Chapter 4 - The Ledger of Blood
Enzo turned slowly toward the open door of the study, where Dante was standing in the shadows of the hallway.
"Dante," Enzo said, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying register that usually made capos tremble. "Is this true?"
Dante took a step backward, his hands trembling. "Boss... look, the Tatalia hit was a success! We took out three of their supply lines in Cicero! If I told you Carmela was having a scare on Archer Avenue, you would’ve called off the trucks!"
"A scare?" Enzo rasped, stepping toward his lieutenant. "She said she lost the baby!"
"She’s exaggerating!" Bianca interjected quickly, grabbing Enzo’s arm. "Enzo, look at her! She’s standing right there! If she really had a traumatic accident, would she be sitting here with lawyers' papers? She’s trying to sabotage your victory over the Tatalias!"
I looked at Bianca—this woman who had spent three months systematically creeping into my marriage, using her fatherless son as a shield to draw my husband away from his responsibilities.
I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a heavy manila folder. I slammed it down onto the desk right in front of Enzo.
"Inside that folder are three things, Enzo," I said, pointing at the papers. "First, the official coroner's report from the Cook County Medical Examiner confirming the traumatic termination of a fourteen-week pregnancy caused by blunt force impact."
Enzo’s eyes widened in horror as his hand hovered over the folder.
"Second," I continued, "the traffic camera footage from Archer Avenue showing the black SUV registered to Tatalia Enterprises striking my vehicle twice."
"And third?" Enzo choked out, his voice barely a whisper now.
"Third," I said, looking right into Bianca’s eyes, "is the financial transfer record showing fifty thousand dollars moved from Bianca Rossi’s private offshore account in the Caymans to Marco Tatalia’s personal lieutenant six hours before I was ambushed."
The air in the room instantly turned to ice.
Bianca went deathly pale. "That's... that's a fake! Enzo, she forged that! I don't have an offshore account!"
"My father left me the keys to the entire Romano intelligence network, Bianca," I said coldly. "Did you really think I wouldn't check who gave the Tatalias my precise travel route on Tuesday night? I was going to a private ultrasound clinic that only three people knew about: me, my driver, and the calendar assistant at this house—who happens to take her orders directly from you."
Enzo turned around slowly. He looked down at the paper showing Bianca’s signature on the wire transfer.
His hand shook. The powerful, feared Don of the Moretti syndicate looked as if he had just been struck by lightning.
"Bianca..." Enzo rasped, his voice trembling with a terrifying mixture of grief and disbelief. "You... you gave them Carmela’s location?"
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"No! Enzo, listen to me!" Bianca sobbed, dropping to her knees and grabbing his hands. "They threatened Luca! Marco Tatalia said if I didn't give them something valuable, they would take Luca! I didn't know she was pregnant! I thought they were just going to scare her!"
"You knew," I whispered, stepping around the desk. "You knew because I told you three weeks ago when I caught you looking at the baby clothes in the nursery."
