Chapter 5 - Blood Money and Betrayal
Peace never lasted long in the Romano family. It was an unnatural state, like oil resting on water.
It was a Tuesday evening in mid-November when the storm broke.
Enzo entered the study without knocking—a breach of protocol that meant only one thing: an emergency. His face was grim, tight with the kind of anger that preceded gunfire.
"Boss," Enzo said, shutting the door firmly behind him. "The vault at the southern warehouse was hit last night."
Alessandro didn't look up from his fountain pen. "How much?"
"Two point four million in unregistered bonds. And the ledger codes for the dock shipments."
Alessandro set the pen down. The click of the metal against the mahogany sounded like a hammer being cocked. "Internal?"
"Yes." Enzo tossed a manila folder onto the desk. "Security cameras were looped from inside the dispatch office. Whoever did it knew the passcode Marchetti reset three weeks ago. There are only four people outside your inner circle who had physical access to the keycard logs."
Alessandro flipped open the file. On top was a black-and-white surveillance capture of a young man sneaking out through a service entrance at 3:15 AM, carrying a heavy duffel bag.
Beneath the photo was a name: Jason Bennett.
Alessandro’s eyes went completely cold. "Bennett."
"Clara’s younger brother," Enzo confirmed grimly. "We hired him six months ago on the grounds crew as a favor when she took the housekeeping role. The boy has gambling debts with the Moretti syndicate in South Boston. He was bought."
The silence in the room became absolute. The air seemed to drop ten degrees.
In the mafia, blood paid for blood. Betrayal from an insider was punished with total eradication—not just the traitor, but everyone associated with the line of trust. It was the only way a family survived. If a boss showed weakness to a thief, the entire kingdom would fall to wolves by morning.
"Bring the mother here," Alessandro said. His voice was completely devoid of emotion.
"Boss... she might not have known—"
"I said bring her here."
Five minutes later, Clara Bennett was led into the study. She was wearing her gray maid’s uniform and a white apron stained with dish soap. When she saw the grim expressions on the men's faces and the photograph on the desk, the color drained from her skin until she looked like a ghost.
"Mr. Romano..." she whispered, trembling from head to foot. "What... what has happened?"
Alessandro slid the photograph toward her.
Clara looked at it. She clapped a hand over her mouth, a strangled sob escaping her throat. "Oh God. Jason... no... no, no..."
"He stole two million dollars and gave our transit codes to men who would gladly slaughter everyone under this roof," Alessandro said, his voice flat and merciless.
"I didn't know!" Clara cried, tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she dropped to her knees. "I swear to you on my daughter’s life, Mr. Romano! I haven't spoken to Jason in three weeks! He asked for money and I told him I had nothing to give! Please... please believe me!"
"Ignorance is not an excuse in this house, Clara." Alessandro stood up, towering over her like a dark monument. The warmth of the past three weeks was completely gone, locked away behind the impenetrable wall of the crime lord he had been for nineteen years.
"Mr. Romano, please... where will we go? Lily has no one... I have no family left..."
"You have twenty-four hours," Alessandro said, refusing to look into her pleading eyes. "Pack your things. Take your child and leave this estate by midnight tomorrow. If you are still on Romano land when the sun rises on Thursday, my men will remove you."
"Please..." Clara choked out.
"Enzo. Escort her out."
Neither adult noticed that the heavy oak door had been pushed ajar three inches.
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In the hallway shadow, a tiny girl in a flannel nightgown stood clutching Poppy to her chest, her big brown eyes wide with terror as she heard every single word.
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