Chapter 8 - The Underboss’s Ambition
(Meanwhile, at the Bianchi Estate in New Jersey)
Vincenzo Bianchi paced the length of Matteo’s blood-stained nursery, his expensive Italian leather shoes crunching over the shattered wood of the blown-out door. He was furious. A perfect, seamless assassination plan had unraveled because of a peasant maid.
Dr. Elias Thorne stood nervously by the crib, adjusting his glasses. "Sir, if Matteo makes it to his loyal capos, he will tear the city apart. He knows about the poison. He knows I lied about the organ failure."
"Calm down, Doctor," Vincenzo sneered, pouring himself a drink from the crystal decanter on the table. "Matteo is a wounded animal right now. He’s dragging a crying infant and a hysterical woman through the woods. He is vulnerable."
The door to the nursery opened, and two massive syndicate enforcers dragged a terrified, bruised man into the room, throwing him violently onto the floor. It was Marcus, Harper's ex-boyfriend.
"Well, well," Vincenzo smiled, walking over and resting his foot on Marcus's trembling back. "The man who owes my allies fifty grand. I hear your ex-girlfriend is playing hero with my brother."
"I don't know where she is! I swear!" Marcus begged, spitting blood onto the rug.
"But you can find her," Vincenzo corrected, pulling a sleek tablet from his jacket. "My tech guys pulled the data from her abandoned phone. She synced her cloud to my brother’s armored SUV. But we need your password to access the real-time location."
Marcus hesitated for a fraction of a second. Vincenzo drew a knife and drove it cleanly through the back of Marcus’s hand, pinning it to the hardwood floor. Marcus screamed in sheer agony.
"The password, Marcus," Vincenzo whispered playfully.
"Hunter99! It’s Hunter99! God, please!" Marcus shrieked, sobbing hysterically.
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Vincenzo typed the password into the tablet. A green blinking dot appeared on the map, nestled deep within the Catskill Mountains. A wicked, triumphant smile crawled across Vincenzo’s face.
"Look at that, Doctor," Vincenzo said, pulling the knife from Marcus's hand. "My brother is hiding in the old logging cabin. Gather the strike team. We leave in ten minutes. And bring this piece of trash with us. He can be our bait."
