CHAPTER 5 — The Ghost Who Controlled the Mafia
Three days later...
The funeral for Salvatore Moretti drew senators, judges, businessmen, and criminals from across the country.
Everyone wore black.
Everyone pretended to mourn.
Vincent wore no tie.
He carried no weapon.
Only Elena noticed he hadn't slept in days.
Hidden among the mourners stood an elderly priest with silver hair.
He smiled once.
Then disappeared into the cathedral before anyone recognized him.
Vincent nearly dropped the memorial program.
"No..."
Elena followed his gaze.
"Who is that?"
He whispered...
"Luca Bellini."
"But you said he was dead."
"So did everyone else."
The priest never looked at them.
He simply walked toward Salvatore's coffin.
Placed one white rose on the polished wood.
Then quietly said,
"You were never worthy of leading what I built."
Only Vincent heard him.
His blood turned cold.
That evening, Vincent and Elena secretly followed the priest.
He entered an abandoned opera house on the edge of the city.
Inside...
Nearly fifty men were already waiting.
Crime bosses.
Smugglers.
Arms dealers.
Leaders from organizations Vincent thought were enemies.
Instead...
Every one of them stood when the priest entered.
No applause.
No words.
Only respect.
Luca removed the fake beard.
Pulled off the gray wig.
Straightened his back.
The harmless old priest disappeared.
Standing before them was a man nearly seventy...
Still commanding absolute authority.
"I've waited twenty-one years."
His voice echoed through the theater.
"Salvatore is dead."
"Now we begin again."
One by one...
Every criminal leader knelt.
Not before Salvatore's son.
Before Luca Bellini.
The real architect of the empire.
Vincent had never been the heir.
He had only been raised to believe he was.
Elena secretly recorded everything on her phone.
Suddenly...
A hand grabbed her shoulder.
She spun around.
A young woman in black tactical gear held a pistol against her ribs.
"Come with me."
Elena expected death.
Instead, the woman whispered,
May you like
"If Vincent stays here another five minutes..."
"He dies."
