Chapter 6
Bianca turned on Caleb first.
“You told me nobody was getting hurt.”
Caleb looked at her.
“Did I?”
Her face twisted.
“Yes.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“I told you nobody important was getting hurt.”
Silence.
Vittorio looked at Lucy.
Then Bianca.
That sentence hit even her.
She whispered:
“You said we were forcing Vittorio to see weakness.”
Caleb laughed.
“Exactly.”
“You said Lucy was useful.”
“She was.”
Vittorio’s expression became lethal.
Caleb saw.
Still smiled.
“There.”
“That.”
He pointed at Vittorio.
“That’s why this works.”
Vittorio said nothing.
Caleb continued.
“Someone touches the child and the Boss stops thinking.”
Marcus looked away.
Bianca looked frightened now.
Not of Vittorio.
Of how disposable she had become.
Caleb went on.
“You refuse south-route war because you think stability is strength.”
“You feed enemies.”
“Negotiate.”
“Wait.”
His disgust deepened.
“Your father would’ve buried them.”
Vittorio answered:
“My father buried too many men.”
Caleb smiled.
“Exactly.”
“As if that’s criticism.”
There it was.
Different philosophy.
Not betrayal for money.
War as identity.
Caleb continued:
“Three dead capos.”
“One false attack.”
“Six minutes of confusion.”
Then:
“You retaliate.”
“Or?”
He smiled.
“You look weak.”
Vittorio understood.
If he attacked rival crews, Caleb got his war.
If he refused, Caleb told old capos Vittorio had lost nerve.
Either path strengthened Caleb.
“What about Marcus?”
Vittorio asked.
Caleb glanced toward him.
“Useful.”
Marcus’s face changed.
“And Bianca?”
“Useful.”
Her mouth opened.
Caleb continued:
“Until today.”
Bianca stared.
“You said I’d control the estate.”
Caleb laughed.
“You can’t control breakfast.”
Her face went white.
Marcus stood.
Guards stopped him.
“You used us.”
Caleb looked bored.
“You needed using.”
That broke them.
Vittorio watched the alliance collapse without lifting a finger.
Then Emma raised the phone.
“There’s more.”
Caleb turned.
For the first time, real concern.
Emma looked at Vittorio.
“One video from last week.”
“Play it.”
Marcus shouted:
“No.”
Too late.
The video showed Caleb beneath the estate.
Speaking to someone beyond the frame.
His voice:
“Once the three capos are down, move the girl.”
Vittorio’s expression changed.
Lucy.
Emma swallowed.
The video continued.
Unknown male voice:
“Where?”
Caleb:
“River house.”
“Vittorio will follow.”
Silence.
The plan had another layer.
The attack on the capos was not the end.
Lucy herself was meant to be taken.
Vittorio stared at Caleb.
“What happens at the river house?”
Caleb smiled.
May you like
And said nothing.
For the first time that day, silence came from the person who actually understood the whole plan.
