Julian walked in with his spine straight and his expression calm. If he was nervous, he hid it well.
"Julian Bianchi." Sandro stood and offered his hand. "I'm Alessandro Vitale. This is Luca Romano."
Julian shook both their hands with the kind of polite confidence that came from years of family dinners and political events. His family might have controlled him, but they'd trained him well in social navigation.
"Thank you for seeing me," Julian said. "And for allowing me to stay."
"Sit." Sandro gestured to the chair across from him. "We need to ask you some questions. Understand what we're dealing with."
I took up position by the wall. Close enough to intervene if necessary. Far enough to maintain professional distance.
Julian sat. Folded his hands in his lap. Waited.
"Your father is Winston Bianchi," Sandro began. "Head of the Chicago Bianchi family. Connected to federal law enforcement. What exactly does that mean?"
"My father has a relationship with an FBI agent named Rebecca Watson. She's with the Organized Crime unit based in Chicago but has jurisdiction that extends into New York. They've been working together for approximately eight years."
Luca leaned forward. "Working together how?"
"My father provides information about rival families in exchange for immunity and protection for Bianchi operations. Agent Watson uses the intelligence to build cases against our competitors. It's mutually beneficial—she gets arrests and promotions, my father eliminates threats to our business."
"And you know this how?" Sandro's voice was sharp.
"I spent five years preparing to run. Part of that preparation involved understanding exactly what I was running from. I copied files from my father's office. Emails. Phone records. Meeting notes. Everything I could find about his arrangement with the FBI." Julian met Sandro's eyes without flinching. "I brought copies with me. They're in a safe deposit box in Manhattan. I can retrieve them if you want verification."
The room went quiet.
Sandro and Luca exchanged glances. They hadn't expected this. They’d expected Julian to be a scared runaway with nothing to offer but problems.
"Why would you give us that information?" Luca asked. "Your father's FBI connection could protect you. Send you back with guarantees of safety."
"Because going back isn't safety. It's a different kind of prison." Julian's voice stayed steady. "And because if I'm asking you to risk war with my family by harboring me, I should offer something valuable in return. The information about Agent Watson and my father's operations is the most valuable thing I have."
I watched Sandro process this. Saw the exact moment he shifted from viewing Julian as a liability to seeing him as an asset.
"This Agent Watson," Sandro said carefully. "She's the same one who was involved in our RICO investigation?"
"Yes. She's been building cases against New York families for years. Your trial was her first major failure. My father was furious about it—he'd fed her intelligence that should have resulted in convictions. The fact that you walked made him reconsider their arrangement."
"Is he still working with her?"
"As of three weeks ago, yes. But the relationship is strained. My father doesn't like backing losing horses."
Luca sat back in his chair. "This changes things."
"It does." Sandro looked at me. "Elio, your assessment?"
I pushed off from the wall. Walked closer to the table but kept my distance from Julian.
"The information's valuable if it's legitimate. We'd need to verify everything before acting on it. But if Julian's telling the truth about having documented evidence of the FBI-Bianchi connection, we could use it as leverage. Insurance against both his father and the federal investigation."
"And if he's lying?" Luca asked. "If this is an elaborate setup?"
"Then we've got a problem." I looked at Julian. "But I don't think he's lying."
Julian met my eyes. Something passed between us—acknowledgment, maybe, or gratitude. Then he looked away.
"I'll retrieve the documents," Julian said. "Whatever you need to verify my story. I understand you can't just take my word for it."
