THE MAFIA'S OBSESSION

Chapter 3

Alessandro had never believed in coincidences.

A stranger appearing in Palermo, attracting armed pursuers, and then warning him that the attack might have been arranged was not a coincidence.

Neither was the anonymous message telling him to stop searching for Gabriel.

Someone knew they had met.

Someone wanted Alessandro to remain ignorant.

He disliked being manipulated more than he disliked being threatened.

By nine the following morning, Matteo had assembled a preliminary report.

“The men from the alley were hired through an intermediary,” he explained. “We traced the payment to a company registered in Malta. The company doesn't appear to have any legitimate employees.”

“Who owns it?”

“We're working on that.”

Alessandro looked through the documents.

“And Gabriel Reyes?”

“His apartment is registered under his name. He arrived in Palermo four months ago. He has a consulting business, although its financial activity is limited.”

“Family?”

“Nothing unusual in the available records.”

“Friends?”

“Very few.”

Alessandro closed the folder.

“Find out who he really is.”

Matteo hesitated.

“Boss, with respect, why does he matter?”

Alessandro stared at him.

Matteo raised both hands.

“I'm only asking.”

“Then stop.”

“Yes, boss.”

Alessandro returned to the window.

He could not explain why Gabriel occupied his thoughts. Attraction was not unusual, and curiosity was hardly a crime. Yet he had spent years avoiding people whose secrets might become liabilities.

Gabriel's secrets were practically announcing themselves.

That should have been enough to make Alessandro walk away.

Instead, he wanted to see him again.

At noon, he called the number printed on Gabriel's invitation response.

Gabriel answered after the third ring.

“What do you want?”

Alessandro smiled.

“Good afternoon to you, too.”

“I'm busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Something that doesn't involve you.”

“That's disappointing.”

“I'm devastated.”

“Have lunch with me.”

“No.”

“Dinner?”

“No.”

“Coffee?”

“Absolutely not.”

Alessandro considered his options.

“I'm beginning to suspect you don't like me.”

“Your powers of observation are extraordinary.”

“Then prove me wrong.”

There was a pause.

“Why are you so interested in me?” Gabriel asked.

Alessandro leaned back in his chair.

“Because you're interesting.”

“That isn't a reason.”

“It's the only one I have.”

Silence followed.

Finally, Gabriel sighed.

“Where?”

Alessandro gave him the address of a small restaurant near the harbor.

“Two o'clock,” Gabriel said. “And if this turns into another interrogation, I'm leaving.”

“I'll try to behave.”

“I doubt you know how.”

Gabriel ended the call.

Alessandro laughed.

For the first time in weeks, the sound felt genuine.

The restaurant was quiet when Gabriel arrived. Alessandro had reserved a private table near the window, but he had deliberately chosen a place outside the family's usual territory.

Gabriel noticed.

“You're learning,” he said.

“I'm adaptable.”

“You're controlling.”

“Also true.”

They ordered lunch.

For a while, the conversation remained harmless. Alessandro asked about Gabriel's interests. Gabriel asked about the legitimate side of the family business.

Neither man pretended the questions were innocent.

“Do you enjoy what you do?” Gabriel asked.

Alessandro considered the question.

“I enjoy building things.”

“Buildings?”

“Companies. Opportunities. A future.”

“And the other things your family builds?”

Alessandro's expression became guarded.

“You mean the empire?”

“I mean the violence.”

The word hung between them.

Alessandro placed his fork down.

“My father believed fear was the foundation of loyalty.”

“And you?”

“I think fear is the foundation of silence.”

Gabriel studied him.

“Then why continue?”

“Because dismantling an empire is easier to discuss than to accomplish. There are employees who depend on the legitimate businesses. Families who have nothing to do with criminal operations. People who would suffer if I destroyed everything overnight.”

“You could cooperate with the authorities.”

“Some authorities work for my family. Others work for our enemies. The truth is rarely as clean as people want it to be.”

Gabriel wanted to challenge him.

