Teresa raises her eyebrow. "I know he's not just a suit, but you can't tell me that he's been in the trenches. As your attorney, he has to keep his hands..." She purses her lips, trying to find the right word, and finally settles on: "Clean."
Vito squeezes her hand. "Of course. He does." He shrugs. "Most of the time."
Teresa's eyes narrow. "What does that mean?"
"What you said before about the knives." Vito picks up his glass and gestures vaguely with it. "Let's just say that Roberto... Well, he's more of a scalpel kind of man." He takes a sip from the glass.
A look of dawning realization crosses Teresa's face.
A scalpel—precise, clean, effective.
So, the family lawyer is much more than a lawyer. Good to know. It gives me a better picture of the resources I have to work with and the kind of people I'm dealing with.
And it also confirms my theory.
"You see?" I say, gesturing with one hand to Vito. "Even your family attorney has... practical skills. But Caterina lives alone. And her house is likely the place where she would be most vulnerable." I look at Vito. "Her security detail is what?"
He sets down his glass. "We have a team at the house. But they're not inside."
I nod. That was what I expected. "And she carries a weapon?"
"Yes," he says. "But she's never had to use it. Not in a real-world situation. She knows how to shoot and how to defend herself, but that's not the same as actually having to do it. And Caterina... she's more likely to try to talk her way out of a problem than she is to reach for her gun."
I see it immediately. The picture is getting clearer. She's smart. She's capable. But she's spent her life in the world of business, not the world of blood. She fights with words and numbers, not with her fists or a weapon.
And in a world like this, that makes her a target.
"She's proud," Teresa adds quietly. "She fought for years to be taken seriously at the casino, to prove she wasn't just Luca's daughter. She's not going to be happy about having a bodyguard."
"She'll be less happy about being dead," I say.
It's blunt. Cruel, even.
But it's the truth.
And it’s the only argument that matters.
Vito's expression doesn't change, but I see the way his jaw tightens. He doesn't like it. But he knows it's true.
Teresa, on the other hand, just looks at me, and there is a warning in her eyes.
"Don't be crude, Adrian.”
"I'm being practical," I say. "And it's the truth."
"It's an ugly truth," she retorts.
"Ugly or not, it's the reason I'm here."
"Actually," Vito says, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table. "That's not the only reason Caterina is my primary concern right now."
He has my attention.
"Her life is... different. More public than the rest of ours. Even Roberto's. She doesn't just work at the casino. She is the face of it. She runs the financial department. She meets with investors. She negotiates with vendors. She gives presentations to regulatory boards. Her schedule is packed. Her movements are... predictable."
He's right. A woman like Caterina, with a job like hers, would have a routine. Meetings at certain times. A regular lunch spot. A set of people she sees every day. That's a security nightmare.
"A predictable schedule is a vulnerability," I say.
