Chapter 4 The leak

Luciana at this point was a stranger to the concept of sleep. She paced her apartment until sunrise, running every conversation, every email, every whispered hallway exchange through her mind. There was no doubt anymore-someone in her office was working against her.

She'd played it as smart as she could. Filed subpoenas the right way. Sent letters of inquiry. Requested data through legal channels. And yet, every time she got close, the companies she chased vanished into paperwork ash and digital ghosts. Shell companies didn't dissolve themselves. Someone tipped them off before she even reached the gate.

She just hadn't expected the traitor to be this close.

"Luciana."

She jumped a bit. Carla stood in the doorway of her office, holding two coffees and a box of doughnut.

"Are you okay?" her assistant asked.

"Fine." Luciana forced a smile. "Just thinking."

Sarah handed her a cup. "You've been at this for days. You want to talk about it?"

Luciana sipped slowly, studying Carla. She was loyal, smart and sweet too good to be a spy and liar but how sure could she be.

"I'm going to need you to leak something," Luciana finally replied.

Sarah blinked twice. "Excuse me?"

"A fake document. Something hot enough to stir the pot, but just false enough that it'll smoke out whoever's been talking."

Sarah hesitated. "So basically you are setting a trap."

"I'm setting bait," Luciana corrected like it was any more different. "And whoever bites is the mole."

***

The Romano estate was too quiet for comfort.

Alexander stepped through the carved oak doors of his family's ancestral villa and into a past that refused to die. His uncle, Salvatore Romano, sat at the head of the long mahogany dining table, sipping espresso.

"You're late," Salvatore said, not looking up.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Alexander replied, shrugging off his leather jacket.

"You think that makes you a man?" Salvatore's voice clearly expresses his disdain. "Being present? Your father must be ashamed."

Silence.

Salvatore finally looked up, his gaze hard and cold. "That's the problem. Riccardo built an empire. You? You're playing tag with cops."

"She's a prosecutor" Alexander muttered, pouring himself a drink from the decanter on the table.

Salvatore grunted. "Same difference. She's dangerous. She doesn't flinch, and worse, she's not stupid. You keep dancing around her, and you'll find yourself killed by a court order or a bullet."

Alexander took a slow sip, eyes locked with his uncle's. "I know what I'm doing. I'm sure you didn't call me out here for such small talk."

Salvatore pushed back his chair and stood, moving with a predator's ease. "Do you? Because i can't tell. I have had to put a puase on three of my side buisness within a month because of your trial. Do you have any idea how much money i am losing. You're supposed to lead men not flirt with the enemy."

"I'm not flirting," Alexander said, though he wasn't sure that was true anymore. "And she's not the enemy."

Salvatore narrowed his eyes. "Then what is she? What do you call someone who sniffs around for evidence to bring you down."

Alexander didn't answer. He couldn't. He wasn't sure himself. A thorn in his side? A challenge? A warning? Or just the only person left who didn't treat him like royalty or a threat?

"You've got two choices, Alexander," Salvatore continued. "Either you step up and fix this issue or you step aside and let another faction overthrow your Father's authority in the family. I'm sure you understand the consequences of the second option."

Alexander's jaw clenched. "I'll ignore the threat."

***

Back at the office, Sarah did exactly as instructed. She "accidentally" left an unencrypted draft of a memo on a shared drive. The document linked a fictitious account under Romano Construction to a shipment of illegal weapons in Croatia. The names were real enough to be tempting, the connections fabricated but believable.

Now all Luciana had to do was wait.

By noon, the document had been accessed twice-once by someone on the admin floor, and once from a remote server traced back to an IP Luciana didn't recognize.

Three hours later, Casella Logistics dissolved its office lease in Naples.

Bingo.

Luciana stood over her laptop, watching the records update in real time. A smug satisfactory look on her face. She had them right where she wanted. Whoever accessed that file tipped the Romanos again.

"Can you trace the second IP?" she asked Carla.

