He glances at his watch. "It's seven thirty."
"For most people that's early."
He frowns as if he finds that notion bizarre. As I take the seat opposite him, he nods toward the folder and I pick it up. Along with several pages of information, there's a photograph of a young woman with long black hair. She's coming out of a building, a bag slung over her shoulder, staring at her phone and completely unaware she's being watched.
"Giulianna Contini, goes by Anna. She's twenty-three, lives in an apartment in Milan. She works for an events company, been there two years."
"Who is she exactly?"
"Giacomo Martelli's daughter."
This is interesting. Giacomo is second in command within the Martelli family but for years there's been a rumor he's the real power behind the throne.
"Why didn't we know about her?"
"The girl's illegitimate. Her mother raised her."
"And Martelli cares about this illegitimate daughter?"
"With Adriano and Andrea both dead, she's his sole heir. If we have her, he won't move against us."
The idea of snatching a young woman and holding her hostage doesn't thrill me, but it's not as if we haven't set a precedent for keeping women captive.
First there was Violetta and now Riccardo has Elena locked away at his home. From the glint in his eye I can tell Elio's interest in this girl is about more than using her as leverage. I don’t examine the parallels too closely.
"Do it."
Elio nods. He gets up from his seat.
"We're already in place."
I should have known he would be ready and waiting for my go-ahead.
"She's not to be harmed."
"She won't be." There's an eagerness in his voice I haven't heard for a long time. When he has this woman in his hands, things will get interesting.
He picks up the folder and heads for the door. Before he gets there he stops and turns.
"Niamh Donnelly," he says, referring to the woman who coordinates our activities with the Lenkovs, Reznovs and other organizations.
"What about her?"
"She met with Gabriele a few weeks ago."
I nod. When I met the consortium the day after Olivia's wedding, she told Lorenzo our brother had asked for a meeting with her. She promised to let us know if it was anything we should be concerned about but when she never got in touch we assumed it wasn't important.
"I know."
Elio grins. "But did you know she's traveling all over Europe looking for a prospective bride for him?"
"What? Where did you hear this?"
"Sev Baranov mentioned it. Said Niamh asked him if he still had his eye on Reznov's cousin or whoever that girl he's obsessed with is."
He leaves. I'm not sure what to do with that news. While I'm hopeful it's a sign Gabriele intends to return to the outside world, I fear instead he'll drag some poor girl into his sanctuary and never let her go. If he treats the wrong woman badly he'll start a war. He won't welcome my interference and if he trusts Niamh to find him someone suitable I'll have to place my faith in her judgment as well.
I move to the window and look into the garden. Violetta is out there, walking on the lawn. Stefano trails her at a discreet distance. She stops at the fountain and looks at it for a moment, then carries on walking.
