CHAPTER 5: THE VIDEO THAT DESTROYED FIFTEEN YEARS OF TRUST
CHAPTER 5: THE VIDEO THAT DESTROYED FIFTEEN YEARS OF TRUST
The phone vibrated once.
Then again.
No one in the delivery room moved.
Alessandro stared at the screen as the progress bar crawled forward.
Downloading... 18%... 39%... 67%...
His pulse thundered in his ears.
Mateo stepped closer.
"Boss... this could be malware."
Alessandro never looked up.
"Play it."
Within seconds, the file opened.
The screen remained black for a moment before a grainy image appeared.
A date flashed in the corner.
April 8 — 11:43 P.M.
The video had been recorded exactly one night before Genevieve disappeared.
The camera shook slightly before focusing.
Genevieve's face filled the screen.
She looked terrified.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Behind her was the private greenhouse on the Romano estate.
She whispered instead of speaking normally.
"If you're seeing this..."
She looked over her shoulder.
"...something happened to me."
Alessandro felt his chest tighten.
She continued.
"I don't know who will find this."
"Maybe Alessandro."
"Maybe the police."
"Maybe no one."
She swallowed hard.
"But I need someone to know the truth."
She turned the camera.
A second figure stood several feet away.
The image was blurry.
The person's back faced the lens.
Tall.
Gray hair.
Tailored navy overcoat.
Alessandro knew that silhouette better than his own reflection.
Vincenzo Bell.
The recording continued.
Genevieve zoomed in.
The camera captured Vincenzo handing a thick envelope to another man.
The second man wore black leather gloves.
His face remained hidden beneath an umbrella.
Money changed hands.
Then Vincenzo spoke.
The hidden microphone barely caught his words.
"...she leaves tomorrow."
The other man nodded.
"And Romano?"
Vincenzo smiled.
"He'll never know the difference."
The recording ended abruptly.
Silence swallowed the room.
No one breathed.
Mateo slowly lowered the phone.
"Jesus..."
Alessandro said nothing.
His hands had begun shaking.
For fifteen years...
Vincenzo had been more than an adviser.
He had taught Alessandro how to negotiate.
How to survive.
How to lead.
When Alessandro's father died...
It had been Vincenzo who stood beside him.
When rivals attacked...
Vincenzo always had solutions.
When Genevieve disappeared...
Vincenzo became his closest ally.
Every tear.
Every search.
Every funeral for hope itself—
Vincenzo had watched them all.
Knowing exactly where she was.
Knowing exactly why she had left.
Knowing...
He was the reason.
A sound escaped Alessandro's throat.
Not a shout.
Not a cry.
Something far more dangerous.
Pure hatred.
Mateo had heard that sound only once before.
The night Alessandro declared war on the DeLuca syndicate.
Thirty-seven men had disappeared within a week.
Now Mateo recognized the same expression.
Only this time...
The target was someone far closer.
Across the room, Genevieve watched her husband.
She recognized the change immediately.
"You believe me now."
It wasn't a question.
Alessandro slowly looked toward her.
His eyes were red.
"I'm sorry."
The words barely existed.
"I should have found you."
Genevieve smiled sadly.
"You couldn't."
"Why?"
"Because every path you followed..."
"...was built by the man who wanted us apart."
She closed her eyes.
"I kept waiting for you anyway."
A tear rolled across Alessandro's face.
"I never stopped looking."
"I know."
She reached weakly toward him.
For the first time that night...
He took her hand.
She didn't pull away.
Their fingers intertwined.
Seven months of grief disappeared in one silent touch.
The doctor interrupted softly.
"She needs rest."
Genevieve had lost a significant amount of blood.
The nurses adjusted her IV.
The newborn slept peacefully inside the bassinet.
Alessandro walked over.
Carefully.
Almost afraid to breathe.
The tiny boy opened his eyes.
Dark.
Exactly like Alessandro's.
His miniature hand wrapped around Alessandro's finger.
That single movement shattered the last wall around his heart.
"My son..."
He whispered.
"I didn't know you existed."
Behind him, Genevieve began crying again.
Not from fear.
This time...
From relief.
Suddenly—
Mateo's earpiece crackled violently.
His expression changed.
"Boss."
"What?"
"Our men found Vincenzo's driver."
"And?"
"Dead."
The room froze.
Mateo continued.
"Execution style."
"Less than twenty minutes ago."
Alessandro immediately understood.
Someone was cleaning up.
Silencing witnesses.
May you like
Which meant...
Vincenzo wasn't working alone.
