Chapter 4 - The Traitor at Adrian’s Table
Adrian had spent twenty years learning that betrayal rarely came from enemies.
Enemies stood across from you.
Traitors sat beside you.
By noon, Marcus had reduced the possible leak to four men with access to Moretti shipping manifests.
One name hurt more than the others.
Carlo Vescari.
Adrian's godfather.
The man who had taught him to drive.
The man who had stood beside Adrian at his father's funeral.
Adrian said nothing to Nora.
She had enough to survive.
But Nora noticed everything.
Three days after surgery, she watched him standing outside her hospital room, staring at his phone with the expression of a man who had discovered something he wished he could unknow.
“Bad news?”
Adrian looked up.
“You're supposed to be sleeping.”
“You're supposed to stop answering questions with accusations.”
He entered.
Lucy was downstairs with Mrs. Alvarez.
Nora shifted carefully.
“Did you find Emily?”
“No.”
“That wasn't the only bad news.”
He studied her.
“You're observant.”
“Waitressing is mostly observing rich people while pretending you can't hear them.”
Despite himself, Adrian smiled.
Then Nora said, “Who's Carlo?”
His smile vanished.
“How do you know that name?”
“I heard Victor say it the night I fell.”
Adrian moved closer.
“What exactly did you hear?”
“Preston said, ‘Carlo guaranteed the docks were clean.’ Victor told him not to use names.”
Adrian turned toward the window.
Confirmation.
Nora watched his shoulders harden.
“He matters to you.”
“He did.”
There was something painfully human in those two words.
Not Mafia boss.
Not feared businessman.
Just a man discovering that loyalty had an expiration date.
Nora reached across the bed.
Her fingers touched his hand.
Adrian froze.
She almost pulled away.
Then his hand turned beneath hers.
He did not grip.
He simply allowed their palms to rest together.
The moment lasted three seconds.
Maybe four.
It frightened both of them more than a gun would have.
Adrian stepped away.
“I need to go.”
That evening, Carlo Vescari arrived at the Moretti estate expecting dinner.
Instead, he found Adrian alone.
A shipping manifest lay between them.
Carlo looked at it and sighed.
“So you know.”
“How long?”
“Adrian—”
“How long?”
“Two years.”
Adrian's jaw flexed.
“You used my docks.”
“I protected your name.”
“You sold drugs through my docks.”
“Victor controlled the clinics. I controlled transportation. Nobody touched your legitimate operations.”
“You thought that made it acceptable?”
Carlo leaned forward.
“You've grown sentimental.”
“No. I've grown tired of men using loyalty as permission.”
Carlo's expression hardened.
“Careful, son.”
“Don't call me that.”
The older man went silent.
Adrian placed a phone on the table.
Gordon's recorded statement began playing.
Carlo listened.
When it finished, he leaned back.
“Where's the waitress?”
Adrian's eyes became cold.
“That's the wrong question.”
Carlo understood immediately.
“You care about her.”
Adrian did not answer.
That was answer enough.
Carlo smiled faintly.
“Then you've finally acquired something worth threatening.”
Adrian stood.
Marcus entered with two men.
Carlo laughed.
“You'd turn me over?”
“The evidence goes to federal investigators tonight.”
“You've forgotten what family means.”
“No.”
Adrian looked at him.
“I finally remembered.”
Carlo was escorted out.
At the hospital, Nora was preparing to leave.
The doctors had cleared her for discharge with a walker, medication and strict instructions.
Lucy proudly carried the bag.
Mrs. Alvarez had agreed to stay with them temporarily.
Adrian arranged a secure apartment.
Nora refused the luxury penthouse he first offered.
“I'm recovering, not joining royalty.”
So he found a smaller furnished apartment overlooking Lincoln Park.
When they arrived, Lucy ran through the rooms.
“Mom! There's a dishwasher!”
Nora laughed.
Adrian looked confused.
Lucy stared at him.
“We didn't have one.”
“Oh.”
“And two bathrooms!”
“Lucy,” Nora warned.
“What? Rich people need to know when they're being ridiculous.”
Adrian nodded solemnly.
“I'll remember that.”
Nora sat carefully.
The silence between them changed.
“Why are you doing all this?”
Adrian considered lying.
Instead he said, “Because I should.”
“That isn't the whole answer.”
“No.”
“What is?”
Before he could respond, Lucy screamed from the bedroom.
Adrian moved instantly.
He found her staring at the window.
A brick lay on the carpet amid broken glass.
Wrapped around it was a photograph.
Nora and Lucy leaving the hospital.
On the back were six words.
TELL MORETTI TO STOP LOOKING.
Nora went pale.
Adrian picked up the photograph.
His voice became frighteningly calm.
“They know where we are.”
Nora looked at him.
“No.”
Adrian turned.
“What?”
“They didn't follow us here.”
“How do you know?”
She pointed at the photograph.
It showed Nora getting into Adrian's car at the hospital.
But the angle was wrong.
The photograph had been taken from above.
From inside the hospital.
May you like
Nora whispered:
“Someone close to us told them.”
