Chapter 7 - “Boss”
By 10:20 p.m., the Romano estate no longer felt like a mansion.
It felt like a command center.
Phones rang in adjoining rooms.
Security personnel moved quietly through hallways.
Screens showed camera feeds from gates, roads and buildings Elena had never seen.
Mateo stood at the center of it all.
He had removed his suit jacket and rolled his sleeves once.
That simple change made him look more dangerous somehow.
Less like a wealthy executive.
More like the man everyone called Boss when they forgot Elena was listening.
She sat at the long table with the photographs spread before her.
For twelve hours, she had believed Mateo was simply an impossibly wealthy, overworked man being punished by a ridiculous bet.
So she had treated him accordingly.
She had stolen his watch.
Made him eat a cinnamon roll.
Dragged him through a bookstore.
Insulted his suits.
Forced him to carry shopping bags.
Called him dramatic.
And repeatedly joked that he sounded like a mafia boss.
Now she was watching five armed men wait silently until he gave a single nod.
Life had a cruel sense of humor.
Mateo approached.
“You should rest.”
“So should you.”
“I’m working.”
“You haven’t stopped working since we arrived.”
“That is generally how emergencies function.”
Elena pushed his watch across the table.
Mateo looked at it.
“Returning stolen property?”
“Temporarily.”
“You can keep it until midnight.”
Despite everything, she smiled.
“Are you actually honoring the bet?”
“I lost.”
“You hate losing.”
“Yes.”
“But you keep your word.”
His gaze settled on hers.
“Always when I can.”
The qualifier bothered her.
“When you can?”
Mateo picked up the watch but did not put it on.
“My world does not always offer clean promises.”
“That’s bleak.”
“It’s accurate.”
Elena glanced toward the photographs.
“Did my father know what your world was?”
“Yes.”
“And he trusted you?”
Mateo’s expression became unreadable.
“For a while.”
“What happened?”
Before he could answer, Luca entered.
“We have Victor.”
Mateo straightened.
“Where?”
“Not physically.”
Elena muttered, “Comforting clarification.”
Luca almost smiled.
“He took the bait. The false itinerary said you were moving Elena to the East River property at eleven.”
“And?”
“Two vehicles associated with Victor’s people appeared nearby twenty-three minutes later.”
Mateo’s jaw tightened.
“Who received that itinerary?”
“Four senior staff.”
“Names.”
Luca placed a page on the table.
Mateo read it.
Elena watched his expression.
One name hurt him.
She could tell immediately.
“Who?”
Mateo folded the paper.
“No.”
She stood.
“We’re beyond no.”
“This is internal.”
“I am literally the target.”
He stared at her.
She held out her hand.
After several seconds, he gave her the page.
Four names.
Luca Ferraro.
Marco Romano.
Samuel Price.
Anthony Bell.
Elena looked up.
“Marco?”
“My uncle.”
Adrienne’s father.
The room became colder.
“You think your uncle betrayed you?”
“I think one of those four people leaked the itinerary.”
“Could Victor have obtained it another way?”
“Possible.”
“But unlikely.”
“Yes.”
Elena examined the page.
“What did each person receive?”
“The exact same document,” Luca said.
“That was a mistake.”
Mateo looked at her.
She continued.
“Next time change one meaningless detail for each person.”
Luca frowned.
“Meaningless?”
“Arrival time. Vehicle model. Entrance. Something different in each copy.”
Mateo understood.
“Then the detail that leaks identifies the source.”
Elena nodded.
Adrienne appeared in the doorway.
“What source?”
Nobody answered quickly enough.
She saw the paper in Elena’s hand.
Then her father’s name.
Adrienne went pale.
“No.”
Mateo stepped toward her.
“We don’t know anything yet.”
“You think Dad—”
“We’re testing information.”
“My father would never betray you.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Mateo’s expression softened.
“Adrienne.”
She backed away.
“This was supposed to be stupid.”
Her voice shook.
“A stupid bet because I wanted you to spend one day acting like an ordinary person.”
Mateo said nothing.
“I picked Elena because she made me laugh at that fundraiser.”
Adrienne looked at her.
“I thought you’d annoy him.”
“I did,” Elena said gently.
A weak laugh escaped Adrienne.
Then disappeared.
“I didn’t know.”
Elena believed her.
Mateo did too.
Adrienne wiped her face angrily.
“Fix it.”
“I will.”
“No.”
She looked directly at her cousin.
“Don’t become him.”
Mateo went still.
Elena felt the sentence carry history she did not understand.
Adrienne left.
“What did she mean?” Elena asked.
Mateo stared after her.
“My father.”
“Was he worse than you?”
“Yes.”
“That answer came quickly.”
“He believed fear solved almost everything.”
“And you don’t?”
“I believe fear is expensive.”
Elena studied him.
“What does that mean?”
“It buys obedience.”
Mateo looked at her.
“Never loyalty.”
Luca’s phone buzzed.
He read the screen.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We identified the person who photographed Daniel eight years ago.”
Elena’s heart slammed.
“Who?”
Luca looked at her, then Mateo.
“Victor Sanz.”
The room went silent.
And suddenly Elena understood that her father’s death, today’s bet and Mateo Romano’s hidden world had never been separate stories.
They were one story.
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And someone had just reopened the first chapter.
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