CHAPTER 4 — The Woman Who Stole Twenty Years
By sunrise, every surviving member of the Salvini organization had received the same order.
Find the woman in the photograph.
No mistakes.
No delays.
No mercy for anyone protecting her.
Joseph had spent twenty years hunting enemies.
Now he was hunting the truth.
Marco placed a thick file on the conference table inside the underground command center.
"We identified the mansion."
Joseph opened it.
His expression hardened.
The estate belonged to Evelyn Whitmore, an eighty-year-old philanthropist who had donated millions to children's hospitals, universities, and veterans' organizations.
Chicago adored her.
The media called her the city's grandmother.
Rose gasped the moment she saw the photograph.
"I know her."
Everyone turned.
Rose slowly nodded.
"She volunteered at Saint Gabriel Hospital the day Audrey was born."
Joseph's heartbeat accelerated.
"Did she ever speak to you?"
Rose swallowed.
"She comforted me after I woke up."
"What did she say?"
Rose closed her eyes.
"'Joseph is gone. Think about your baby. Leave Chicago before they kill both of you.'"
Silence filled the room.
Marco quietly whispered,
"She was there from the beginning."
Within hours, Joseph personally visited Evelyn's mansion.
No weapons were drawn.
No threats were made.
The elegant old woman welcomed him with tea.
"I wondered how long it would take."
Joseph remained standing.
"You destroyed my family."
Evelyn smiled sadly.
"No."
"I protected it."
Joseph's fist slammed onto the antique table.
"You forged hospital records."
"You made Rose believe I was dead."
"You made me believe my daughter never existed."
Evelyn looked directly into his eyes.
"I saved your daughter's life."
Joseph froze.
"What?"
She slowly walked toward an old fireplace.
"In 2004, the Five Families voted."
Joseph knew exactly what she meant.
The Commission.
"If they discovered Rose was carrying your child..."
"They would have murdered both of them before sunrise."
Joseph's breathing slowed.
Evelyn continued.
"I had one choice."
"Separate you..."
"...or bury all three of you."
Joseph wanted to reject every word.
But deep inside...
He knew how ruthless the Commission had been.
Evelyn reached into a locked drawer.
Inside lay dozens of unopened letters.
Every envelope carried Joseph's handwriting.
"You wrote to Rose."
Joseph stared.
"I delivered none of them."
Rose had written letters too.
Hundreds.
Joseph had never received a single one.
Twenty years...
Stolen by silence.
Joseph whispered,
"You could have reunited us after the Commission fell."
Evelyn's smile disappeared.
"I tried."
She handed him another folder.
Inside was a recent photograph.
Someone had been watching Audrey for months.
Written across the back...
Victor Moretti found her first.
At that exact moment...
The mansion exploded.
May you like
Glass rained across the room.
The war had officially begun.
