CHAPTER 3 — THE GRANDFATHER THE CITY FEARED
CHAPTER 3 — THE GRANDFATHER THE CITY FEARED
The patio fell silent.
No one moved.
No one even seemed to breathe.
Luca Moretti stood so abruptly that his chair toppled backward onto the concrete with a deafening crash. The plate of spaghetti remained on the table, half finished, steam still rising into the summer air.
"Say it again," Luca ordered.
The injured messenger struggled to catch his breath.
"We tracked the van... abandoned near Red Hook. One survivor said the kidnappers moved the boy before dawn."
Luca's voice turned cold enough to freeze the July afternoon.
"Who?"
The messenger hesitated.
Marco answered instead.
"The Romano family."
Every bodyguard stiffened.
The name alone carried the weight of an old war.
For nearly twenty years, the Morettis and the Romanos had maintained an uneasy peace after both families lost too many sons. Neither side trusted the other, but neither wanted another bloodbath.
If the Romanos had kidnapped Luca's grandson...
The peace was over.
Luca slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, every trace of warmth Sophie had uncovered moments earlier had disappeared.
"Bring me every captain within thirty minutes."
"Yes, Boss."
"Seal every bridge."
"Already started."
"No one leaves New York without my permission."
The guards immediately spread out, barking orders into hidden microphones.
Across the street, the black Cadillacs came alive.
Engines roared.
Doors slammed.
Within seconds, an operation involving hundreds of men was unfolding across the city.
Inside Russo's Kitchen, panic spread just as quickly.
Customers rushed to pay their bills.
Some slipped out the back door.
Others hid behind booths, afraid gunfire might erupt at any moment.
Amelia burst through the restaurant entrance onto the patio.
"Sophie!"
She scooped her daughter into her arms before turning toward Luca.
"I'm... I'm sorry if she disturbed you."
Luca looked at the frightened waitress.
Then at the little girl clinging to her neck.
Sophie waved.
"Did your friends find your grandson?"
Amelia whispered desperately,
"Sophie, sweetheart..."
But Luca answered.
"Not yet."
"Then you should hurry."
"I will."
She smiled with complete sincerity.
"I'll pray they bring him home."
Something tightened inside Luca's chest.
Nobody had prayed for him in years.
Nobody outside his own blood even dared speak to him without fear.
Yet this little girl...
She believed his grandson deserved to come home.
Not because he was powerful.
Not because he was rich.
Simply because he was someone's family.
Luca reached into the inside pocket of his jacket.
Marco immediately stepped closer.
"Boss?"
Luca ignored him.
He removed a thick envelope.
Cash.
Far more money than Amelia earned in several months.
He placed it carefully beside Sophie's empty juice cup.
"For the spaghetti."
Amelia stared.
"I... I can't accept that."
"You already did."
"I didn't sell a plate worth..."
"This isn't payment."
His eyes met hers.
"It's gratitude."
Amelia immediately pushed the envelope back across the table.
"My daughter didn't help you for money."
Luca looked at the envelope.
Then at Amelia.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Finally...
A faint nod.
"I understand."
He picked the envelope back up.
The bodyguards exchanged confused glances.
Nobody refused Luca Moretti.
Nobody.
Before leaving, Luca crouched until he was eye level with Sophie.
"What do you want for your birthday?"
The little girl thought seriously.
"A puppy."
Marco quietly smiled.
Finally.
A simple request.
Luca could buy an entire breeding company if necessary.
"What kind?"
Sophie frowned.
Then surprised everyone.
"No..."
"I think another little girl should have one."
Luca blinked.
"What?"
"My friend Lily lives in a shelter."
Her tiny voice became quieter.
"She cries because they wouldn't let her keep her dog."
"If she gets another puppy..."
"...she'll stop being sad."
Even Marco looked away.
The patio grew strangely quiet.
Luca asked,
"And what about you?"
Sophie shrugged.
"I still have Mommy."
For the second time that afternoon...
The most feared man in New York found himself unable to speak.
As the convoy pulled away, Amelia finally exhaled.
Only Connie noticed something lying beneath Sophie's chair.
A black leather wallet.
It had fallen from Luca's jacket when he crouched.
Connie picked it up.
The restaurant suddenly became silent again.
Because inside the wallet...
...wasn't cash.
It was a family photograph.
A smiling little boy around seven years old.
The same age as the missing grandson.
On the back, written in faded ink, were five heartbreaking words.
Please come home, my Matteo.
Connie looked toward the disappearing convoy.
May you like
For the first time...
She wondered whether Brooklyn had judged the wrong monster.
