Chapter 2: Whispers of Treason
The rain outside the Highland Park estate seemed to match the storm brewing within its walls. Victor sat in his darkened office, the glow from the hidden camera monitors casting long, skeletal shadows across the floor. Norah stood across from him, no longer looking like a fragile maid, but a clinical soldier who had just entered a war zone.
"Why didn't you come to me?" Victor asked, his hands resting flat on the desk. "Why play scientist in the dark?"
"Because I didn't know who to trust," Norah said bluntly, looking him dead in the eye. "You’re surrounded by monsters, Mr. Romano. And frankly, until tonight, I thought you might be one of them. If I went to your security team, the information would have leaked back to the person pulling the strings within ten minutes."
Victor conceded the point with a grim tighten of his jaw. He picked up his phone, dialing an encrypted extension. "Dante. Come to my office. Alone."
Five minutes later, Dante Moretti walked into the room. Victor’s underboss and childhood friend looked immaculate, unbothered by the late hour. "What’s wrong, Victor? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
"We have a mole," Victor said simply, watching Dante’s expression. "Someone has been tampering with Leo’s medical supplies. I want a full audit of everyone who enters the north wing."
Dante didn't blink. He sighed, shaking his head with a look of profound, brotherly sympathy. "Victor, my friend... you're chasing ghosts again. The boy is sick because of the accident. This paranoia is eating you alive. Bianca is downstairs right now, crying because you won't even let her comfort you."
Victor looked at the man he had taken bullets for. He looked at the subtle, almost imperceptible twitch in Dante's left hand—a nervous habit Dante only displayed when he was calculating a gamble.
It wasn't just Bianca, Victor realized, a cold dread settling deep into his bones. Bianca didn't have the power to coordinate a hit on Lake Shore Drive. She didn't have the connections to frame a high-level pediatric nurse like Norah at Rush University Hospital to keep her quiet.
"You're right, Dante," Victor said, his voice terrifyingly smooth. "I’m just tired. Let’s handle the union distribution at the docks tomorrow. I want everything locked down."
"Of course, boss," Dante smiled, clapping Victor on the shoulder before turning to leave.
The moment the door clicked shut, Victor looked at Norah.
"He orchestrated the crash," Victor whispered, the realization ripping through him like shrapnel. "He killed Clara. He tried to kill my son, and when that failed, he decided to keep him as a mute pawn to keep me distracted while he stole my empire."
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"We need a counter-agent," Norah said, stepping closer. "If we stop giving Leo the tainted vitamins suddenly, his body will go into violent withdrawal. We need to synthesize a flush. I need access to a clean lab, and I need twenty-four hours without Bianca or Dante noticing."
Victor stood up, pulling his jacket over his weapon. "You'll have your lab. And as for Dante and Bianca... I’m about to give them exactly what they want. A distraction."
