Chapter 6 - [THE TRAITOR IN THE HOUSE]
Nico froze. He looked at the medical syringe rolling across the floor, then slowly looked up at Arthur.
The sixty-year-old estate manager took a step back, his face draining of color.
“Arthur,” Nico said, his voice deadly quiet. “Why is there a sedative syringe in the pocket of the coat you just handed me?”
“I—I don’t know, sir. It must belong to one of the staff—”
I knelt and picked it up. “It’s exactly like the ones my mother’s nurses use. This is a heavy-duty tranquilizer.”
Answer one: Veronica didn’t lock Leo in that room by herself. Someone had to keep him sedated and quiet while the house was full of staff.
Open two: Why would a loyal man like Arthur betray the family? And how deep does his betrayal go?
Nico grabbed Arthur by the collar, slamming the older man against the marble wall. “You kept my nephew drugged in my own house? You helped her?”
“She blackmailed me!” Arthur sobbed. “She found out about my gambling debts! She promised to pay them off if I just helped keep the boy quiet. I swear, I didn't know about your brother’s crash!”
“Where are her men going in Milwaukee?” Nico roared.
“To the mother’s house! They’re already there!”
Nico threw Arthur to the floor. “Lock him in the cellar,” he yelled to his guards.
We threw Leo into the backseat of Nico’s armored SUV. Nico drove like a madman up I-94 toward Milwaukee. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I called my mother’s phone over and over, but it went straight to voicemail.
“Please, Mom. Please,” I begged into the empty receiver.
We pulled onto my mother’s quiet suburban street. The front door of her small house was wide open.
I leaped out of the car before it even stopped, sprinting up the steps. “Mom!”
The living room was trashed. Broken lamps, overturned tables.
But sitting calmly in her armchair, completely unharmed, was my mother. Standing around her were three enormous, heavily armed men in black suits.
I screamed, ready to fight them, but Nico walked in behind me and raised a hand.
The three men immediately lowered their weapons and bowed their heads to Nico.
“Boss,” the lead man said. “We intercepted Veronica’s crew ten minutes ago. They’ve been dealt with.”
I collapsed onto my knees, sobbing in relief. My mother hugged me tight.
Nico walked over to the men. “Good work. But how did you know to come here?”
The lead guard looked confused. “We got the order from the pocket watch.”
He handed Nico a heavy, gold pocket watch.
I gasped. “That’s my father’s watch. He died ten years ago. It’s been in my mom's bedside drawer ever since.”
Nico opened the watch. Tucked behind the glass face was a tiny, folded piece of paper with a single address written on it.
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An address that didn't belong to Veronica. It belonged to the rival Russian syndicate.
TITLE: THE DEADLY ALLIANCE
