Chapter 2 - The Mafia King Locked the Villa and Realized My Dead Husband Wasn't Who I Thought
Nobody left the villa.
Not the twelve families.
Not the servants.
Not Vivian.
And certainly not me.
I kept Emma in my arms while Alessandro and Matteo examined the rabbit in a private study.
I wanted to take my daughter and run.
But every exit was guarded.
And a part of me knew something was terribly wrong.
Emma was sleepy.
She rested her cheek against my shoulder, the blue rabbit missing from her arms for the first time since I had met Alessandro.
“Mommy?”
“I'm here.”
“Can I have Mr. Bunny?”
“Soon.”
“Is the scary man angry?”
I stroked her hair.
“He's trying to help us.”
She looked toward the closed study door.
“No.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because he smells like Daddy.”
I stopped breathing.
My husband had been dead for two years.
There was no way.
I whispered:
“What do you mean?”
Emma pointed toward the door.
“The king.”
I didn't know what to say.
Before I could think, the door opened.
Alessandro emerged holding a small evidence bag.
Inside was a section of blue fabric.
His expression had become unreadable.
“What did you find?”
“Your rabbit contains a hidden compartment.”
I stared.
“How?”
“Someone cut open the lining and resewed it.”
He held up a tiny metal tube.
Inside was a microfilm strip.
My knees weakened.
“What is that?”
“Potentially the reason your husband died.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You think Daniel was murdered?”
“I think the official story may be false.”
“You said he died in an accident.”
“That is what the records say.”
“And you think they're wrong?”
“I think somebody went to extraordinary lengths to make sure no one questioned them.”
He motioned for me to sit.
I didn't.
“Tell me everything.”
He studied me.
“Daniel Bennett was not simply a construction manager.”
My mouth went dry.
“What was he?”
“One of my father's accountants.”
I stared.
“No.”
“Your husband worked for my family.”
“Daniel worked at a logistics company.”
“That company was controlled by the Moretti organization.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You're wrong.”
Alessandro remained patient.
“I wish I were.”
He opened a file.
There was a photograph.
Daniel.
Standing beside a young Alessandro.
I covered my mouth.
“When was this taken?”
“Eleven years ago.”
I looked at the photograph again.
Daniel was younger.
But it was unmistakably him.
“You knew my husband?”
“I knew him by reputation.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought he was dead.”
My hands trembled.
Alessandro's voice softened.
“I don't know what happened to him.”
“Then why did you say the rabbit could explain his death?”
“Because the microfilm may contain the answer.”
Matteo entered carrying another file.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found something.”
He placed a document on the desk.
A transfer record.
Daniel Bennett had withdrawn a large amount of money two weeks before his supposed death.
I stared at the number.
“Why would he have that?”
“I don't know.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“Did Daniel ever mention being afraid?”
I thought of the last week of his life.
The phone calls.
The late nights.
The way he checked the windows.
The night before the crash, he had kissed Emma while she slept.
Then he had looked at me.
“Lena, if anything happens…”
I had laughed.
“You've been watching too many crime movies.”
He hadn't laughed.
Now I remembered.
“He told me to trust no one.”
Alessandro's eyes hardened.
“Did he give you anything?”
I shook my head.
“Not that I remember.”
Emma stirred.
“Mommy.”
“Yes?”
“Daddy gave me Bunny.”
I looked at the toy's empty outline in Matteo's evidence bag.
“When?”
“Before he went away.”
I crouched beside her.
“Emma, did Daddy tell you anything else?”
She thought.
Then whispered:
“He said the rabbit was for a secret game.”
“What game?”
“The safe game.”
Alessandro and Matteo exchanged a glance.
“What is the safe game?” Alessandro asked.
Emma looked at him.
“You don't know.”
He almost smiled.
“No.”
“Daddy said the safe man would know.”
Alessandro's expression changed.
“What did the safe man look like?”
Emma pointed at him.
“You.”
The room fell silent.
Alessandro knelt beside her.
“Your father told you to find me?”
Emma nodded.
“When the bad lady came.”
My stomach tightened.
“What bad lady?”
Emma looked toward the door.
“Vivian.”
Alessandro stood.
“Bring her.”
Two guards escorted Vivian in.
Her face was pale.
She still tried to maintain confidence.
“This has gone far enough.”
Alessandro placed the photograph of Daniel on the desk.
“Did you know him?”
Vivian stared.
For several seconds she said nothing.
Then:
“Yes.”
My world collapsed.
“What?”
Vivian looked at me.
“Daniel worked for the Moretti family.”
“You knew him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He handled financial accounts.”
“Did he die because of you?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Then why did Emma recognize you?”
Vivian looked at my daughter.
“I met her once.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
I stepped toward her.
“Where?”
Vivian's face tightened.
“At a hospital.”
My blood ran cold.
“Daniel wasn't at a hospital.”
“He was.”
She looked at Alessandro.
“Daniel survived the crash.”
Silence.
I couldn't breathe.
My knees almost gave way.
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
Alessandro spoke quietly.
“What happened?”
Vivian swallowed.
“He was taken.”
“By whom?”
“The same people who killed your father.”
Alessandro became perfectly still.
“My father died twelve years ago.”
Vivian nodded.
“And Daniel knew who ordered it.”
I stared at her.
“Who?”
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“The traitor wasn't inside Alessandro's empire.”
She looked at him.
“The traitor built the empire.”
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
“My uncle?”
Vivian shook her head.
“Your father.”
The room erupted in disbelief.
Alessandro stepped closer.
“Explain.”
Vivian's voice trembled.
“Your father wasn't betrayed by the Black Falcon.”
May you like
She looked at the rabbit.
“He was the Black Falcon.”
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