Chapter 3 - THE POCKET WATCH
The sight of the silver rosary in Dante’s hand broke something inside me.
I had watched them lower that rosary into the ground.
Which meant Dante had either dug up my wife’s grave, or... she had never been buried with it.
"Take him," I said softly.
My men opened fire.
The courtyard erupted in deafening gunfire. I didn't flinch. I raised my Glock and fired three rounds squarely into the chest of the man standing next to Dante. He went down hard.
Dante dove behind the armored door of his SUV, screaming orders.
"Boss, we're outnumbered!" Marcus shouted over the radio in my ear. "They have a heavy machine gun in the third truck!"
"Hold the line!" I barked, firing another shot that shattered Dante's side mirror.
I fell back behind the heavy stone pillars of the portico. I needed to get back inside. If Dante breached the house, the steel door of my study wouldn't hold forever.
I slipped through the front doors, locking the deadbolts behind me.
The house was eerily silent compared to the war zone outside.
I sprinted down the hallway to my study.
I knocked twice, paused, then knocked three times. The code.
The heavy locks clicked. Elena opened the door just enough for me to slip inside.
The four boys were huddled under my massive oak desk.
They were perfectly quiet. Too quiet. Children shouldn't know how to be this silent in the face of terror.
"Did you stop them?" Mateo asked, peeking out from behind a leather chair.
"For now," I said, reloading my weapon.
I turned to Elena. Her face was ashen.
"Dante has Sofia's silver rosary," I said, watching her eyes carefully. "He said she gave it to him. He said she promised him the boys."
Elena let out a bitter, choked laugh.
"Dante is a liar, Alejandro. But he is right about one thing. Sofia gave him the rosary."
"Why?" I demanded, crossing the room to stand over her. "Why would my wife make deals with my Underboss?"
"Because she discovered the truth," Elena whispered, her voice trembling. "She found out who was stealing from the family. It was Dante. He was skimming millions, preparing to stage a coup. Sofia found his ledgers."
Answer one. Dante was the traitor.
But that opened a massive, gaping hole.
"If she knew Dante was a traitor, why give him the rosary? Why not tell me?"
Elena looked down at her hands. "Because, Alejandro... she didn't just find Dante's ledgers. She found proof that Dante wasn't working alone. He was working with someone inside your own house. Someone you trusted more than him."
My blood ran cold.
"Who?"
Before Elena could answer, a tremendous crash shook the floorboards. Dante's men had rammed a vehicle through the front doors. They were inside.
"We need to leave. Now," I said.
I moved to the large bookcase on the far wall. I pulled a specific leather-bound volume. The bookcase clicked and swung inward, revealing a dark, narrow passage.
I had built it years ago. No one knew about it. Not even Dante.
"Get in," I ordered.
Elena ushered the boys into the dark tunnel.
As the last boy—I didn't even know his name yet—climbed in, he tripped.
A small object fell from his pocket and clattered onto the hardwood floor.
I scooped it up.
It was a heavy gold pocket watch.
I recognized the engraved initials on the front. A.M.
It was my father's watch. The one I had given to my younger brother, Luca, before he died in prison a decade ago.
I grabbed Elena by the arm before she could step into the tunnel.
"Where did the boy get this?" I hissed.
Elena looked at the watch, her eyes wide with fresh panic.
"He shouldn't have that. Sofia told me to throw it in the river."
"Elena. Who gave him the watch?"
"The man who helped Sofia fake the car crash," she cried, as footsteps pounded down the hallway toward us. "The man who is standing right behind you."
I spun around, raising my gun.
May you like
Standing in the doorway of my study, holding a suppressed pistol, was Marcus. My head of security.
And he had his weapon pointed directly at my chest.
