Chapter 3 3

Lorenzo POV

The bitter taste of black espresso did nothing to wash away the exhaustion coating my tongue. I hadn't slept a single second. The private Italian-American social club smelled of expensive cigars, roasted coffee beans, and the quiet, dangerous hum of power. Men in tailored suits murmured in the dim light, but my focus was entirely on maintaining the fragile mask of a grieving brother.

Capo Dominic, a gray-haired veteran of the old regime, approached our table. His weathered face was heavy with genuine sympathy. "Antonio, Enzo. I know what today is. Le mie condoglianze(My condolences)."

My father and I exchanged a microscopic glance. Antonio's expression instantly darkened, the perfect picture of a broken man. "Thank you, Dominic," he rasped, his voice thick with practiced sorrow. "Some wounds never close."

I lowered my head, pushing my gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of my nose. "Five years," I added, keeping my tone tight, suppressed. "It feels like yesterday."

Beneath the mahogany table, my pulse hammered a frantic rhythm. Half of my racing heart was fueled by the sheer terror of the lie, the other half by the lingering, impossible euphoria of having my sister sleeping safely in her childhood bed. We played our parts flawlessly, but as Dominic nodded and walked away, a thoughtful, lingering look flashed in his eyes. It was a chilling reminder that Isabella's return was a live grenade sitting in our parlor. We were walking a tightrope of lies.

Two hours later, the tightrope snapped.

Damien Moretti's penthouse office was a minimalist temple of intimidation. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the Chicago skyline, but the room felt like a crypt. Damien sat behind his massive ebony desk, the shadows clinging to him like a second skin. The Wraith. His pitch-black eyes locked onto us, devoid of light, devoid of sanity.

"Isabella's tomb was breached," Damien announced. His voice was a flat, emotionless drawl that sent ice straight into my veins. "Her... remains are gone."

The air in the room vanished.

Antonio, the veteran Consigliere, reacted with the speed of a striking viper. He slammed his palm onto the desk, his face twisting in manufactured fury. "Who dares desecrate her resting place? I want a Vendetta, Damien! I want the bastards who touched her bled dry!"

I stepped up beside my father, letting the genuine fear in my chest bleed into my voice as cold, calculated rage. "We will mobilize every Soldier we have. We will tear this city apart to find them."

It was a flawless performance. But Damien didn't blink.

He leaned forward, the gold of his signet ring catching the dull light. He was studying us. Dissecting us. In that agonizing silence, I realized our fatal mistake. When he delivered the news, there had been a fraction of a second of pure, unadulterated shock on our faces-not the soul-crushing agony of a wound being ripped open, but the panic of men caught off guard.

Damien didn't suspect she was alive. His madness wouldn't allow for miracles. But his paranoia was a living, breathing monster. I could see the twisted gears turning behind his dead eyes. They know my plans. They hid her body to punish me. To stop me.

"I will handle the search," Damien said softly. The quietness of his tone was far more terrifying than a scream. "Go home, Antonio. Mourn your daughter."

We turned and walked out, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. As the elevator doors slid shut, I caught sight of Damien's personal Enforcers stepping out of the shadows, their eyes fixed on us.

The Dark Don had just declared a silent war. He wasn't looking for a living girl; he was hunting for a stolen corpse he believed we were hiding. Every move we made, every breath we took, would now be watched by the Wraith's hounds.