CHAPTER 4 — THE MAN WHO SMILED TOO EASILY
CHAPTER 4 — THE MAN WHO SMILED TOO EASILY
Lucas Moretti stared at the frozen image on the tablet.
The silver ring glinted for only a fraction of a second before the screen dissolved into static again.
Most people would have missed it.
Lucas did not.
His father had commissioned three identical rings nearly thirty years earlier. Each one was handcrafted in Sicily, engraved with the ancient Roman she-wolf that had become the hidden symbol of the Moretti family.
One for the Don.
One for his heir.
One for the man sworn to protect them both.
Victor Romano.
Lucas slowly handed the tablet back to Marco.
"Who else has seen this?"
"No one."
"Keep it that way."
Marco hesitated.
"You think it's Victor?"
Lucas's expression remained unreadable.
"I think someone wants me to believe it's Victor."
Marco frowned.
"You don't trust the footage?"
"I trust evidence."
Lucas looked once more at the damaged video.
"And damaged evidence has started wars."
Across the mansion, Victor Romano was already issuing orders with calm authority.
"Increase patrols."
"Nobody leaves until security finishes questioning everyone."
He looked exactly like a loyal second-in-command protecting his wounded boss.
Servants whispered grateful words as he passed.
Guards nodded respectfully.
Victor accepted every gesture with practiced humility.
Only one person noticed what others overlooked.
Lily.
She sat on the garden steps eating the peanut butter sandwich the kitchen staff had made for her.
Victor smiled as he walked past.
"Hello again."
Lily smiled politely.
"Hi."
He crouched until they were eye level.
"I'm Victor."
"I know."
"You do?"
"Mommy said you're Mister Lucas's best friend."
Victor laughed softly.
"That's right."
He noticed the empty inhaler beside her lunch.
"You used yours today?"
She nodded proudly.
"I helped Mister Lucas breathe."
"That was very brave."
His smile never changed.
"Do you remember seeing anyone near Mr. Moretti's office?"
Lily thought for a moment.
"There was a man."
Victor's heartbeat skipped.
"What did he look like?"
She tilted her head.
"He smelled funny."
"Funny?"
"Like..."
She searched for the right word.
"...burning pennies."
Victor blinked.
Burning pennies.
Gun oil.
The scent clung to expensive firearms and machine lubricant.
It also happened to be the oil Victor used on his personal pistol every Sunday.
Children noticed strange things adults ignored.
He kept smiling.
"Anything else?"
"He was humming."
"What song?"
"I don't know."
"But Mommy sings it when she's sad."
Victor's eyes narrowed almost invisibly.
Then Lucas's voice echoed from the entrance.
"Victor."
Victor stood immediately.
"Boss."
Lucas studied him carefully.
For years he had trusted this man more than anyone alive.
Victor had held Daniel when he was born.
He had stood beside Lucas at Isabella's funeral.
He had carried one corner of Daniel's tiny coffin.
Every memory now felt poisoned.
"You look better," Victor said warmly.
"Thanks to a little girl."
"I heard."
Victor looked toward Lily.
"A miracle."
Lucas nodded.
"Walk with me."
The two men entered the library.
The heavy oak doors closed behind them.
Silence filled the room.
Finally Lucas asked,
"Where were you this morning?"
Victor answered without hesitation.
"Conference room."
"From nine until eleven?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"I stepped outside twice."
"For?"
"Coffee."
Lucas smiled faintly.
"Anything unusual?"
Victor shook his head.
"Nothing."
Lucas leaned against the fireplace.
"My inhaler disappeared."
"I know."
"What do you think happened?"
Victor answered exactly as expected.
"Someone wants you dead."
Lucas watched his face.
Not a twitch.
Not a flicker.
Either Victor was innocent...
Or he had become the greatest liar Lucas had ever met.
That evening Emma unpacked two small suitcases inside the guest cottage.
Lily ran excitedly from room to room.
"We have two bedrooms!"
Emma laughed through exhausted tears.
"And hot water."
"And real beds!"
"And look!"
Lily opened the refrigerator.
"There are strawberries!"
Emma smiled.
Fresh fruit had become a luxury months ago.
Lily picked one up before stopping.
"Can I save some for Mister Lucas?"
Emma looked surprised.
"You want to share?"
"He looked lonely."
Emma followed her daughter's gaze toward the enormous mansion across the gardens.
The lights glowed behind countless windows.
Yet somehow...
The house looked emptier than any apartment Emma had ever lived in.
That same night Lucas entered Daniel's old bedroom.
Nothing had changed in three years.
Toy dinosaurs still stood on the bookshelf.
Tiny sneakers remained beside the closet.
A half-finished Lego castle rested exactly where Daniel had left it.
Lucas sat on the floor.
For years he had entered this room only on birthdays.
Tonight was different.
He picked up one small blue dinosaur.
"Danny..."
His voice cracked.
"I almost died today."
Silence answered him.
"A little girl saved me."
He smiled sadly.
"She's about your age."
His fingers tightened around the toy.
"And she reminds me why I promised your mother I'd become a better man."
A quiet knock interrupted him.
Marco entered carefully.
"Boss."
"What is it?"
"We finished checking today's visitor logs."
"And?"
"Nobody unauthorized entered the estate."
Lucas nodded.
"I expected that."
Marco placed a thin file on the floor.
"But we found something else."
Lucas opened it.
Inside were medical supply invoices.
Invoices for his asthma medication.
The most recent delivery had arrived three days earlier.
Twelve emergency inhalers.
Lucas counted.
Only eleven had been signed into storage.
One had vanished before today's attack.
"This wasn't random," Marco whispered.
Lucas slowly closed the file.
"No."
"It was preparation."
Across town, in a luxury penthouse overlooking Manhattan, Victor Romano poured himself a glass of expensive whiskey.
His smile had finally disappeared.
A man emerged from the shadows.
"You failed."
Victor didn't look up.
"I know."
"The child wasn't supposed to be there."
"No."
"The boss should be dead."
Victor emptied the glass in one swallow.
"I said..."
"I know."
The second man stepped closer.
"What now?"
Victor walked to the window overlooking the city.
His reflection stared back at him.
Cold.
Patient.
Calculating.
"For three years I've waited."
"I started one fire."
"I can start another."
He slipped a familiar silver ring from his finger and turned it slowly.
"The next time..."
"There won't be any little girl."
Outside, lightning flashed over New York.
Neither man noticed a tiny red light blinking beneath the bookshelf.
A recording device.
Installed years earlier by federal investigators during an unrelated financial investigation.
It had remained forgotten after the case went cold.
Tonight...
May you like
For the first time in months...
It had recorded every single word.
