Chapter 7 - Whispers in the DarkTwo weeks passed in a delicate, fragile routine.
Leo was slowly learning to maneuver around the penthouse on crutches, his cast decorated with colorful stickers Maya had plastered all over it. Maya had appointed herself his personal bodyguard, stubbornly refusing to let him walk anywhere without holding her hand.
For me, the transition was jarring. My phone—usually a weapon of war—now buzzed with reminders for pediatric physical therapy appointments, grocery deliveries of organic fruit, and pediatrician follow-ups.
And then, the other side of my life caught up.
It was 2:00 AM. The penthouse was dead silent, save for the hum of the HVAC system and the distant twinkle of Austin’s skyline through the floor-to-ceiling glass.
I was sitting in my private study on the second level of the duplex, reviewing shipping manifests from the Port of Galveston, when my secure satellite phone buzzed.
It wasn't a normal call. It was a restricted, encrypted line used only by my deep-cover informants within the Travis County jail.
I picked it up. “Talk.”
“Boss,” Marcus’s voice came through, tense and rushed. “We’ve got a problem. Rebecca.”
I frowned, leaning back in my leather chair. “What about her? She’s awaiting trial in maximum security segregation. Her brother is disgraced, her assets are frozen. What could she possibly do from a concrete box?”
“She didn't do it alone, Boss. We intercepted a communication she tried to smuggle out through a corrupt guard. She didn't just abuse those kids because she was stressed, Thomas.”
A cold dread pooled in my stomach. “Explain.”
“She was heavily in debt. Gambling debts. She owed a quarter of a million dollars to a loan shark operation tied straight to the Alvarez family out of Houston.”
The room seemed to shrink around me.
“Go on,” I said, my voice dropping into a razor-thin whisper.
“The Alvarez family knew she was broke. They told her that if she couldn't pay up, they’d take her house. So... she offered the kids.”
I stopped breathing. The silence in the study became absolute.
“She what?”
“She tried to use the kids as collateral, Boss. When Ethan died, she thought she could sell them off to a black-market adoption ring through the Houston syndicate to clear her slate. But the deal fell through at the last second, which is why she kept them locked in the basement when things got chaotic.”
My hand tightened around the encrypted phone until the plastic casing creaked.
The Alvarez family. They didn't just step on my borders; they had a direct hand in what happened to my brother’s children.
“Marcus,” I said, and the tone in my voice made even my hardened lieutenant hesitate on the other end.
“Boss?”
“Cancel my meetings tomorrow morning.”
“What are you planning?”
“Tell Viktor to liquidate fifty million in liquid assets. And call Salvatore. Tell him to ready the freight trucks.”
May you like
I stood up, walking over to the massive glass window that overlooked the sleeping city of Austin.
“The Alvarez family wanted collateral,” I whispered into the dark. “Tonight, I’m going to show them what happens when you touch a Moretti.”
