Chapter 4 - The Man Who Came Back for an Answer
Maya knew something was wrong before she reached the third floor.
Their apartment door was open.
Only two inches.
But Maya never left it open.
Neither did Sophie.
Her heartbeat accelerated.
“Sophie?”
No answer.
Maya pushed the door.
The living room had been destroyed.
Cushions ripped from the couch.
Drawers emptied.
Books scattered across the floor.
The kitchen cabinets stood open.
A plate had shattered near the sink.
“Sophie!”
Maya ran down the hallway.
Her sister emerged from the bathroom holding a can of pepper spray with both hands.
“Maya!”
Maya grabbed her.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“I was asleep. I heard the door. I locked myself in the bathroom and called the police.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“No.”
Sophie trembled.
Maya pulled her close.
“You did exactly right.”
Sirens sounded outside.
Within minutes, two officers entered.
They asked questions.
Photographed damage.
Checked windows.
Maya did not mention Dominic.
Or Salvatore.
She told herself it was because she lacked proof.
In truth, she no longer knew whom to trust.
After the officers left, Sophie sat on the couch beneath a blanket.
“They weren’t looking for jewelry.”
Maya looked around.
Their television remained.
Laptop remained.
The envelope with two hundred dollars emergency cash inside a kitchen tin remained.
“No,” Maya said.
“They wanted the ledger.”
Maya looked at her.
“Or the box.”
Sophie suddenly stood.
“The storage unit.”
Maya frowned.
“What?”
“When Mom died, we put some of her things in storage.”
“I canceled that.”
“No. You thought you did.”
“Sophie.”
“I kept paying it.”
“With what money?”
“My disability check.”
Maya closed her eyes.
“You need that.”
“I know, but I couldn’t throw away Mom’s stuff.”
“Where?”
“Westbridge Storage. Unit 214.”
Maya grabbed her coat.
Sophie grabbed her wrist.
“You’re not going alone.”
“You’re staying here.”
“Absolutely not.”
A knock came from the broken door.
Both sisters froze.
Maya picked up the pepper spray.
A familiar voice called from the hallway.
“Maya.”
Dominic.
She marched toward him.
He stood outside with the scarred enforcer.
Maya raised the spray.
“Leave.”
Dominic looked past her into the destroyed apartment.
His expression changed instantly.
“Were either of you hurt?”
“No.”
“Who did this?”
“Maybe the man you helped bring into my life.”
Dominic’s jaw hardened.
“I didn’t send Greco.”
“But you brought up Luca.”
“And Greco found you because someone at the restaurant talked.”
“That makes me feel much safer.”
Dominic looked at Sophie.
“You must be Sophie.”
Sophie blinked.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Maya shot her a look.
Dominic almost smiled.
Then his expression became serious.
“You can’t stay here.”
“We’re not going anywhere with you.”
“Maya.”
“No.”
“Your front door is broken.”
“The police were here.”
“The people who did this weren’t afraid of the police.”
“And I should trust you?”
Dominic took the accusation without reacting.
“No.”
That surprised her.
He continued.
“You shouldn’t trust me yet.”
“Then why would I follow you?”
“Because tonight my interests and yours are the same.”
“What interests?”
“Keeping you both alive.”
Sophie quietly said, “That’s a compelling interest.”
Maya glared at her.
“What?”
Sophie whispered. “It is.”
Dominic nodded toward the hallway.
“Come somewhere secure for one night. Tomorrow, if you want to leave, I won’t stop you.”
Maya crossed her arms.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
He reached into his pocket slowly and produced his phone.
Then handed it to her.
On the screen was a security image.
Salvatore Greco standing outside Maya’s building earlier that afternoon.
Beside him were two men.
One held a photograph of Maya.
“How did you get this?”
“I had someone pull nearby cameras after Greco appeared at the restaurant.”
Maya studied the image.
Dominic continued.
“He knew your address before tonight.”
Sophie stood beside Maya.
“That means the apartment was already targeted.”
“Yes.”
Maya hated how much sense he made.
“Where would you take us?”
“A property outside downtown.”
“No.”
“A hotel under another name.”
“No.”
Sophie touched Maya’s shoulder.
“We can’t sleep here.”
Maya looked around.
She knew that.
She hated that too.
Thirty minutes later, she and Sophie sat inside Dominic’s armored sedan.
The scarred enforcer drove.
His name, they finally learned, was Marco Bellini.
Sophie whispered to Maya, “I expected mafia cars to smell more like cigars.”
Marco looked into the mirror.
“We had it detailed Tuesday.”
Sophie smiled.
Maya did not.
Dominic sat across from them.
“Where are we going?”
“A hotel my company owns.”
“Of course you own a hotel.”
“I own seventeen percent.”
“How humble.”
Dominic looked at Sophie.
“Is she always like this?”
Sophie answered, “You insulted her first. This is the discounted version.”
Marco coughed to hide laughter.
Dominic nodded.
“Fair.”
They arrived at a discreet boutique hotel overlooking the river.
No grand entrance.
No photographers.
A private elevator took them to a penthouse suite.
Maya inspected every room before allowing Sophie to settle.
When she returned to the living area, Dominic stood near the window.
“Thank you,” Maya said reluctantly.
“For the room.”
He nodded.
“You’re welcome.”
“That does not mean I trust you.”
“I know.”
“Tell me everything.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Everything?”
“Luca. Your father. Greco.”
He poured himself water.
Then began.
Twelve years earlier, Dominic’s father, Antonio Russo, had controlled the family organization.
Luca Moretti worked closely with him, handling transport routes through Naples.