Carla was already typing. "It's masked. But I'll call in a favor from my friend at the telecom office."

"Make it fast."

Luciana sat back, pulse racing. The mole was close. Too close.

She had a name. She was sure of it. Just one more thread to pull.

That night, Alexander met with his cousin Nico in a downtown bar that reeked of alcohol and bad decisions.

"You dissolved Casella?" Alexander asked, nursing a drink.

Nico nodded. "We were exposed. Again. You sure that girl doesn't have a goddamn wire in her purse?"

"She's good," Alexander admitted. "Too good."

"You're slipping. She might look harmless but her constant poking is causing a stir among the family heads"

"I'm not slipping"

"Keep telling yourself that." Nico leaned in. "Look, I get it. She's hot. She's smart. She hates you. That's your type, apparently."

Alexander didn't respond.

Nico lowered his voice. "But this isn't just a courtroom grudge. If she finds out about palermo there will be no going back"

Alexander's glass froze halfway to his lips.

"She doesn't know about that file."

"She will. She's close."

"I'm closer."

***

Across town, Luciana's apartment looked more like a detective's bunker than a living space. Files, printouts, and old case notes were spread across her dining table. Everything was a mess.

In the center, newly pinned to the wall above her laptop, were two photos.

Her father smiling. Standing beside Riccardo Romano Alexander's father. Another with four more people whose faces were blurred.

The image had been sent to her by an anonymous account that evening.

There was no timestamp. But the background, a seaside villa in Palermo,placed it roughly a few months before her father vanished.

She stared at the image for a long time, she was feeling conflicted at the moment. Why had he never mentioned the Romanos? Was he threatened? Bought?

Or worse was he an accomplice of Riccardo Romano? She thought the reason he had many connections to the family was because of his investigation but the more she thought about it that might not be the case.

Her father had been clean. Or so she'd thought.

She picked up her phone and placed a call to her friend who was a journalist.

"Hi. It's Lu, you did a cover story on the shady dealings of the Palermo Holdings a few years back right. Can we meet i have some questions."

***.

Alexander sat in his car, parked on a cliff overlooking the bay. He brought down the roof of his car and sat there feeling the wind. This was his best spot when he needed to get away and think.

His phone buzzed.

A message from one of his quiet contacts-someone embedded in the city's digital space, always watching.

"She found the photo. I'm still searching for the sender. I'll let you know when i get them."

Alexander swore softly.

He had hoped to keep her away from that truth, at least until he knew the entire truth of the situation himself. Let her aim her fury at him-not at his father, who was capable of far more ruthless damage.

Now she'd be coming for answers. And Riccardo would notice.

**

Alexander walked into his father's private study without knocking.

Riccardo Romano looked up from his ledger with a raised eyebrow. "Finally decided to act like a son?"

"I need to know what happened between you and Alessandro Fester."

Riccardo's lazy look vanished.

"Why?"

"Because his daughter keeps coming for us. I need to know what happened to6 solve it"

Riccardo stood slowly, moving to the couch.

"Alessandro was like a brother to me. He wasn't blood but he did more for me than blood when it was my time to lead the Romano family. He was really good at the game of underworld politics, more good than i was but he found a girl. The love of his life as he put it. They were expecting a child and he wanted out. And no one walks away clean,"

"You had him killed?"

Riccardo turned. "I wouldn't do that to a man i considered family."

"But you were going to have Marcelo take care of her."

"Take care of her yes. Not killing her"

Alexander stared at him. "You need to tell me what happened to Alessandro so i can find a way to end this else she'll never stop coming for us."

Riccardo shook his head. "It is more complicated than you can imagine. I already did my part in protecting her anf her mother. She chose this path. If you want to protect her from what is surely coming to her now that she knows about Palermo. You'll have to bring her into the family."

Alexander's gaze turned to shock for a long moment. "You mean marry her?"

"Not just marrying her get her to stop chasing after shadows."