Bruno
Three fucking hours of nothing.
Every minute that passes is another minute Antonella is alone with those bastards. Another minute my wife is tied up somewhere, terrified, wondering if I'm coming for her.
I'm coming.
I swear to God, I'm coming.
The phone on Pietro's desk hasn't rung. Liam's contacts haven't called back. Valentino's people have turned up nothing. The warehouse district is a maze of abandoned buildings and dead ends, and we've searched twelve of them already.
Twelve buildings. Zero leads.
Nico stands by the window, arms crossed, watching the driveway like he expects answers to drive up and announce themselves. Valentino paces near the door, his phone pressed to his ear as he barks orders in rapid Sicilian to someone on the other end.
My phone buzzes.
I grab it so fast I nearly drop it.
Vittoria's name flashes on the screen.
"What do you have?" I don't bother with greetings.
"Two names." Vittoria's voice is sharp, focused. The sound of typing fills the background. "I cross-referenced every name in the Morelli ledgers against known associates of crime families with active grudges against us. Then I filtered for anyone desperate enough to pull something this stupid."
"And?"
"Two families came up. Both American. Both small operations." More typing. "The Castellanos out of Detroit and the Vance family from Cleveland."
I don't recognize either name. "Never heard of them."
"You wouldn't have. They're minor players. The Castellanos run a small gambling operation—mostly underground poker games and sports betting. The Vance family deals in stolen goods. Cars, electronics, that kind of thing."
"Why would either of them want the Morelli ledgers?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Vittoria pauses. "Both families have entries in the ledgers. The Castellanos owed the Morellis about two hundred thousand before we absorbed their debts. The Vance family had a different arrangement—they were laundering money through Morelli front companies."
"So they're both exposed."
"Exactly. If those ledgers go public, both families are finished. The Castellanos would face federal charges for the gambling operation, and the Vance family would go down for money laundering and racketeering."
I process this. Two families. Two possible kidnappers. And no way to know which one has my wife.
"Can you narrow it down?"
"I'm trying. But these are small operations, Bruno. They don't have the digital footprint of larger families. Most of theirbusiness is done in cash, face to face. There's not much for me to trace."
"There has to be something."
"I'm working on it." Her voice softens slightly. "I'll find her. I promise."
I hang up without saying goodbye.
Pietro and Nico are both watching me.
"Two families," I say. "Castellanos from Detroit. Vance family from Cleveland. Both have reasons to want those ledgers destroyed."
"I know the Castellanos." Nico's voice is flat. "Small-time gamblers. They've been trying to expand into Chicago for years, but they don't have the muscle or the money."
