Chapter 5 - Blood in the Snow
Three days later, Marco arrived at the mansion before sunrise.
He carried a thin file folder and looked more troubled than Adrian had ever seen him.
“You found something,” Adrian said.
Marco placed the folder on the desk.
“Mateo Morales wasn’t killed because of the weapons shipments.”
Elena, who had been sitting nearby with a cup of coffee, went pale.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Marco opened the folder.
“Mateo found records connected to a shipment from Romano Industries. Not Adrian’s legal business—the old network. He believed someone inside Adrian’s organization was working with Moretti.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“A traitor.”
“Yes.”
Marco placed a photograph on the desk.
It showed Mateo leaving a garage late at night. Beside him stood a man Adrian recognized instantly.
Dante Russo.
His chief financial officer.
His godfather’s son.
The man Adrian had trusted since childhood.
“Elena,” Adrian said carefully, “did Mateo ever mention Dante Russo?”
She stared at the photograph.
“Yes.”
Her voice broke.
“He said Dante promised to help him. Mateo thought he was safe.”
Adrian felt the room turn cold.
Dante had known everything.
He had known Mateo was going to expose Vincenzo. He had known where Elena lived. He may have been the person who sent the photo from the hospital hallway.
For years, Adrian had believed betrayal came from enemies.
Now he realized the worst betrayal had been sleeping inside his own house.
“Where is Dante?” he asked.
Marco’s expression tightened.
“He disappeared last night. And there’s more.”
“What?”
“Vincenzo’s people have been spotted near Lily’s daycare.”
Elena stood so fast her chair crashed backward.
“No.”
Adrian was already moving.
“Get the cars ready.”
The snow had begun falling heavily by the time Adrian’s convoy reached the daycare. White covered the sidewalks, the trees, the parked cars.
Too peaceful.
Too quiet.
The building was locked down. Police officers stood outside, and children watched nervously from classroom windows.
Elena ran inside before anyone could stop her.
“Lily!” she cried.
A teacher rushed forward.
“She’s safe. We got the warning in time.”
Elena dropped to her knees when Lily came running toward her. She held her so tightly that Lily squeaked.
“Mama, I’m okay!”
Adrian stood several feet away, watching them.
For the first time, he understood what terror truly was.
Not being shot at.
Not losing money.
Not facing prison.
It was the thought of failing to protect someone who trusted you.
His phone rang.
Vincenzo.
Adrian answered.
“You came fast,” Vincenzo said.
“If you touched her—”
“I didn’t. Not yet.”
Adrian’s voice dropped.
“You will never get near her.”
Vincenzo laughed softly.
“You’re changing, Adrian. You used to protect money. Territory. Reputation. Now you’re protecting a little girl who painted your face.”
“She is not part of this.”
“She became part of it when you let yourself care.”
The call ended.
Adrian looked through the daycare window at Lily.
She was holding Elena’s hand with one hand and Buttons with the other.
Then she noticed Adrian.
She waved at him.
His heart tightened.
That night, Adrian moved Elena and Lily to a secure lakeside house outside the city. It was smaller than the mansion, hidden among bare winter trees, and guarded only by people Adrian trusted with his life.
Elena stood by the fireplace after Lily had fallen asleep.
“You don’t have to keep doing this,” she said.
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
Adrian looked at her for a long moment.
Because Lily made him remember the man he could have been.
Because Elena had looked at him with fear and still dared to challenge him.
Because he was tired of building an empire that only left him alone in large rooms.
But he was not ready to say any of that.
So he answered quietly, “Because nobody protected you when they should have.”
Elena’s eyes filled.
“And because I can.”
Outside, snow covered the ground in white silence.
But far away, Vincenzo Moretti was preparing his final move.
May you like
And Adrian knew there would be blood before the snow melted.
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