Chapter 2 - The Shadow of the Vance Family
Matteo leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers against the mahogany table. In the brutal world of the Italian syndicate, weakness was a death sentence. Celeste Vance had intended to frame Ava as a distraction so an assassin could gauge Matteo's reflexes. What Celeste hadn't anticipated was Matteo’s absolute control over the room.
"Luca," Matteo said, his tone icy. "Verify her story. Find out where she lives, check her bank records, and look into her sister."
"Right away, Boss," Luca bowed his head and exited the room, pulling out his phone as the heavy door clicked shut.
Ava sat frozen, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Are you going to kill me?"
Matteo looked at her, taking in her disheveled hair, the faint smudge of flour on her apron from her early morning shift at the bakery, and the fierce protectiveness burning in her brown eyes.
"I don't kill innocent fools," Matteo said flatly. "But you have involved yourself in a war, Miss..."
"Monroe," she whispered. "Ava Monroe."
"Miss Monroe. Celeste Vance did not pay you out of amusement. She wanted to draw my attention away from the perimeter. While you were kissing me, three of her father's men attempted to breach my private server room upstairs."
Ava’s eyes widened with horror. "I... I didn't know! I swear!"
"I know you didn't," Matteo replied, standing up and adjusting his cufflinks. "If I thought you were complicit, you wouldn't be sitting in a chair right now. However, you are now a witness. Celeste knows you saw her face, and more importantly, she knows I have you."
Before Ava could process the gravity of his words, Luca re-entered the room, holding an iPad.
"Boss, her story checks out," Luca reported softly. "Ava Monroe, twenty-two. Parents died in a car accident three years ago. She works three jobs to support her sister, Mila Monroe. They live in a condemned apartment building in the South District. Eviction notice was filed four days ago."
Matteo stared at the digital file displaying photographs of a tiny, run-down apartment and a young girl with wide, fearful eyes hiding her mouth behind her hands. A strange, unfamiliar sensation tightened in Matteo’s chest.
"What about the landlord?" Matteo asked.
"A low-level loan shark named Sal. Works out of the back of a pawnshop," Luca replied.
Matteo turned back to Ava, who was watching him with wide, anxious eyes. "You want to save your sister, Miss Monroe?"
"More than anything," she breathed.
"Then your life as a waitress ends tonight," Matteo declared smoothly. "Celeste Vance will eliminate you the moment you walk out those doors to cover her tracks. The only place you and your sister are safe is under my roof."
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"With... with you?" Ava gasped. "You're a mafia boss!"
"And I am the only man in this city who can keep you alive," Matteo stepped closer, offering her his hand. "Pack your sister's things. You belong to the Moretti estate now."
