Checkmate
Chapter 29: Checkmate
Viktor Romano had survived forty years in organized crime by trusting his instincts.
His instincts were currently screaming.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The old mafia boss sat alone inside his office staring at the photograph.
Lorenzo.
Amara.
A simple picture.
A dangerous picture.
Because the more he looked at it...
The more something felt wrong.
The woman wasn't a weakness.
Not anymore.
Weaknesses made people reckless.
Weaknesses distracted.
Weaknesses created openings.
Instead...
Lorenzo seemed more focused than ever.
More aggressive.
More dangerous.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Viktor hated that realization.
Deeply.
Across the city, Lorenzo Vitale was smiling.
Which was considerably worse.
Because when Lorenzo smiled these days...
Someone usually lost money.
Territory.
Or dignity.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The conference room inside the Vitale mansion buzzed with activity.
Maps covered the walls.
Reports covered the table.
Captains moved in and out carrying information.
The organization was in motion.
Efficient.
Relentless.
Hungry.
Lorenzo sat at the head of it all looking entirely too pleased with himself.
The reason sat on his phone.
A text message from Amara.
The food was acceptable.
Silence.
Immediate silence.
Lorenzo laughed.
Actually laughed.
The captains looked up.
Immediately.
The betrayal.
The smiling-at-his-phone betrayal.
Undefeated.
One captain sighed.
Immediately.
The universal sound of a man tired of being right.
"Just marry her."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The room froze.
Lorenzo slowly looked up.
The captain immediately regretted existing.
Reasonably.
Very reasonably.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Before Lorenzo could respond, another captain entered.
Breathing hard.
Carrying a folder.
Business.
Finally.
The captain dropped the file onto the table.
"We've got him."
Silence.
Immediate silence.
The atmosphere changed.
Instantly.
The smiles vanished.
The warmth vanished.
Everything vanished.
The king returned.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo opened the folder.
Photographs.
Financial statements.
Property records.
Shipping manifests.
A complete breakdown of Romano's empire.
Months of intelligence gathering.
Months of preparation.
Months of waiting.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The first domino sat directly in front of him.
A shipping company.
One of Romano's largest sources of income.
The company had been laundering money for years.
Unfortunately for Romano...
Someone inside had become greedy.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Amara would have liked that.
The thought appeared automatically.
The betrayal.
The thinking-about-her-during-criminal-activities betrayal.
Undefeated.
Lorenzo smiled slightly.
Then pointed to the file.
"This one."
Silence.
Every captain leaned forward.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The older capo frowned.
"That's his biggest company."
Lorenzo nodded.
"Not anymore."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Several grown men looked genuinely excited.
Reasonably excited.
Because everyone in the room understood what was happening.
War.
Real war.
The strategic kind.
The expensive kind.
The fun kind.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Meanwhile, several miles away, Amara sat in the underground hospital's primary surgical suite.
The facility was finally complete.
Perfect lighting.
Perfect equipment.
Perfect organization.
Everything exactly where she wanted it.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The realization filled her with pride.
A rare emotion.
A dangerous emotion.
One she secretly enjoyed.
The underground hospital stretched beneath the city like a hidden kingdom.
Her kingdom.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
She stood alone in the operating room.
Admiring it.
Planning future expansions.
Naturally.
Because perfection was a journey.
Not a destination.
The betrayal.
The perfectionist betrayal.
Undefeated.
Her phone buzzed.
Immediately.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo.
Again.
A concerning development.
A very concerning development.
She opened the message.
What are you doing?
The surgeon stared at the screen.
Then typed:
Working.
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally:
Liar.
Silence.
Immediate silence.
The audacity.
The complete audacity.
Amara frowned.
Excuse me?
The response arrived instantly.
You only use periods when you're actually working.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The surgeon stared.
Then stared harder.
Because somehow...
The man had learned her texting habits.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The betrayal.
The observant-man betrayal.
Undefeated.
Her phone buzzed again.
You're admiring your hospital.
Amara looked around the room.
Then back at her phone.
Then around the room again.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because he was right.
Exactly right.
The realization was annoying.
Deeply annoying.
She typed:
Maybe.
His response came immediately.
I knew it.
The smile that appeared on her face was entirely Lorenzo's fault.
Unfortunately.
Meanwhile, across Chicago, Viktor Romano received a phone call.
A very important phone call.
The old mafia boss answered immediately.
Then listened.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
His expression darkened.
Then darkened further.
Then somehow became even darker.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The call ended.
Slowly.
Viktor lowered the phone.
And for the first time in years...
The old mafia boss looked worried.
Actually worried.
Because one of his largest companies had just frozen its operations.
His money was disappearing.
His allies were becoming nervous.
His empire was beginning to crack.
And somewhere in the city...
Lorenzo Vitale was smiling.
The realization terrified him.
Because the king wasn't reacting anymore.
The king was attacking.
And Viktor Romano was running out of moves.
End Chapter 29