CHAPTER 6
1727 Words
Thirty four hours until the meeting.
Not that I was counting.
I spent the morning pretending everything was fine.
Playing dinosaurs with Luca. Smiling at Maria’s comments about lunch. Acting like my phone wasn’t a ticking bomb in my pocket.
“Mama, can we go outside?” Luca asked for the third time. “Just to the park? Please?”
“Not today, baby.”
“Why? We always go.”
Because men with guns are watching. Because someone wants to hurt you to get to me. Because I’m meeting a stranger at 8:47 PM tomorrow and I have no idea if I’m walking into salvation or a trap.
“Because we’re still getting settled,” I said instead.
“You always say that.” His lower lip jutted. “You said it in Jersey too. And before that. And before that.”
Guilt twisted in my chest.
“Ghost can take you to the building’s gym,” I offered quickly. “Basketball court. You could burn off some energy.”
Luca’s face lit up. “Really?”
“Really. Go with Ghost. I need to prepare for tomorrow.”
He bounced toward the door. “Come on, Ghost! Let’s go!”
After they left, I pulled out my phone.
The message was still there.
*Tomorrow’s meeting is the perfect opportunity. Leave your phone behind. Come alone to the ladies’ room on the second floor at exactly 8:47 PM. We need to talk about who really killed your family.*
8:47.
A specific time meant they’d been to these meetings. Knew the flow. Knew when Dante would be distracted enough not to notice me missing.
Someone familiar with his world.
Someone inside it.
The knock came exactly at noon.
Dante appeared in the doorway looking like he hadn’t slept. Which he probably hadn’t. The investigation into the forty-three suspects was ongoing. Marcus Patterson the traitor from the penthouse shooting had disappeared. But not before sending a message to someone outside the organization.
The list of who he’d contacted was growing.
Which meant more suspects. More danger. More people who could be watching me right now.
“We need to go over tomorrow,” Dante said, moving into the living room with a folder thick with papers. “I want you prepared.”
He spread photographs across the coffee table.
“Antonio Battaglia. Runs the docks. Forty years in business. Doesn’t trust women in leadership, but he respected your father. He’ll be testing whether you’re actually Moretti or just wearing the name.”
I studied the photo. Hard face. Calculating eyes.
“Angelo Ricci. Construction unions. Ambitious. He’s going to be watching you like a predator watches wounded prey looking for weakness to exploit.”
Another photo. Mid-forties. The kind of smile that didn’t reach the eyes.
“Sal Fontana. Imports and exports. Quiet. Observant. If anyone spots something off about you, it’s Sal.”
Third photo. Forgettable. Dangerous because of it.
“And Gianna Costello.”
He laid down the last photo and my breath caught.
A woman. Maybe fifty. Elegant. Powerful. Looking at the camera like she owned everything.
“Gianna runs the Costello family alone,” Dante said quietly. “She’ll see you as either competition or someone making a mockery of her struggle. She had no powerful husband to back her. She earned her position through blood.”
He paused, letting that land.
“Aria, one of these four will try to isolate you tomorrow. One of them will have a reason to believe they’re your real ally. And one of them…”
He stopped.
“One of them, what?” I asked.
“One of them might be working with Vincent.”
The room went very still.
“What do you mean ‘might be’? Don’t you know?”
“I know there’s a leak in the organization. I know Patterson was feeding information to Vincent before he disappeared. But I don’t know which of these families he was working for.” Dante’s jaw tightened. “Which is why you’re going to watch them tomorrow. Really watch them. Look for tells. Look for who already knows information they shouldn’t know. Look for who’s nervous about your presence.”
My mind raced.
If one of the four families was working with Vincent, then the meeting tomorrow wasn’t just a networking event.
It was a battlefield.
And I was walking into it with secrets already planted in my pocket.
“What about the location?” I asked carefully. “The building where the meeting is?”
“The Riverside Club in Brooklyn. Second floor private room. Only one entrance, which means controlled security. The top floor has administrative offices. Mostly empty on evenings. Bottom floor is a public bar, restaurant, and regular business.”
Second floor.
Where the ladies’ room was.
Where I was supposed to be at 8:47 PM.
“And security?” I pressed. “Inside the meeting?”
“Minimal. These meetings are about trust. Too many guards makes people nervous. I’ll have two people watching from adjacent rooms. Marco will be in the hallway. You’ll have earpiece contact with me the entire time.”
