Chapter 2 - The Secret Note
Salvatore stared at the elegant handwriting until the letters began to blur.
He lived in a heavily guarded fortress where every door and hallway was monitored by armed men.
Yet someone had managed to slip into his office, take the toy, and leave a terrifying warning right under his nose.
He pressed the brass bell on his desk three times, the signal for immediate security.
Within seconds, his head of security, a massive man named Luca, burst into the room.
"Boss?" Luca asked, his hand resting instinctively on his holstered weapon.
"Who was in this room while I was on the phone with Gianni?" Salvatore demanded coldly.
Luca looked confused and slightly panicked.
"No one, Mr. Ferraro."
"I was standing at the end of the hall the entire time, and nobody passed me."
Salvatore tossed the folded note across the desk.
"Read it," he ordered.
Luca picked up the paper, his eyes scanning the elegant script.
He visibly paled as he read the accusation against Gianni.
"This is impossible, Boss," Luca stammered.
"No one can get past the perimeter without triggering the alarms."
Salvatore leaned forward in his wheelchair, his gray eyes turning to ice.
"Bring me the new cleaning woman."
"Nadia Volkov."
Luca nodded quickly and rushed out of the office to find her.
Salvatore picked up the phone again and dialed a private, encrypted number.
He needed an outside investigator, someone entirely disconnected from his own family.
"Yeah?" a gruff voice answered on the third ring.
"Vince, I need you to look into Gianni's recent bank transactions," Salvatore said quietly.
"I want to know if he has been moving money offshore."
"You got it, Wolf," Vince replied before hanging up.
Ten minutes later, the heavy office door opened again.
Nadia stepped inside, her face completely pale, wringing her hands nervously in her apron.
She was alone this time.
"You asked to see me, Mr. Ferraro?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Salvatore did not speak immediately.
He studied her face, looking for any trace of deception or hidden confidence.
She just looked terrified and desperately tired.
"Did you come back into this room to retrieve your son's toy?" he asked smoothly.
Nadia shook her head emphatically.
"No, sir."
"I have been scrubbing the kitchen floors since I left this office."
Salvatore wheeled himself closer to her, watching her eyes closely.
"Someone left a note on my desk, Nadia."
"A note accusing my own cousin of betrayal."
Nadia gasped softly, her hand flying to cover her mouth.
"I swear on my son's life, I know nothing about a note."
Salvatore stared at her for a long, agonizing minute.
He had spent his entire life reading people, sensing lies before they were even spoken.
He believed her.
"Where is Milo right now?" Salvatore asked abruptly.
"He is asleep in the staff breakroom, Mrs. Renaldi is watching him," Nadia answered quickly.
Salvatore nodded slowly and gestured toward the door.
"Go back to your work, Nadia."
"But if you see or hear anything unusual in this house, you bring it directly to me."
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mr. Ferraro," she whispered, turning to leave.
She pulled the door open, but before she could step into the hallway, Luca ran into the room.
The massive security chief looked completely frantic.
"Boss, we have a major problem," Luca shouted, completely ignoring Nadia.
"The front gates were just breached."
"Three black SUVs just smashed through the perimeter, and they are heavily armed."
Salvatore reached into his desk drawer and pulled out his heavy silver pistol.
"Who is it?" he growled, chambering a round.
May you like
Luca swallowed hard.
"It is Gianni, Boss, and he brought twenty men with him."
