Chapter 1 - The Sixty-Three Page File
Three days passed in absolute silence.
Santiago sat behind his mahogany desk, staring at the thick manila folder Tomas had just placed in front of him.
The mansion felt like a tomb again without Ruby’s quiet presence or Sophia’s hidden laughter.
Tomas stood with his hands folded behind his back.
"You are going to want to read the first page very carefully, boss," Tomas said quietly.
Santiago opened the heavy cover.
The photograph attached to the background check was definitely Ruby Brennan, but the name printed below it was Dr. Ruby Aris.
She was not a maid at all.
Four years ago, she had been the top pediatric trauma specialist in the state.
"Why is a renowned trauma specialist scrubbing my floors?" Santiago asked, his voice dangerously low.
"Because three years ago, her medical license was revoked after she supposedly helped a rival syndicate's child fake an injury to escape the city," Tomas explained.
"But that is not the part that should concern you."
Santiago flipped to the second page and felt the blood drain completely from his face.
Ruby's true maiden name was Falcone.
She was the estranged daughter of the Falcone crime family, the exact same people who had orchestrated the brutal hit that traumatized Sophia seven years ago.
Santiago stood up so fast his heavy leather chair crashed to the hardwood floor.
He had just allowed a Falcone into his home, near his vulnerable sister, and then fired her blindly into the wind.
"Find her right now," Santiago roared.
May you like
"I tried, but her apartment was cleaned out an hour ago," Tomas replied grimly.
"And my men found fresh blood smeared all over her front door."
