Chapter 2 - The Secret in the Shadows
Vincent stepped over the broken threshold of the tiny apartment.
The air inside was freezing, carrying the bitter scent of old secrets and profound desperation.
He gently closed the door behind him, locking the dangerous world outside.
Carmen stood trembling in the center of the cramped living room, her arms wrapped protectively around her daughter.
She looked at the mafia boss with eyes that had seen too much darkness.
"Sarah’s sudden death," she whispered, "was never a tragedy."
Vincent felt the air leave his lungs in one violent rush.
Sarah was the name of his late wife, a woman who had died in a tragic car accident five years ago.
He had buried her in a closed casket, carrying a grief so heavy it had turned his heart to stone.
"What did you just say?" Vincent demanded, his voice dropping to a dangerous, lethal register.
Carmen swallowed hard, pulling Isabella closer to her chest.
"It was a hit, Mr. Torino," she confessed, her voice shaking but resolute.
"The brakes on her car were not faulty."
"They were cut by a mechanic on the payroll of the Moretti family."
Vincent’s blood turned to pure ice in his veins.
For five years, he had believed he lost his wife to cruel fate.
Now, a starving maid in a broken-down apartment was handing him the truth.
"How do you know this?" Vincent stepped forward, his massive presence dominating the small room.
Carmen let out a broken sob, finally releasing the burden she had carried for years.
"My husband was the mechanic who cut those lines," she revealed, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
"He was a good man, but he owed the Morettis gambling debts he could never repay."
"They forced him to do it, and when he threatened to confess, they killed him."
Isabella buried her face in her mother’s coat, whimpering softly.
Vincent looked at the little girl, suddenly understanding everything.
Carmen had not taken a job as a maid in his mansion by accident.
She had hidden herself in the belly of the beast, working for the most dangerous man in the city to escape the monsters hunting her.
She had starved herself to afford medicine, trying to keep her child alive in the shadows.
Vincent’s hands curled into tight fists at his sides.
The rage he felt was not directed at the terrified woman standing before him.
It was directed at the Moretti family, the cowards who had murdered his wife and ruined this child’s life.
"Pack your things," Vincent commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Carmen blinked, completely caught off guard.
"What?" she asked, confusion replacing her terror.
"You are not staying in this freezing apartment anymore," Vincent said, pulling out his secure cell phone.
"You and Isabella are coming back to the mansion with me."
"But sir, the Morettis... if they find out I am with you, they will start a war," Carmen pleaded.
May you like
Vincent Torino smiled, and it was the most terrifying thing Carmen had ever seen.
"Let them try," he whispered.
