Chapter 1 - THE CLEANUP IN THE BASEMENT
The sound of the heavy kitchen door locking behind me felt like a final sentence.
I stood alone in the vast, echoing kitchen with the warm, wet towel still clutched in my trembling hands.
The house was deathly quiet, save for the rhythmic dripping of the faucet I had forgotten to turn off.
Down in the sub-basement, far beneath the polished marble floors of the DeLuca estate, a very different conversation was beginning.
Rocco was dragged into the dimly lit room by two of Carmine’s most trusted lieutenants, Marco and Gianni.
He was still smelling of cheap whiskey, his shirt stained and his knuckles bruised from where he had struck my face.
He laughed nervously, expecting a minor reprimand for staying out past his shift.
Then Carmine DeLuca stepped out of the shadows, rolling up the sleeves of his crisp white shirt.
The heavy plastic sheeting had already been spread across the concrete floor, gleaming under the harsh overhead bulb.
"Boss?" Rocco stammered, the alcohol evaporating from his system in an instant as he noticed the plastic. "What is this?"
Carmine didn't answer right away; he slowly unbuttoned his gold cuff links and placed them neatly on a metal tray.
"You laid your filthy hands on a woman under my roof," Carmine said softly, his voice devoid of any warmth or mercy.
"She's just a maid, boss!" Rocco yelled, his eyes wide with rising panic as Marco forced him down onto his knees. "She's nobody! A ghost!"
Carmine walked over, grabbed Rocco by the hair, and forced his face upward into the glare of the light.
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"Her name is Ivy," Carmine whispered into his ear. "And in this house, nobody under my protection is a ghost."
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