Chapter 3 - The Snake in the House
The room went dead silent, saved for the quiet hum of the gas stove.
"Julian?" Alessandro repeated, his voice barely a breath.
Julian was his younger brother. His right-hand man. The man who sat at his dinner table every Sunday, who had wept on Alessandro's shoulder the night Mateo vanished, who had personally led the search parties across New York for twelve months.
"He came to the estate the night you were in Chicago," Elena stammered, tears streaming down her face. "He told me rival families were coming to slaughter the household. He showed me photos of your car burned on the highway. He said you were dead, Alessandro!"
"He lied," Alessandro whispered, his blood running cold.
"He dragged me and Mateo out through the service tunnel," Elena continued. "He put us in a van and brought us here. He told me if I ever tried to leave, or if I ever contacted anyone from the Moretti family, his men would shoot Mateo. He paid Emma's mother—a local widow—to watch us and make sure we never stepped outside."
Alessandro pieced the nightmare together in seconds.
Julian hadn't kidnapped Mateo to demand a ransom. He had hidden them away to break Alessandro from the inside out. For a year, Julian had watched Alessandro slowly surrender his empire to grief, waiting for the Don to become so broken that he would step down—leaving Julian to inherit the entire Moretti syndicate.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed from the alleyway outside the basement door.
Luca, who had been guarding the hallway, stepped into the apartment, his face pale.
"Boss," Luca whispered urgently. "Two black SUVs just pulled into the alley. It's Julian's men. Julian himself just stepped out of the car."
Elena gasped, pulling Mateo behind her. "He comes every Thursday to check on us... Oh God, Alessandro, he brought eight armed men with him!"
Alessandro looked down at his son, who was clutching his pant leg in silence. Then he looked at his wife.
"Luca," Alessandro said, his tone impossibly calm. "Take Elena and Mateo through the back fire exit. Get them to Frank's car and take them to the safe house in Queens."
"And you, Boss?" Luca asked, drawing his firearm.
May you like
Alessandro straightened his cuffs and slowly adjusted the lapels of his coat. A terrifying, predatory smile crept across his face.
"I have a family meeting to attend."
