Chapter 2 - The Silent Investigation
By three in the morning, the grand estate was transformed into a fortress under lockdown.
In the master bedroom on the third floor, Lucas slept peacefully on the massive king-sized bed, buried under soft silk sheets, his wooden horse tucked securely under his arm. Outside the bedroom door stood two of Alessandro's most trusted, heavily armed bodyguards.
Downstairs in the private study, the air was thick with smoke and tension.
Dr. Arnaldi, the family’s longtime physician, set down a glass of scotch and looked across the heavy oak desk at Alessandro. "The boy is healthy, Alessandro. A bit undertired and confused, but physically sound. He has your blood type, and if I’m being honest, I don't even need a DNA test to tell you he's yours. He's the spitting image of you at that age."
Alessandro nodded slowly, swirling the dark amber liquid in his glass without drinking it. "And Rosa? What did the coroner’s initial report say about her fall?"
Dr. Arnaldi lowered his eyes. "They ruled it an accidental neck fracture caused by a fall down fifteen marble steps. But... after you called me tonight, I went back to the morgue to examine her body myself."
Alessandro leaned forward, his knuckles turning white against the desk. "And?"
"There were faint, yellowing contusions on her upper arms," the doctor said quietly. "Deep pressure marks. Someone held her tightly from behind before she went over the railing. She didn't trip, Alessandro. She was thrown."
A terrifying silence settled over the room.
Marco stepped forward from the dark corner near the bookshelf. "Boss, if Rosa was Claire, then someone in our circle knew. She lived in Astoria under a fake identity for three years without raising a single flag. The only way anyone could have targeted her inside this house is if we have a traitor among us."
Alessandro stood up, walking toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the rain-slicked courtyard. The city stretched out before him, a sea of flickering lights controlled by fear, money, and power. For three years, he believed he had lost the love of his life to a cold departure. Now he knew the truth: Claire had hidden their child to protect him from the rival families who would have used a baby as collateral. She had sacrificed her identity, her pride, and ultimately her life to bring their son back to his father.
"Who had access to the north staircase on Tuesday morning at seven?" Alessandro asked, his voice chillingly calm.
Marco pulled a leather notepad from his pocket. "It was supposed to be empty. The security cameras on that landing were turned off for 'scheduled maintenance' between 6:45 and 7:15 AM."
"Who ordered the maintenance?"
"Julian Vance's security detail," Marco replied grimly. "Julian’s men claimed they were updating the motion sensors after the break-in at the lower docks last week."
Julian Vance. The head of the banking commission and a long-time associate of the Moretti syndicate. His daughter, Isabella Vance, had been trying to position herself as Alessandro’s prospective bride for the past six months, aggressively pushing for a union between their families to consolidate control over the city's shipping lines.
Alessandro turned slowly, his eyes flashing like polished steel in the low light of the desk lamp.
"Julian Vance thought he could clear the path for his daughter by eliminating the only woman I ever loved," Alessandro said, his voice dropping to a whisper that carried the promise of absolute destruction. "He didn't know about the boy."
"What are your orders, boss?" Marco asked, his hand drifting toward his shoulder holster. "Do we pull Vance in for questioning?"
"No," Alessandro declared softly. "If we move too soon, Vance will realize we know about Lucas. Right now, Vance thinks he succeeded. He thinks Rosa was just a maid who died in a tragic accident, and that her secrets died with her."
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Alessandro walked over to the desk, picking up the small crayon drawing Lucas had taped to his door weeks ago—a simple house drawn in messy red lines with three figures standing in front of it.
"We play his game for a few days," Alessandro continued. "Let Isabella come to the house tomorrow. Let her act the grieving benefactor. And while she is busy trying to comfort me... we tear Julian Vance's empire apart from the inside."
