“You don’t understand.”
“What?”
“They’re already here.”
Luca’s expression changed.
“Who?”
Gabriel looked toward the ceiling.
“The people you trust.”
A gunshot exploded upstairs.
Then another.
Guests screamed.
The music stopped.
Luca immediately pulled Elena behind him.
Matteo grabbed Gabriel’s chair.
“Move!”
They rushed toward the service elevator.
But the elevator doors opened before they reached it.
A man stood inside.
Thomas Vieri.
He held a pistol.
“Evening.”
Luca stopped.
Thomas smiled.
“You should have stayed upstairs.”
Matteo looked at him.
“Thomas?”
Thomas raised the weapon.
“Sorry, kid.”
He fired.
Luca pushed Elena aside.
The bullet struck his shoulder.
He staggered.
Elena screamed.
Thomas raised the gun again.
But Matteo tackled him.
They crashed against the wall.
Gabriel shouted:
“Run!”
Luca grabbed Elena’s hand.
They ran.
Behind them, Matteo and Thomas fought in the narrow corridor.
Then Elena heard another gunshot.
She stopped.
“Luca…”
He kept pulling her.
“We can’t stop.”
“But Matteo—”
Luca looked back.
His face was grim.
“We don’t know who fired.”
They reached the ballroom.
Guests were fleeing.
Security men were down.
And in the center of the room stood Victoria Romano.
Luca’s mother.
Alive.
She looked at him.
Then at Elena.
And said:
“You’re too late.”