He wanted to say that corruption did not excuse corruption, that protecting employees did not justify protecting criminals, and that good intentions meant nothing without action.

But Alessandro's answer had been too honest to dismiss.

“Are you trying to change your family's business?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes.”

“Why should anyone believe you?”

“They shouldn't.”

The answer surprised him.

Alessandro continued.

“Trust isn't something I can demand. If I want people to believe I've changed, I have to give them reasons.”

Gabriel looked away.

For a moment, he saw the man Alessandro might have become if he had been born into a different family.

The thought frightened him.

After lunch, Alessandro walked him toward the harbor.

Fishing boats moved across the water, and gulls circled above the docks. The afternoon sunlight reflected off the sea.

“Do you ever take a day off?” Gabriel asked.

“Occasionally.”

“Doing what?”

“Motorcycles. Swimming. Reading.”

“Reading?”

Alessandro looked offended.

“I'm capable of reading.”

“I'm impressed.”

“Your admiration means everything to me.”

Gabriel laughed.

It escaped before he could stop it.

Alessandro went quiet.

“What?” Gabriel asked.

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you staring?”

“Because you look different when you laugh.”

Gabriel's smile faded slightly.

“And how do I usually look?”

“Like you're preparing to escape.”

The observation struck too close to the truth.

Gabriel turned toward the sea.

“Perhaps I am.”

Alessandro did not ask what he meant.

Instead, he stood beside him.

For several minutes, neither spoke.

Gabriel had expected arrogance, intimidation, and calculated charm. He had not expected silence that felt comfortable.

That was the dangerous part.

When they finally separated, Alessandro offered to drive him home.

Gabriel refused.

“I prefer walking.”

“Then allow me to walk with you.”

“You don't give up, do you?”

“Not when something matters.”

Gabriel stared at him.

“That's exactly what worries me.”

He left before Alessandro could answer.

That evening, Gabriel returned to his apartment and found the door unlocked.

He froze.

His hand moved beneath his jacket.

Someone had entered.

The room appeared undisturbed, but his laptop was open, and the folder containing the agency's documents had been moved.

Gabriel approached cautiously.

A photograph lay on the keyboard.

It showed him standing beside Alessandro outside the restaurant.

On the back, someone had written a message.

WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

His stomach tightened.

A second note had been placed beneath it.

WALK AWAY FROM DE LUCA OR YOUR BROTHER DIES.

Gabriel stared at the words.

His brother.

Daniel had disappeared three years earlier after contacting Gabriel about a weapons shipment connected to the same criminal network he was now investigating.

The agency had assumed Daniel was dead.

Gabriel had never accepted that conclusion.

His phone rang.

An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen.

He answered.

“Gabriel Reyes?”

“Who is this?”

A distorted voice laughed.

“You should have stayed away from the De Luca family.”

“Where is my brother?”

“Find the original records. Then perhaps you'll find him.”

The call ended.

Gabriel stood motionless.

The original records were inside Alessandro's father's study.

The same records he had been ordered to retrieve.

Someone had known about the mission from the beginning.

Someone had used Daniel to control him.

And now Gabriel understood why the attacks had begun.

He was no longer merely investigating the De Luca empire.

He was being forced toward its darkest secret.

Across the city, Alessandro received a call from Matteo.

“Boss, we've identified the company that paid the attackers.”

“And?”

“It belongs to a man named Stefano Vescari.”

Alessandro's expression darkened.

Stefano Vescari had been his father's most trusted adviser.

He had also disappeared shortly after Vittorio's death.

“Find him,” Alessandro ordered.

“There's something else.”

“What?”

“Someone accessed your father's study last night.”

Alessandro stood.

“Was anything stolen?”

“We don't know yet.”

He looked toward the darkened window.

For the first time, he considered a possibility he had been avoiding.

Perhaps Gabriel's arrival was not an accident.

Perhaps someone had placed him in Alessandro's path.

And perhaps the attraction that had begun to feel like a weakness was leading him toward a betrayal far more dangerous than anything he had faced before.