Chapter 10
I did not chase Matteo immediately.
That frustrated Victor.
Good.
I called the old captains instead.
Every man Matteo might believe still belonged to his generation.
I told them Isabella was alive.
Nothing more.
Reactions are useful when people do not know which answer helps them.
Two men looked shocked.
One cried.
One immediately asked where Victor was.
That interested me.
His name was Stephen Caruso.
Sixty-six.
Old enough to have served my father and uncle both.
“Why Victor?” I asked.
Stephen hesitated.
“Because Matteo said Victor handled the funeral.”
Silence.
I looked at Victor.
He looked back.
Stephen realized the room had changed.
“What else did Matteo say?”
“That Isabella’s death proved the younger generation was unstable.”
I almost laughed.
A woman disappears.
Someone lies about her death.
Then the lie becomes evidence that I cannot lead.
Elegant.
Cruel.
Familiar.
“What did he want?”
Stephen lowered his eyes.
“A return to council rule.”
There it was.
Victor cursed under his breath.
Stephen continued.
“Matteo said if Antonio kept central command, more family would die.”
I looked at Isabella’s photograph beside the urn.
Fear again.
Always fear.
Old men using death to make control sound like safety.
I asked Stephen one final question.
“Did Matteo order my shooting?”
He froze.
Not proof.
Reaction.
Enough to continue.
“I don’t know.”
I believed that.
Then he added:
“But Adrian told me the shooting was meant to make you need Victor.”
Victor’s face changed.
That surprised him.
Good.
Maybe even Victor had been used.
The factions were not clean.
Matteo wanted me weakened.
Victor wanted to become necessary.
Each man believed he was exploiting the other.
My shooting created the perfect condition for both.
May you like
Then Isabella vanished.
And the house reorganized itself around the men who remained.
