CHAPTER 4 — The Ghost Behind the Empire
Vincent Torino buried Marcus with full honors.
No speeches.
No reporters.
No tears in public.
Only a black coffin lowered into the rain while dozens of powerful men stood in complete silence.
Everyone believed the Torino empire had survived.
Everyone was wrong.
Three nights later, Vincent entered his underground vault to review the files seized from Father Gabriel.
Thousands of documents.
Bank accounts.
Encrypted recordings.
Lists of politicians.
Judges.
Police commissioners.
Then he found a single envelope.
On the front, written in Father Gabriel's handwriting, were six chilling words.
OPEN ONLY AFTER MARCUS DIES.
Vincent slowly broke the seal.
Inside was a faded photograph.
It showed four men standing together thirty years earlier.
Vincent recognized himself.
He recognized Father Gabriel.
He recognized his late brother.
But the fourth man...
had been erased from every history book.
Luciano Bellucci.
The founder of the original mafia council.
The man Vincent had watched die in a warehouse fire twenty-eight years ago.
Attached beneath the photograph was a short message.
"If you're reading this... Luciano is alive."
Vincent's blood ran cold.
Impossible.
He had seen the body himself.
Hadn't he?
Another page slid from the envelope.
It was a payment ledger.
Every assassination.
Every gang war.
Every betrayal Father Gabriel had orchestrated...
had been approved by one signature.
L.B.
Vincent suddenly understood.
Father Gabriel had never been the mastermind.
He had simply worked for one.
Across the room, every computer screen turned black.
One sentence appeared.
WELCOME BACK, OLD FRIEND.
Then a live camera feed opened.
A silver-haired man sat calmly in an enormous leather chair.
His face hadn't aged as much as it should have.
He smiled.
"Hello, Vincent."
Vincent dropped the file.
"...Luciano."
The old man slowly raised a glass of whiskey.
"I've waited thirty years for this conversation."
The screen went dark.
For the first time in decades...
May you like
Vincent realized the war had never truly ended.
It had only been sleeping.
