CHAPTER 22
Adriano
My men shake their heads. The house is empty. The only thing left to check is the basement, so I wave at them to gather in front of the door. It’s locked, and the keypad was destroyed, so we have to use force to bring it down.
It takes a few minutes, but then we’re racing downstairs. I stay a little behind, because no matter how much I’d like to be the first one and lead my men, I need to be careful. Leaving my wife and my children on their own isn’t an option, so I owe it to them not to unnecessarily put my life at risk.
Surprised gasps sound as we reach another room, and then the horrible stench hits me. I know what it is. Decaying bodies.
As I cover my nose with my shirt, even though it doesn’t really help, I stride forward. Bodies lie everywhere, and there’s a whole lot of blood.
It looks like the dead men were guarding or watching someone. There’s an open cell behind them, and there’s blood all over the floor, but no body. I don’t see Matteo anywhere. Did he do all this?
“Who are they?” I ask Federico, who I only took with me because he might be useful.
“They worked for your father, and then for Matteo.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go outside.” There’s nothing for me to see, and I need some fresh air.
Once Federico and I are upstairs, I take a deep breath.
“So you’re saying these guys worked for Gennaro first and then for Matteo?” I ask.
“Yes. Your father hired them first, but they were his secret hires. I was overseeing them. Then he ordered them to protect Matteo.”
“And Matteo agreed to that?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“He didn’t know. Your father knew Matteo was looking for people to work with, so he sent his own. They were supposed to make Matteo believe they had nothing to do with him and were just guys looking for a job.”
I scratch my chin. “Then who were they working for in the end? Gennaro or Matteo?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know.”
Well, great. More mysteries and no answers.
“See if you can find out whose blood is on the floor in that cell,” I say before I head for the exit.
It might be another one of Gennaro’s or Matteo’s men, and we might have their DNA in our system.
As I get into my car, I call Chiara. She must be worried sick, and I don’t want her to be. Any stress is dangerous for our twins, and I need to do everything possible to alleviate it.
“Hey, are you okay?” she says as soon as she answers, her voice tense.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. The house was empty of the living.”
“Empty of the living? What do you mean?”
“I mean we only found bodies there.”
“Oh. And Matteo?”
“No idea, but the dead men might have worked for him. Looks like Gennaro hired them so he could spy on Matteo. They weaseled their way into Matteo’s ranks.”
“Does that mean he found out and killed them?”
“Probably, yeah.” It would definitely be a good explanation for all the bodies. “But it looked like they were protecting a cell and that there was someone in it. And that someone is gone.”
“What if Gennaro sent Matteo to deal with that mysterious family, and Matteo agreed. But in the process he found out that his men were spies, so he killed them but still decided to take that person to that family.”
“Once again, all we have are assumptions. Nothing solid. But we’ll talk about it when I get home. I’m on my way. I love you.” The words roll off my tongue with ease because they no longer feel like something terrifying.
I’m finally free from Gennaro’s influence.
For real.
“Love you too. I’ll be waiting. Oh, and could you bring me some baby carrots? It’s fine if you can’t. I just want you back.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll be there with the carrots.” I chuckle.
How can I say no to my wife? I’d do anything for her, and I hope she knows it. Anything from something small like the carrots to giving my life for her.
“Thank you so much. But just get back here, okay?”
“Yeah, see you soon.” I can’t keep the smile off my face.
“I don’t understand.” I stare at the results of the DNA test for the blood found on the floor of the cell.
Chiara places her hand on my shoulder as she scoots closer to me. “Whoa, the blood is Matteo’s?”
“Yeah. The floor of that cell was covered in his blood.” I don’t even know what that means.
Is he dead?
But who could’ve kept him in that cell? Or did he end up there by accident because he was trying to hide from whoever attacked? But why would someone attack him?
And if he’s dead, where is his body?
“Gennaro told me I shouldn’t worry about Matteo,” I say. “I don’t know if he was talking about the fact that he surrounded Matteo with his spies or about something else.”
“Do you think he kept Matteo in that cell?” Chiara arches her eyebrows.
“I don’t know. Anything’s possible. But even if Gennaro was planning to kill him, I don’t think he would’ve done it before he and I signed a deal. And I don’t think he would’ve killed the spies too since those men were probably loyal to him and not to Matteo. And there’s no body.”
“Matteo is still alive then.”
“Maybe. We don’t know who took him. Maybe he had more men working for him and someone found out about Gennaro’s betrayal and came for him. He might be recovering somewhere and plotting his return.”
“Aren’t there any cameras in the area? Any witnesses? Anyone who might know something?”
I shake my head. “The safe house was there for a reason. No cameras or anyone living close by. And Gennaro was good at keeping his secrets. He let his second-in-command know about the spies, but he never let him find out anything else or what they were supposed to do.”
“What are you going to do?” Her eyes are filled with worry, and I hate it.
“I have a plan for your neighborhood.”
She tenses, and I realize I’ve chosen the wrong words.
“We need to return to our normal lives. As normal as possible. Your neighborhood will be easy to protect once I implement some things. No one will even know something’s up. We’ll rebuild your house into the strongest fortress there is. And when Matteo comes, I’ll be ready.”
Her lips part in surprise. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Isn’t it what you want? To return there? Reopen the restaurant?” I look deep into her eyes.
“Yes, it is. But I don’t want to bring any more pain and suffering with me. I don’t want my neighbors in danger.”
“They won’t be in any danger. I can promise you that.” I’ll use the plan for my project and just tweak it a little because I no longer want the whole neighborhood. “I want you to be happy.”
“Then I’d love that. I miss my home. This safe house is nice, but—”
“It’s not home.”
“No, it isn’t. We don’t even have a room for our babies here.”
“Then it’s agreed. I’m going to get my men to finish the plan and take care of everything. If we move quickly enough, everything should be ready by the time we finally meet our twins.”
“Really?” Her eyes widen, but I can see excitement in them.
“Yeah.”
She wraps her arms around me and kisses me on the cheek. “That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks!” Then she pulls away and frowns. “But then Matteo will know exactly where to find us.”
“Yes, but he won’t be able to get to us. When I intended to build the Gaviani Resort, I had a plan for that because everyone would’ve known it was mine, including Matteo and Gennaro. There won’t be a huge resort, but the area will be completely under my control. I already bought enough properties to set everything up. No one will know my men are there, but they will keep an eye on the whole neighborhood. Now that I have Gennaro’s territory too, we’ll have fewer enemies because no one will dare to attack us. Most of the city is ours.”
“Wow.” She blinks at me. “It’s weird to think about it that way.”
“Yes, my mafia queen. We rule the city. You and I.” I grin.
“I don’t know how I feel about that just yet, but if we’re happy and everyone else in the neighborhood is safe too... then I’m all for it.”
“Good.” Not even I have fully realized just how much more powerful I am right now.
But I need to focus on my family. Constantly running around after the next enemy and worrying doesn’t make much sense. Matteo isn’t that big of a threat to us, no matter what he does. At least there’s no evidence of it.
Chiara and I need to prepare for the arrival of our twins. Everything else comes second, and if Matteo is hurt and most of his men are dead, he’ll need a long time to heal and gather new forces. By then, I’ll be unstoppable.
I still like power. I always have, but now I get to use it for something that actually matters to me, and that’s nice.