Chapter 3 - THE EMPTY CHAIR
Thursday arrived beneath a low, gray sky.
The meeting above the Mott Street restaurant had been rescheduled for eleven o'clock. The representatives from Chicago and Philadelphia were already in the city. Victor had spent the previous two days confirming the arrangements.
He appeared calm.
Too calm.
Dante entered the restaurant at 10:52 wearing a charcoal suit and a plain white shirt. He wore no tie.
Victor noticed immediately.
“Forgot something?” he asked.
“No.”
Dante took the chair at the north end of the table.
Victor sat to his right. The other representatives filled the remaining seats. Coffee was served. The room settled.
For ten minutes, they discussed ordinary business.
Then the lights flickered.
A waiter entered carrying a tray.
Dante watched him carefully.
The waiter placed a cup beside Victor, then another near the Chicago representative. When he reached Dante, he paused.
“Coffee, sir?”
“No, thank you.”
The waiter nodded and left.
Victor leaned closer.
“You seem distracted.”
“I've had a difficult week.”
“Because of that little incident with the tie?”
Dante looked at him.
“What incident?”
Victor's mouth tightened.
“The damaged tie. I heard the meeting was canceled because of it.”
Dante took a sip of water.
“Interesting. I never told you the tie was damaged.”
Victor stared at him for half a second too long.
Then he smiled.
“Everyone in the house was talking about it.”
“Were they?”
The room grew quiet.
Dante placed a small envelope on the table.
Inside was a photograph of the copper device.
Victor's face lost its color.
“What is that?” he asked.
“You tell me.”
Victor pushed his chair back.
“Dante, this is absurd.”
“Giuseppe Falcone says you brought it to his shop.”
“Giuseppe is an old man. He could be confused.”
“He isn't confused about the man who accompanied you.”
Dante placed the second photograph on the table.
It showed the blue stone watch.
Victor looked toward the door.
Two of Dante's men stood there.
“You've been listening to my conversations,” Dante said. “You knew where I would sit, what I would wear, and when I would arrive. You arranged the device and tried to get the meeting restored after I canceled it.”
Victor's face hardened.
“You don't understand what you're doing.”
“Then explain it.”
Victor looked around the table.
“You think the other families are loyal to you? They were ready to replace you months ago. I kept them at the table. I kept this organization stable.”
“By selling them information?”
“By making sure I had a place when you eventually fell.”
Dante remained still.
“So you were planning for me to fall.”
Victor's silence answered.
One of the representatives cleared his throat.
“Is this meeting over?”
“Yes,” Dante said. “Everyone who is not part of this matter may leave.”
The guests stood and filed out. Victor remained seated.
When the door closed, Dante asked one final question.
“Who was the man with the blue watch?”
Victor smiled faintly.
“You're too late.”
A phone vibrated inside Victor's jacket.
Dante's security chief stepped forward and removed it. The screen showed a message from an unknown contact.
THE GIRL KNOWS TOO MUCH. HANDLE IT.
Dante read it.
His expression changed.
“Where is the man who sent this?”
Victor said nothing.
Dante stood.
“Marco, take him to the secure room. No one speaks to him without my authorization.”
Then he called the mansion.
Elena answered.
“Señor Moretti?”
“Where is Lily?”
“At preschool. Why?”
“Bring her home. Now. And don't use the usual route.”
Elena's voice tightened.
“What's happened?”
“Someone knows she saw him.”
Dante ended the call and looked toward the window.
May you like
The meeting had not been the real target.
Lily was.
