Chapter 2
The red book belonged to my late father.
I knew before anyone explained it.
He carried one throughout the final decade of his life.
Not a financial ledger.
A private record.
Promises.
Debts.
Which families received support.
Which captains were responsible for delivering it.
After his death, I searched for it.
Never found it.
Celeste told me he burned it.
Apparently that was another family story built from convenience.
“Where is it?” I asked.
Owen stayed silent.
Celeste said:
“There is no red book.”
Sadie lifted her head.
“Mommy saw.”
Children have impeccable timing.
Maya nodded slowly.
She had seen the edge of a red leather book inside Owen’s coat when she passed the corridor.
That was why Celeste asked about the guard.
A man in security uniform had walked past Maya moments earlier.
If he had also seen the book, they needed to know who.
“Which guard?”
Maya shook her head.
“I didn’t know him.”
Interesting.
Everyone working the estate tonight was supposed to be permanent staff.
I looked at Rafe, my senior bodyguard.
He understood.
“Check every guard.”
He left.
Celeste laughed bitterly.
“You think this is theft?”
“What should I call twelve million dollars diverted from widows and children?”
Her expression hardened.
“Reallocation.”
There it was.
Language.
Always the first place guilt hides.
“To what?”
Owen finally answered.
“Stability.”
I stared.
The money had been redirected to older Avellino associates whose income collapsed after I closed several businesses three years earlier.
Businesses built on intimidation.
Debt collection.
Neighborhood pressure.
Methods I wanted gone.
Celeste and Owen disagreed.
Instead of challenging me directly, they used donor funds to keep those men loyal.
A private pension for the old structure.
“Who authorized it?”
Celeste raised her chin.
“No one needed to.”
Wrong answer.
Then Owen said:
“Your father would have.”
That told me everything.
They had been using a dead man as permission.
Maya whispered:
“Victor, there was another word.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Succession.”
Celeste closed her eyes.
May you like
Twelve million had not only kept old men comfortable.
It had been buying the next Avellino power struggle.
