35. Massimo
Chapter 35
Massimo
D aniele is waiting for me in my office when I arrive, lounging on the couch and oblivious to the shitstorm I’m carrying in with me. My anger has only grown during the walk through the quiet corridors from the bedroom, and it’s about to explode.
“I got your text. What’s happened?” Daniele asks.
I settle into one of the armchairs across from him and pull out my phone. “There’s been a development in the situation with the rat. I need to update both you and Leonardo.”
Daniele nods, propping his ankle on his knee, unaware of the bomb I’m about to drop. With my phone on speaker, I set it on the table between us and listen as it rings.
“Boss,” Leonardo answers on the second ring, his tone low.
“I have an update for you both.” I pause, my mind searching for the right words. “Margot has just informed me that she overheard a conversation between one of my men and Elio Moretti.”
Daniele’s brows pull low, and on the other end of the phone, Leonardo whistles. There’s movement on the line before the background noise dies down. “Does she know who?” Leonardo asks.
I nod even though Leonardo can’t see me. The weight of his name is heavy on my chest. “Yes. It’s Aldo.”
Leonardo scoffs. “The man that has worked for your family for longer than you have been alive is the rat?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Yes.”
“We’ve been misled before,” Daniele says carefully. “How sure is she that it was him?”
I don’t blame him for being cautious. We weren’t when we believed Aurora to be involved in the attacks, and look how that ended.
“She overheard him telling Elio that he was investigating the case himself. Unless it was you she heard, there is only one person in this house today that it could be. Besides, she knew about Mattia, Elio, and Francesco.”
“Fuck,” Leonardo breathes.
“ Cazzo ,” Daniele mutters.
They’ve got that right . The gravity of the situation isn’t lost on us. We all know what comes next. After a betrayal, there is always death.
Leonardo’s voice eventually cuts through the quiet. “It’ll take me a couple of hours, but I’ll be there before sunrise.”
“No. We’ve got this.” I meet Daniele’s gaze. Having Leonardo here won’t change the outcome, and besides, he has other lives depending on him now. “Look after Haven and I’ll let you know when it’s done.”
He’s quiet for a moment before replying, “Thank you, Massimo. I’m sorry I’m not there.”
I disconnect the call. “Where did Callum get to with the cellphones? Aldo has clearly been using one to communicate outside of the house.”
Daniele exhales, resting his elbow on the arm of the couch. “Last I checked, he’d gone through them all and found nothing, but if Aldo was using a burner, it wouldn’t have covered the batch we gave to Callum. If he truly is the rat?—”
Cutting him off, I say, “He is. She would not lie.” That much I know for certain. Margot has been nothing but honest with me throughout our marriage.
He nods, before continuing, “We gave him full access to the investigation, so he could have steered it in any direction he saw fit.”
We made a mistake bringing Aldo into the fold, but how could we have known? Aldo has been by my side since I took over. He was by my father’s, and before that, he was by my nonno’s. Hell, it was my nonno who took him under his wing when he was eighteen and this is what he does? It’s almost inconceivable. And yet I know it is a fact .
Glancing at my watch, I make a note of the time. It’s going to be the early hours of the morning for Romeo in Palermo, but he needs to know. Picking up my phone, I type out a quick message.
MASSIMO
We have found the rat. I am dealing with it. Will update once it’s done.
Standing, I pocket my phone. “Bring him to the basement.”