Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN IN RED
Enzo Varelli arrived the next afternoon.
He was sixty-one, silver-haired, and charming in a way that made Lena immediately distrust him.
He kissed Rosa’s hand and called her an old friend.
Rosa looked at him without warmth.
“You never visited after Gabriel disappeared.”
Enzo smiled sadly.
“Antonio forbade it.”
Adrien placed the photograph on the table.
“What do you know?”
Enzo’s eyes flickered.
“That picture was taken days before Gabriel betrayed us.”
“Rosa says he was framed.”
“Rosa loved her son.”
“That does not make her blind.”
Enzo turned toward Lena.
“You have your father’s eyes.”
Adrien moved slightly between them.
Enzo noticed.
A knowing smile touched his mouth.
“So the rumors are true.”
“What rumors?” Lena asked.
“That Adrien Varelli has allowed a waitress into his home.”
“She is under protection,” Adrien said.
“Of course.”
Enzo picked up the photograph.
“Gabriel suspected a traitor. He became paranoid. He accused half the organization.”
“Did he accuse you?” Lena asked.
Enzo’s smile thinned.
“He did.”
The room went silent.
“And was he right?” Adrien asked.
Enzo looked at his nephew.
“If I had betrayed this family, would I have spent twenty-two years helping you build it?”
“Perhaps that was the reward.”
For the first time, Enzo’s charm disappeared.
“Be careful, Adrien.”
“No. You be careful.”
Adrien leaned forward.
“My brother is dead. Gabriel Reyes was hunted. Moretti knows details only someone inside my circle could provide. I will uncover the truth.”
Enzo placed the photograph down.
“And what happens when the truth points toward the woman holding your hand?”
Lena’s face went cold.
Adrien stood.
“This conversation is over.”
After Enzo left, Lena turned to him.
“He thinks my father was guilty.”
“He wants me to think that.”
“Do you?”
Adrien hesitated a fraction too long.
Lena stepped back.
“You do.”
“I believe evidence.”
“And what does the evidence say?”
“That Gabriel disappeared the night our route was exposed.”
“My father saved you.”
“He also knew every security detail.”
Lena’s eyes filled with hurt.
“I thought you trusted me.”
“I trust you.”
“But not where I come from.”
Adrien reached for her.
She moved away.
The rejection struck him visibly.
“You said I wasn’t a weakness,” he said.
“You’re proving I was wrong.”
That evening, Lena insisted on returning to Lavelle for her shift.
Adrien wanted to refuse, but he remembered her accusation.
He allowed it under heavy security.
The restaurant was crowded with wealthy guests attending a charity gala.
Lena served Booth Seven while Adrien met city officials.
At ten thirty, a woman in a red gown entered.
She was beautiful, polished, and completely comfortable walking through a room full of armed men.
She crossed directly to Adrien and kissed his cheek.
Lena almost dropped the bottle in her hand.
“Bianca Moretti,” Celeste whispered beside her. “Vittorio’s daughter.”
Lena stared.
“Why is she touching him?”
Celeste smiled.
“Because she used to be the only woman allowed to.”
Bianca slid into Adrien’s booth.
“You look well,” she said.
“You are not welcome here.”
“My father sent a proposal.”
“I am not interested.”
“You haven’t heard it.”
“I know your father’s proposals.”
Bianca looked across the room at Lena.
“So that’s her.”
Adrien’s expression hardened.
“Do not look at her.”
“You care. How inconvenient.”
She placed a red envelope on the table.
“My father will end the attacks. He will return all documents taken from your warehouses. He will even give you the name of the traitor inside your family.”
“In exchange for what?”
Bianca smiled.
“A marriage.”
Lena’s hand tightened around the wine bottle.
Adrien’s voice remained cold.
“To you?”
“A public union between Varelli and Moretti. It ends the war.”
“No.”
Bianca leaned closer.
“You should think carefully. The waitress has already cost you blood.”
Adrien rose.
“Get out.”
Bianca stood as well.
Before leaving, she approached Lena.
“You should know something about Adrien,” she said softly.
Lena held her ground.
“What?”
“He always chooses the family.”
Bianca walked away.
Minutes later, the lights went out.
Guests screamed.
A gunshot exploded through the dining room.
Adrien’s men drew their weapons.
When the emergency lights came on, Lena was gone.
Her tray lay shattered beside Booth Seven.
May you like
On the table, written in red wine, were five words:
BRING ADRIEN THE MISSING KEY.
