The Little Girl Who Saved the Mafia Boss

Part 2: The Betrayal Inside the Mansion

I stared at the six words written on the paper.

THE BOSS MUST NOT SURVIVE THURSDAY.

Victor Romano had been in my family longer than most of my men had been alive. He had attended my father’s funeral, stood beside me when I inherited the empire, and once taken a bullet meant for me.

If he was planning to kill me, then I had underestimated just how deep the betrayal went.

“Marco.”

My head of security entered immediately.

“Yes, boss?”

“Find out everything Victor has done in the last thirty days. His phone calls, meetings, bank transfers, everything. And don’t let him know we’re investigating.”

Marco nodded.

“What about the housekeeper?”

I looked toward Lily, who was sitting on the carpet, coloring another picture.

“Nobody touches Elena or her daughter. Put two guards outside their apartment and make sure they have everything they need.”

Marco hesitated.

“Boss, do you really think Victor is involved?”

I held up the drawing of the silver watch.

“I gave him that watch myself.”

For the next twenty-four hours, I pretended nothing had happened.

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I attended meetings, signed documents, and even allowed Victor to sit beside me during dinner.

He seemed perfectly comfortable.

Too comfortable.

“You’re looking tired, Dante,” he remarked, pouring himself a glass of wine.

“Just business.”

“Perhaps you should take a few days off. Let me handle Thursday’s meeting.”

I looked at him.

“Why Thursday?”

He smiled.

“Because the other families are becoming impatient.”

I raised my glass.

“We’ll discuss it tomorrow.”

His fingers tightened slightly around his wineglass.

A small reaction.

But enough.

That night, Lily appeared outside my office holding a stuffed rabbit.

“Mr. Dante?”

I turned.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

She walked toward my desk.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Of course.”

She climbed into the chair opposite me and whispered.

“That old man is going to make your medicine bad.”

My entire body went still.

“What medicine?”

“The little bottle in your bedroom.”

I stared at her.

“How do you know?”

“Yesterday, I was looking for my bunny under your table. The old man came inside with a little bag. He opened the bottle and put something in it.”

My blood turned cold.

I immediately called Marco.

“Nobody touches anything in my bedroom. Seal the room and bring the security footage.”

Twenty minutes later, Marco returned with a small evidence bag.

Inside was a medicine bottle from my bedside cabinet.

The laboratory technician I trusted examined it.

His expression changed after several minutes.

“Boss, this medication has been contaminated. I can’t tell you exactly what would have happened without further testing, but it could have caused a serious medical emergency.”

I slowly turned toward Marco.

“Get Victor.”

But Victor was already gone.

His bedroom was empty. His personal belongings had disappeared, and his private car had left through the eastern gate.

Then Marco found something worse.

A hidden passage behind the wine cellar contained several boxes of weapons, passports, and documents detailing payments to men outside New York.

At the bottom of one box was a photograph.

It showed Victor standing beside a man I had believed dead for five years.

Richard Hale.

My former business partner.

The man who had tried to take my empire before disappearing.

I clenched my jaw.

“So Victor has been working for Hale all this time.”

Marco nodded.

“And there’s more. Thursday’s meeting isn’t a negotiation. It’s an ambush. Hale has arranged for several armed men to enter the building through the underground parking garage.”

I looked at the clock.

Wednesday, 11:47 p.m.

We had less than twenty-four hours.

Then Lily’s tiny voice came from the doorway.

“Mr. Dante?”

I turned.

She was holding another drawing.

This time, it showed our mansion.

Several little figures stood outside the gates.

One of them wore a brown hat.

Lily pointed at the picture.

“That man was here today. He said he wanted to see Mommy.”

I looked at Elena, who had just entered behind her daughter.

Her face was pale.

“Elena, did Victor speak to you yesterday?”

She lowered her eyes.

“Yes, sir.”

“What did he want?”

She swallowed.

“He asked me to put something in your bedroom. He said it was only a small envelope. He promised to pay for Lily’s school and give us enough money to leave New York.”

“Did you do it?”

She shook her head quickly.

“No. I refused. But he told me that if I said anything, he would make sure my daughter disappeared.”

I looked at Lily.

The little girl who had unknowingly saved my life twice was now being threatened because of my business.

I stood up.

“Marco, double the security. Nobody gets within fifty feet of Elena or Lily without my permission.”

Then I turned to Elena.

“You and your daughter are under my protection. Victor made a serious mistake when he threatened your family.”

For the first time, Elena began crying.

And I made myself a promise.

Whoever had planned to use an innocent four-year-old to destroy my family would regret it.

But I still didn’t know the most shocking part.

At 2:13 a.m., Marco received a message from an unknown number.

It contained a photograph of Lily sleeping in her bedroom.

Beneath it were eight words:

RETURN THE GIRL, OR YOUR BOSS DIES TOMORROW.

I looked at the photograph.

Then I slowly raised my eyes toward the security cameras.

Someone was still inside my mansion.

And they were watching us.

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