Chapter 4
I woke at two in the morning to someone crying.
Not Leo.
Rico.
The sound came from the hallway.
I opened my door.
He stood near Elena’s photograph with one hand against the wall.
He did not notice me at first.
Then he wiped his face quickly.
“You should be asleep.”
“So should you.”
He straightened.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re terrible at lying.”
That almost made him smile.
Almost.
I leaned against the doorway.
“Nightmare?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
He looked toward Elena’s photograph.
“Memory.”
I waited.
“Elena called me an hour before she died.”
His voice became distant.
“We argued.”
My chest tightened.
“About Sal?”
Rico looked at me sharply.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“She said she had found something.”
“What?”
“She wouldn’t tell me on the phone.”
He sat on a bench beneath the photograph.
“She told me Sal was stealing from one of our legitimate companies.”
“That sounds like a financial problem.”
“It wasn’t the money.”
“What was it?”
“She said some of our trucks were being used without authorization.”
“For what?”
“I never found out.”
I sat beside him.
“Why didn’t you tell Detective Walsh?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“He investigated.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing they could prove.”
I thought about the threatening phone call.
“What if Elena was killed because of what she found?”
Rico looked at me.
“I’ve asked myself that every night for six months.”
The next morning, Walsh called.
The enhanced image was inconclusive.
But the watch was consistent with a rare Italian model.
Sal owned one.
So did at least fifty other people in New York.
Not enough.
Rico was furious.
I focused on Leo.
We built a blanket fort.
We colored.
At lunch, I drew cars.
Different shapes.
Different colors.
Leo happily scribbled over them.
Then I drew a black sedan.
His crayon stopped.
I immediately put mine down.
“You okay?”
Leo stared at the picture.
“Bad car.”
I kept my voice neutral.
“What makes it bad?”
He pointed at the back window.
“Man angry.”
My heartbeat increased.
I did not ask who.
Instead I said, “That sounds scary.”
Leo nodded.
Then he drew a yellow circle beside the window.
A watch.
I felt cold.
Rico had entered silently.
He saw it.
His face went white.
I shook my head.
No questions.
He understood.
Later, we gave the drawing to Walsh.
He arranged for a child specialist trained in forensic interviews.
I insisted Leo’s therapist be involved.
Rico agreed.
That was when I realized something else had changed.
He was beginning to trust me.
Maybe too much.
That afternoon, I went home for clothes.
Dante drove me.
My apartment door was open.
I stopped in the hallway.
“Stay here,” Dante ordered.
This time I listened.
He entered first.
The apartment had been searched.
Not robbed.
My television remained.
Laptop remained.
The twenty dollars hidden in a kitchen jar remained.
But drawers were open.
Closets emptied.
Someone had been looking for something.
Dante called Rico.
Rico arrived fifteen minutes later.
He looked at the apartment.
Then at me.
“You’re moving into the house.”
“No.”
“Clara.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“Someone broke into your home.”
“And whose fault is that?”
The words came out before I could stop them.
Rico froze.
I regretted them instantly.
But they were true.
“This happened because I got involved with you.”
“Yes.”
His answer was immediate.
No defensiveness.
No excuses.
“Yes, it did.”
That made my anger collapse.
He looked around my cheap little apartment.
“I am sorry.”
I crossed my arms.
“I don’t need apologies.”
“What do you need?”
“To know what I’m actually standing in the middle of.”
He nodded.
So Rico told me.
Not everything.
But enough.
His father had built an empire with both legal and illegal parts.
After taking control, Rico had spent years moving the family toward legitimate businesses.
Sal opposed him.
Elena supported him.
Arguments had become threats.
Employees had chosen sides.
Money had disappeared.
Then Elena died.
“And you still kept Sal near you?”
“He’s my uncle.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It’s the only one I have.”
I looked at him.
“Family loyalty is going to destroy you.”
His eyes met mine.
“It already killed my wife.”
The room went silent.
Dante returned from the bedroom.
“They took one thing.”
“What?” I asked.
“Your work schedule.”
My stomach dropped.
Rico’s expression turned hard.
“This is over.”
“What is?”
“You working at Il Destino.”
“You can’t fire me because someone threatened me.”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, you can’t.”
“I own it.”
“That is not how labor law works.”
Dante looked toward the ceiling.
Rico stepped closer.
“I am trying to keep you alive.”
“And I’m trying to keep my life.”
His voice softened.
“You’re part of Leo’s life now.”
That stopped me.
Before I could answer, my phone rang.
My brother Evan.
I answered immediately.
“Hey.”
“Clara?”
His voice sounded wrong.
“Evan?”
“There are two guys outside Mom’s house.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
“They’ve been sitting in a car for twenty minutes.”
Rico heard.
He took the phone gently from my hand.
“Evan, this is Rico Moretti.”
A pause.
“Yes, that Rico.”
Despite everything, I nearly laughed.
Rico’s face hardened.
“Lock every door. Move away from the windows. Security is coming.”
He hung up.
I stared at him.
“You brought my family into this.”
“I know.”
“If anything happens to him—”
“It won’t.”
“You can’t promise that!”
“No.”
For the first time, fear showed openly on his face.
“I can’t.”
Within an hour, Dante had people with Evan and my mother.
The suspicious car left before security arrived.
Its plates were fake.
That night, I agreed to stay at Rico’s house.
Not because he ordered me.
Because the threat was no longer only mine.
After Leo slept, I found Rico in his study.
“I want a deal.”
He looked up.
“What kind?”
“No more secrets that affect me.”
He nodded.
“If something happens, you tell me.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t control where I go.”
His jaw tightened.
“Within reason.”
“Wrong answer.”
He exhaled.
“Fine.”
“And if I say Leo needs something, you listen.”
“I already do.”
I hesitated.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“If Sal is behind this, you do not handle it yourself.”
His expression became unreadable.
“You call Walsh.”
Silence.
“Rico.”
Finally, he nodded.
“I call Walsh.”
I should have known promises made in fear are easy.
Keeping them is harder.
May you like
Because the following night, Sal Moretti disappeared.
And Rico disappeared thirty minutes later.
