Chapter 2 - The Mafia Boss's Missing Son
Adrian Valenti returned the next night.
This time, he came alone.
No bodyguards.
No intimidation.
Just a black coat and an exhaustion he couldn't hide.
I was closing the diner when he walked in.
“You shouldn't be here.”
“Neither should you.”
I locked the cash drawer.
“What do you want?”
“To explain.”
“I don't trust you.”
“Good.”
That surprised me.
He sat down.
I stayed standing.
“Tell me everything.”
“Luca is nine.”
I stared.
He continued.
“His mother died when he was three.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I didn't handle it well.”
“You were working?”
“I was a fool.”
He looked down.
“I surrounded him with security and believed that was enough.”
“What happened?”
“He witnessed a meeting.”
“What kind?”
“Business.”
“That tells me nothing.”
Adrian looked at me.
“Illegal business.”
“Then why wasn't he protected?”
“He was.”
“Apparently not.”
His jaw tightened.
“One of my men betrayed me.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Why didn't you tell the police?”
He laughed without humor.
“Because the police are not clean.”
I stared.
“Are you saying NYPD is involved?”
“Some people.”
“Then why come to me?”
“Because you are outside my world.”
I shook my head.
“I'm not.”
“You are now.”
He pulled out another photograph.
It showed the interior of the brownstone.
The room where I found Luca.
There was something on the wall.
A painting.
I recognized it.
“The house had cameras.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did the police say there was no child?”
“Because the footage disappeared.”
“Who erased it?”
“Someone inside the fire department.”
I felt sick.
“What about the wheelchair?”
“Removed.”
“The records?”
“Changed.”
“By whom?”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“I am trying to find out.”
I folded my arms.
“Why should I trust you?”
“Because if I wanted you dead, you would not be sitting here.”
“That isn't reassuring.”
“It wasn't meant to be.”
I stared at him.
Then asked the question that had been burning inside me.
“Is Luca hurt?”
Adrian's expression cracked.
“Yes.”
“How badly?”
“His legs were already weak.”
“You said he was nine.”
“He's had a spinal condition since birth.”
“That's why the wheelchair.”
“Yes.”
“And the fire?”
“He was sedated.”
I felt my throat tighten.
“Someone wanted him to die.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He knows something.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
“You're his father.”
“I know.”
“You should know everything.”
Adrian looked at me.
“For the first time in my life, I don't.”
He pulled out a paper.
A list of names.
Doctors.
Lawyers.
Security personnel.
Politicians.
One name was circled.
Evelyn Price.
“Who is she?”
“My wife's sister.”
I stared.
“Luca's aunt?”
“Yes.”
“Is she involved?”
“I don't know.”
“You suspect her.”
“I suspect everyone.”
I looked toward the kitchen.
Jimmy was washing dishes.
The diner suddenly felt unsafe.
“Why bring me into this?”
Adrian took a breath.
“Because Luca asked me something.”
“What?”
“When I told him he might lose the only person who rescued him…”
He paused.
“He asked whether the lady from the window was safe.”
My eyes filled.
“He remembers.”
“He remembers you.”
“Where is he?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because if they know you know where he is, they will kill you.”
I stepped closer.
“I already know.”
He looked at me.
“Then you're already in danger.”
He left.
I stood in the empty diner.
On the wall above Booth Four was a small photograph of my mother when she was younger.
She had always told me that people like the Valenti family stayed far away from people like us.
She was wrong.
They had already entered my life.
The next morning, someone tried to break into my apartment.
They didn't take anything.
They left one message.
STOP LOOKING FOR THE BOY.
I stared at the words.
Then called Adrian.
He answered on the first ring.
“They found me.”
His voice went cold.
“Leave the apartment.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere but there.”
“I'm coming to you.”
Silence.
Then:
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if you come here, they will know where Luca is.”
I froze.
“You said he wasn't with you.”
“He isn't.”
“Then where is he?”
Another pause.
Adrian whispered:
May you like
“Somewhere even I cannot reach him.”
And that frightened me more than anything else.
