Chapter 2 - THE SHADOW OF THE CASINO
The marble-floored kitchen of the Amato villa was larger than Leo’s entire apartment, bathed in the soft glow of recessed lighting. Vittorio gestured for the boy to sit at the sprawling mahogany island, sliding a warm bowl of thick minestrone soup and a plate of fresh panini across the counter. Leo didn’t hesitate; exhaustion and hunger took over, and he devoured the food with a desperate urgency that made Vittorio’s chest tighten.
Vittorio watched him in silence, his mind racing. In Naples, when people whispered of disappearances, they usually pointed to deadbeats, unpaid debts, or mafia turf wars. But a single mother going missing after a blind date? That didn't sound like a standard underworld hit. That sounded personal, or worse, accidental entanglement.
"Rocco," Vittorio called softly over his shoulder, gesturing for his chief enforcer to step closer. "Find out where Elena Conti worked. Check her apartment building. Run a sweep of her phone records if you can bypass the local precinct's logs. I want every movement she made in the last seventy-two hours."
"Boss," Rocco murmured, leaning in. "Are we sure this is worth the headache? The police think she walked out. If we poke around a missing person case, we might draw the attention of the Carabinieri or, worse, the Moretti family. They control the harbor district where she lived."
Vittorio's eyes flashed with a dangerous, cold fire. "A child walked through the gates of my estate in the dead of night because the police failed him, Rocco. If she lived in Moretti territory, it makes it ten times more interesting. Move."
Rocco nodded stiffly and vanished into the corridor.
Vittorio turned back to the island. Leo had finished his soup, wiping his mouth with the back of his dirty sleeve. His dark eyes locked onto Vittorio’s with a haunting maturity. "You're going to find her, right? You look like a man who can find anyone."
A rare, grim smirk touched the corners of Vittorio's mouth. "I am, Leo. But you need to tell me everything. Where did she meet this man? Did she mention a name? An app? A place?"
Leo scrunched his face, digging into his hoodie pocket. He pulled out a crumpled piece of receipt paper with a series of frantic handwritten notes. "She kept this on the fridge. She thought I was sleeping, but I heard her talking on the phone. She met him through an upscale matchmaking service called Aura. The date was at Il Diamante, a casino and lounge down by the waterfront."
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Vittorio froze. Il Diamante. That wasn't just a high-end lounge—it was a neutral-zone casino officially owned by a front corporation, but heavily influenced by his fiercest rival, Marco Moretti.
"Stay here, Leo," Vittorio ordered, his voice dropping an octave into pure authority. "You're safe in this house. My men will watch you. I’m going to find out what happened behind closed doors at Il Diamante."
