Chapter 5 - The Hostage
Clara let out a strangled gasp and covered her mouth with both hands.
Her younger sister, Lily, was crying silently on the bright computer screen.
Clara had spent years hiding Lily in a safe house far away from the city.
"How did you find her?" Clara whispered, tears spilling hot and fast down her cheeks.
Bianca took another elegant sip of her tea and smiled.
"Money can find anyone, my dear," Bianca replied casually.
Matteo pulled his weapon and aimed it directly at Bianca's forehead.
"Release the girl, or I will paint this sofa with your blood," Matteo threatened.
Bianca did not flinch, her confidence bordering on absolute madness.
"If I do not send a text message to my men every ten minutes, the girl dies," Bianca stated.
Matteo's jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle jumped in his cheek.
He knew a dead man switch when he saw one.
"What do you want?" Matteo asked, slowly lowering his gun.
Bianca stood up and smoothed the wrinkles from her expensive designer dress.
"I want you to sign over the shipping ports on the east side of the city," Bianca demanded.
The east ports were the crown jewel of Matteo's massive criminal empire.
Giving them up would mean surrendering half of his power to a rival family.
Clara looked at Matteo, fully expecting him to refuse the outrageous demand.
He was a ruthless mafia boss, and he owed her absolutely nothing.
To her utter shock, Matteo pulled a pen from his pocket without a single moment of hesitation.
"Bring me the transfer papers," Matteo ordered his shocked legal advisor.
He signed the documents with swift, angry strokes, trading a billion-dollar empire for a maid's sister.
Bianca laughed triumphantly and snatched the signed papers from the table.
She typed a quick message into her phone and showed the screen to Clara.
"My men are releasing her at the safe house now," Bianca promised.
Bianca turned and walked out of the mansion, flanked by her own heavily armed guards.
Clara fell to her knees, weeping with relief and overwhelming gratitude.
Matteo knelt beside her and gently wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Why did you give up everything for me?" Clara asked, her voice breaking.
Matteo looked deeply into her eyes, the cold mafia boss completely vanishing for a moment.
"Because port contracts can be rewritten, but there is only one of you," he whispered.
Suddenly, Matteo's secure phone buzzed violently in his pocket.
He answered it, and all the color immediately drained from his handsome face.
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"Bianca lied," Matteo said, looking down at Clara with absolute dread.
"Her men didn't release Lily; they just set the safe house on fire with her inside."