Salvatore Greco had been a financial broker who connected criminal organizations with corrupt officials.
Then money disappeared.
A massive amount.
More importantly, a confidential ledger vanished.
It contained proof of bribery connecting organized crime, politicians, port officials, law enforcement officers, judges, and corporations.
Antonio believed Luca had stolen both.
That same night, someone tried to kill Antonio.
Luca vanished.
Maya’s mother fled Italy.
Within days, Luca’s body was found outside the city.
Maya’s face hardened.
“Your father killed him.”
Dominic stared into his glass.
“My father ordered it.”
Maya looked away.
“That matters very little.”
“I know.”
“Did he ever regret it?”
Dominic’s expression became distant.
“He regretted many things near the end of his life.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No.”
Dominic set the glass down.
“He never admitted he was wrong about Luca.”
Maya felt anger burn beneath her ribs.
“Then why are you questioning it?”
“Because six months after my father died, I found documents he had hidden.”
“What documents?”
“Payments.”
“To whom?”
“Greco.”
Maya froze.
Dominic continued.
“Greco had been taking money from both sides.”
“He framed Luca.”
“That’s what I believe.”
“Why?”
“Because Luca had discovered Greco was stealing from the organization.”
Maya sat slowly.
“And my mother?”
“I think Luca gave Elena the ledger before he died.”
“Why her?”
“Because no one would look at a young American woman with a child and assume she held evidence capable of destroying half the city’s power structure.”
Maya closed her eyes.
Her mother packing.
Crying.
Running.
“She was terrified.”
“She had reason to be.”
“You knew this before you came to the restaurant?”
“No.”
Dominic moved closer.
“I suspected Greco framed Luca. I had no idea Elena was your mother until you mentioned Naples.”
Maya looked at him.
“Why keep investigating after twelve years?”
Dominic’s face became unreadable.
“Luca saved my life once.”
“When?”
“I was twenty.”
He touched the scar near his neck.
“A deal went wrong. Someone pulled a gun. Luca pushed me down before the first shot.”
Maya pictured the laughing man from the photograph.
“He saved you.”
“Yes.”
“And your family killed him.”
“Yes.”
For the first time, Dominic looked ashamed.
Not embarrassed.
Not uncomfortable.
Ashamed.
“I was twenty-seven when Luca died. I believed my father.”
Maya’s voice softened despite herself.
“And now?”
“Now I believe loyalty made me stupid.”
Silence stretched between them.
From the bedroom, Sophie called, “Maya?”
Maya hurried inside.
Sophie sat on the edge of the bed with her phone.
“What?”
“I remembered something.”
Maya closed the door.
“The blue box.”
“What about it?”
“It isn’t in storage.”
“Then where?”
Sophie looked pale.
“Mom gave it away.”
“To who?”
“A priest.”
Maya stared.
“What priest?”
“The church she used to visit after we came back from Italy.”
“Saint Matthew’s?”
Sophie nodded.
“She told Father Elias to keep something safe until you asked for it.”
Maya felt cold.
“When did she tell you this?”
“The week before she died.”
“And you never said anything?”
“She made me promise.”
“Sophie!”
“I was sixteen! Mom was dying. I promised whatever she asked.”
Maya pressed both hands over her face.
“What exactly did she say?”
Sophie thought.
“She said, ‘If Maya ever starts asking about Naples, tell her Father Elias has what belongs to her.’”
Maya slowly lowered her hands.
Dominic stood in the doorway.
He had heard enough.
“Saint Matthew’s Church?”
Maya looked at him.
“Yes.”
Dominic pulled out his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Sending Marco.”
“No.”
“Maya—”
“If my mother left something for me, I’m going.”
“It could be watched.”
“Then come with me.”
Dominic stared.
She had surprised him.
Maya grabbed her coat.
“But understand this.”
“What?”
“If there’s a ledger, it doesn’t belong to you.”
Dominic nodded.
“I know.”
“What happens to it will be my decision.”
Another nod.
“Yes.”
“And if I discover your family lied to my mother or threatened her—”
“I’ll help you expose it.”
Maya studied him.
“Even if it destroys the Russo name?”
Dominic did not hesitate.
“Yes.”
That was the moment she began, against all common sense, to believe him.
They left Sophie with Marco and two security guards.
At one-fifteen in the morning, Maya and Dominic entered Saint Matthew’s through a side door.
Father Elias was waiting.
He was nearly eighty.
When he saw Maya, tears filled his eyes.
“You look so much like Elena.”
Maya swallowed.
“My mother left something here.”
The old priest nodded.
“I wondered when you would come.”
He led them into a small office.
From a locked cabinet behind a painting, he removed a blue metal box.
Maya stopped breathing.
Sophie had remembered correctly.
Father Elias placed the box in her hands.
“Your mother told me to give this only to you.”
Maya touched the scratched lid.
“Did she tell you what’s inside?”
“No.”
“Did anyone else know?”
“I don’t believe so.”
Dominic walked toward the window.
His body suddenly stiffened.
“Maya.”
Something in his voice made her look up.
Headlights appeared outside the church.
Three black SUVs.
Dominic reached beneath his jacket.
“Get behind the desk.”
Father Elias whispered, “What’s happening?”
The church doors slammed open downstairs.
Voices echoed through the nave.
Dominic killed the office light.
Maya clutched the blue box.
Footsteps began climbing the stairs.
And from the hallway came Salvatore Greco’s voice.
“Maya.”
She froze.
He called again.
“Bring me Elena’s box.”
Dominic looked at her.
Maya finally understood.
The missing ledger had not simply followed her from the past.
May you like
People were willing to kill for it tonight.
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