Chapter 2 - The Interrogation Room
By 2:00 AM, the festive lights of the Marquetti estate had been replaced by the harsh, glaring white beams of tactical searchlights. The wedding guests had been escorted off the grounds under heavy armed guard, and the estate was on absolute lockdown.
Clara sat in a leather armchair inside Adrienne’s private study on the third floor. A heavy fleece blanket had been wrapped around her shoulders, and a warm cup of sweet tea sat untouched on the mahogany desk in front of her.
The door clicked open, and Adrienne walked in. He had removed his formal wedding jacket, rolling the sleeves of his crisp white dress shirt up to his elbows. A faint smear of dark engine grease marked his jaw, and his eyes were dark with exhaustion and cold fury.
"Aldo slipped through the sea gate," Adrienne said, leaning against the edge of the desk. "He had a speedboat waiting near the cove. But my men found his staging area in the tool shed."
He reached into his pocket and placed a heavy object onto the desk with a dull thud.
It was a custom-built brass suppressor, still smelling faintly of burnt powder, along with a leather pouch containing three hundred thousand dollars in untraceable bearer bonds.
"He was set up to disappear the second the fireworks went off," Adrienne said, looking down at Clara. "Nobody would have suspected the bride's quiet uncle until I was in the ground and the Falconee family took over our shipping routes."
Clara kept her hands wrapped tightly around the tea cup. "He wore a ring. Gold, with a folded-wing bird. Eleven months ago, when I was working late at the docks... I saw that ring resting on the door frame of a black sedan while two men dragged a wounded man into an alley. I didn't know who you were then, Adrienne. I just knew someone was dying."
Adrienne’s eyes softened slightly. He took a step closer, sinking down onto one knee so he was at eye level with her.
"That night in the alley," Adrienne whispered, "I thought I was dead. Someone leaked my route to a rival crew. I took two rounds to the ribs. I lay in that gutter for an hour, watching my life bleed out into the rain... until a young girl with dirt on her apron dragged me into a laundry cellar and held pressure on my chest until the medics arrived."
Clara swallowed hard. "I didn't know you were a mafia boss. I just knew you were a human being."
"When I woke up in the hospital, you were gone," Adrienne said softly. "I spent six months searching for the girl from the cellar. And when you finally showed up at my estate three months ago applying for a maid's position... I thought it was fate."
"Your mother didn't think so," Clara noted bitterly.
"My mother is blind," Adrienne replied coldly.
The heavy oak doors of the study flew open, slamming against the wall. Signora Sofia marched into the room, two senior capos trailing behind her.
"Adrienne!" Sofia demanded, her emerald dress rustling loudly. "This nonsense has gone far enough! The Falconee family is demanding an immediate audience down in the courtyard! Donatella Falconee is threatening open war over the accusation against her brother!"
"Let her threaten," Adrienne said, standing up slowly and shielding Clara with his frame. "Aldo’s fingerprints were all over the tool shed."
"That girl is a liar and a thief!" Sofia pointed a trembling, manicured finger at Clara. "She was fired this morning for stealing from my jewelry box! She sneaked back onto this property to cause trouble, and now she's spinning tall tales to drive a wedge between us and our allies!"
May you like
Adrienne stepped forward, his body language turning terrifyingly predatory.
"If you raise your voice at her one more time in this house, Mother," Adrienne said, his voice dropping into a dangerous whisper, "I will have you escorted to the villa in Calabria tonight. Clara stays. And you will answer my questions about who truly put that jewelry in her quarters."