An earpiece.
Which meant I couldn’t take it with me to the ladies’ room. Which meant I’d be completely isolated when I went.
Completely alone.
“What happens if something goes wrong?” I asked. “During the meeting?”
“Then I respond. But I need you to be smart about it. Don’t provoke anyone. Don’t show fear. And whatever you do, don’t accept any private conversations without telling me first.”
He said it casually.
Like he didn’t realize he was describing exactly what I was planning to do.
“Understood,” I said.
Dante studied me for a long moment. “You’re nervous.”
“Of course I’m nervous. I’m meeting the most powerful families in Brooklyn and trying not to be laughed out of the room.”
“That’s not what I meant.” He moved closer. “Something’s off about you today. Something’s been off since yesterday.”
My heart rate spiked.
“I’m fine. Just processing.”
“You’re lying.”
The accusation hung between us.
“I’m not..”
“Aria.” His voice was firm but not angry. “I can read you. I’ve been reading you since the moment you walked into that gala. And right now you’re terrified of something. The question is: what?”
This was it. My chance to tell him. To hand over the phone. To let him handle it.
But the message’s warning echoed too loudly in my mind: Don’t tell Dante.
And underneath that was something deeper.
A fear that if I showed weakness, if I proved I needed constant protection, he’d see me the way my father had.
As someone who didn’t belong in this world.
“Meeting the heads of the major families,” I said quietly. “That’s terrifying enough.”
Dante didn’t look convinced. But he didn’t push either.
“Okay,” he said finally. “Then let’s make sure you’re ready.”
We spent the next hour reviewing the protocol.
What to wear. How to sit. How to read micro-expressions. How to respond to subtle threats disguised as compliments.
Dante was a good teacher. Patient. Thorough.
And I absorbed every word while lying through my teeth.
“Dinner first,” he explained. “Appetizers while everyone arrives. That’s where you’ll be tested. Then dinner. That’s where business happens. After dinner is drinks and dessert. That’s where real deals get made.”
And that’s when someone would pull me aside.
Someone would have information.
Someone would know the truth about that night.
Or someone would kill me trying.
By evening, the guilt was crushing.
Luca came back from the gym glowing. Ghost had taught him to dribble. They’d shot baskets together. My son looked happier than he had in weeks.
“Love you, Dad,” Luca said during bedtime, and I watched Dante’s entire face transform.
Love.
My son loved his father.
And I was planning to betray the man who’d given him that love.
The knock on my bedroom door came at 10 PM.
Dante entered, looking slightly less destroyed than this morning.
“Luca’s asleep,” he said. “Went down easy.”
“Ghost is good for him.”
“He is. But so am I.”
It wasn’t arrogant. It was just a fact.
“I know,” I said.
We stood there for a moment. Comfortable silence that felt like a lie.
“You should sleep,” Dante said finally. “Tomorrow’s going to be intense.”
This was the moment. The moment to tell him everything.
But my mouth wouldn’t form the words.
“Dante,” I started.
He moved closer. “What?”
“I’m scared.”
It was true. Just not the whole truth.
“Of tomorrow?”
“Of… everything. Of failing. Of proving my father was right about me. Of not being strong enough.”
The vulnerability in my voice was real.
And it was enough.
Dante reached out, tucked hair behind my ear. The touch was gentle. Protective.
“You’re stronger than you know,” he said. “And tomorrow, you’re going to prove it.”
He stood to leave.
And that’s when my phone buzzed.
Just once.
A notification I almost missed.
Dante’s eyes flicked to the nightstand.
My heart stopped.
“Who’s messaging you at 10 PM?” he asked.
“Probably a time zone thing,” I said quickly. “Someone from overseas.”
He studied my face. For a long moment, I thought he’d push. Thought he’d ask to see the phone.
Instead, he nodded slowly and left.
The door closed.
I waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hallway before pulling the phone out from under the pillow.
New message.
Don’t bring security. Don’t bring your phone. Don’t tell Dante. 8:47 PM tomorrow. The ladies’ room. Be there or Luca’s next.
The threat was explicit now.
Not veiled. Not suggested.
A direct promise of violence against my son if I didn’t comply.
I stared at the message, hands shaking, understanding that I’d just crossed a line.
The line between protecting Luca and betraying Dante.
Tomorrow at 8:47 PM, I would have to choose.
And one of them would pay the price for it.
- Writer
