The White Mask
597 Words
The television screen went black.
Silence settled over the room.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Amelia stared at the blank screen, her pulse pounding in her ears.
The masked man had known her profession.
He had known Dante.
And somehow...
He had known exactly where they would be.
She slowly turned toward Dante.
"You know him."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"I know of him."
"That's not the same thing."
"It will have to be."
Amelia stepped closer.
"No. You don't get to keep hiding things from me."
Before Dante could answer, one of his guards rushed into the living room.
"Boss!"
Dante looked up.
"What is it?"
"The security team found something outside."
Without another word, Dante headed for the front door.
Amelia followed.
The rain had eased to a light drizzle.
A black sedan sat abandoned across the street with its driver's door wide open.
No headlights.
No engine.
No driver.
Only darkness.
One guard carefully searched the vehicle.
"It's empty."
Another called from behind the car.
"Wait..."
He crouched beside a storm drain.
"There are fresh footprints."
Dante walked over.
The muddy prints stopped abruptly beside the drain.
It was as if whoever made them had simply... vanished.
"That's impossible," Amelia whispered.
Dante didn't answer.
His attention was fixed on a small object lying near the curb.
He bent down and picked it up.
Another black chess piece.
This time...
It was the queen.
Amelia frowned.
"Another chess piece?"
Dante slipped it into his coat.
"This isn't a game."
"No," he said quietly.
"It's a message."
"What message?"
He looked toward the empty street.
"The king never moves first."
Before Amelia could ask what he meant, a shrill ringtone shattered the silence.
It came from inside the abandoned sedan.
One of the guards opened the glove compartment.
A mobile phone.
It was already on speaker.
Dante nodded for the guard to answer.
A distorted voice filled the street.
"Good evening, Mr. Romano."
No one replied.
"I see you've found my gift."
The voice chuckled softly.
"You're getting predictable."
Dante's eyes narrowed.
"What do you want?"
"I already have what I want."
The line crackled.
"I just wanted to see how long it would take you to find the car."
Amelia stepped closer.
"Where's my aunt?"
The voice became silent for several seconds.
Then it laughed.
"Interesting."
"So that's who matters to you."
"Answer me!"
Instead, the caller said calmly,
"Attorney... tell me something."
"If justice means protecting the innocent..."
"...how many guilty people are you willing to save?"
The call ended.
The phone screen went dark.
Amelia stood frozen.
She had defended many clients.
Some innocent.
Some she wasn't entirely sure about.
How could this stranger know that?
Dante took the phone from the guard.
"It's wiped."
"No fingerprints?"
"None."
As they turned to leave, Amelia noticed something taped beneath the driver's seat.
A small envelope.
Her name was written across it in neat black ink.
She looked at Dante.
He gave a single nod.
"Open it."
With trembling hands, she broke the seal.
Inside was an old photograph.
A young girl stood smiling between a man and a woman.
It took Amelia several seconds to realize...
The little girl was her.
Her parents stood beside her.
But someone had drawn a thick black X over her father's face.
Written across the bottom of the photograph were six chilling words.
YOUR FATHER STOLE MORE THAN MONEY.
Amelia's blood ran cold.
"My father..."
She looked up, her voice barely a whisper.
"...what did he steal?"
For the first time since they met...
Dante had no answer.
- Writer
