CHAPTER 4 — The Woman Who Knew Too Much
Roman Castellano refused to surrender.
The moment Evelyn walked out wearing the sapphire ring once again, he locked himself inside his private office beneath the Castellano estate. It was a room no one entered without permission—a fortress lined with rare whiskey, antique firearms, and ledgers that documented thirty years of blood and betrayal.
He slammed the ancient family charter onto his desk.
"There has to be another clause..."
His hands shook as he turned brittle pages.
Nothing.
The law that had stripped him of everything was written in ink too old to challenge.
Outside the estate, black SUVs that once answered only to Roman quietly changed destinations. Drivers who had called him "Boss" for years now reported to Evelyn's temporary headquarters at the historic Moretti House overlooking Lake Michigan.
She didn't celebrate.
Instead, she ordered every financial record from the last five years.
"Every account," she instructed Matteo.
"Every shell company."
"Every offshore transfer."
Matteo looked at her carefully.
"You think Roman has been stealing."
Evelyn didn't answer immediately.
She opened one leather ledger.
"I don't think."
"I know."
Silence filled the room.
She slid several pages across the table.
Millions of dollars had vanished through fake construction companies, charities that existed only on paper, and luxury developments that had never been built.
Nearly...
$480 million.
Even Matteo's face darkened.
"He robbed his own family."
"No."
Evelyn closed the folder.
"He robbed everyone who believed in the family."
Across the city...
Vanessa Lane sat alone inside a luxury penthouse Roman had purchased six months earlier.
Designer furniture.
Floor-to-ceiling windows.
A closet full of dresses she had never chosen herself.
Everything looked expensive.
Nothing felt like home.
She stared at the sapphire ring resting inside a velvet box.
She hadn't touched it since returning from the mansion.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
Three women entered.
None introduced themselves.
The oldest simply placed a cup of tea before Vanessa.
"We're here because Evelyn sent us."
Vanessa blinked.
"...Why?"
"To ask one question."
The woman leaned forward.
"Did Roman ever tell you about Warehouse Nine?"
Vanessa froze.
The color drained from her face.
She whispered...
"...You know about that?"
The women exchanged worried glances.
One quietly reached for her phone.
Within two minutes...
Evelyn received the message.
She knows.
That same night...
Roman visited someone he had sworn never to see again.
The abandoned steel factory on Chicago's South Side echoed with dripping water.
A single light illuminated an old man sitting in a wheelchair.
His name was Vincent Bellucci.
Once Roman's mentor.
Now his greatest enemy.
Vincent smiled.
"So..."
"They finally took your throne."
Roman remained standing.
"I need men."
"You need loyalty."
Roman ignored the correction.
"I'll pay."
Vincent laughed.
"You can't afford loyalty anymore."
Roman stepped closer.
"I know where your grandson lives."
The laughter stopped.
"So that's who you've become."
Roman answered quietly...
"The man who survives."
Vincent sighed.
"No."
"The man who's already lost."
As Roman left the warehouse...
Neither man noticed the tiny drone hovering high above the broken skylight.
Someone had recorded every word.
Evelyn watched the footage before sunrise.
She paused only once.
At the moment Roman threatened a child.
She quietly closed the laptop.
Then looked at Matteo.
"It's time."
May you like
"For what?"
"For Chicago to learn who Roman Castellano really is."
