Chapter 2 - The Silent War
I moved through the hidden corridors of my estate, stepping into the third-floor safe room.
Elena sat on the velvet sofa, holding Matteo as he slept peacefully with his gray stuffed elephant tucked under his arm. Emma was sitting nearby, quietly drawing pictures on a pad of paper.
When Elena saw me walk through the reinforced door, she stood up, tears springing to her eyes. She ran into my arms, throwing her arms around my neck with a gasp of relief.
"Dominic... God, I thought I lost you again," she sobbed, burying her face in my shoulder.
"I'm here, sweet heart," I whispered, kissing her hair while keeping my arms tightly around her. I reached out with one hand and gently patted Emma’s head. "Emma saved my life twice now. Once by leading me to you, and once by telling me what she saw."
Elena pulled back, looking into my eyes with deep concern. "It was Silas, wasn't it?"
"Yes," I replied grimly. "A year ago, when you vanished, you told me someone inside my circle warned you that Matteo and you were going to be eliminated. It was Silas who leaked that threat to scare you into running."
"He wanted you broken, Dominic," Elena realized, her voice trembling. "For a year, you were so consumed by grief and searching for us that you stopped paying attention to the syndicate's financial transfers and territory expansions. He was quietly taking over your empire while you were distracted."
"And when I found you," I added, "he realized his time was up. If you returned, I would regain my focus. So he tried to eliminate me and take absolute control of the Vale network before I could trace his paper trail."
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"What do we do now?" Elena asked, clutching my hand. "We can't just fight him in the open. Half the capos report directly to him."
"We let him think the poison damaged my brain," I said, a dangerous smile curling my lips. "We let him believe he still holds the upper hand. In forty-eight hours, the regional syndicate heads arrive for our quarterly summit. Silas will make his move to declare me unfit to rule. That is where we cut off the snake's head."
