Chapter 5 – THE ORPHANAGE TICKET AND THE POCKET WATCH

“You took my niece as collateral?”

Matteo’s voice was barely a whisper, but it made the chandeliers seem to tremble.

Celeste grabbed her father’s arm. “Dad, what are you talking about? You said Leo’s daughter went to a boarding school in Switzerland!”

“She’s in an orphanage in upstate New York,” Richard spat, glaring at Matteo. “Under a fake name. Untraceable. Unless I make a phone call, she stays there forever.”

I looked at the birth certificate in my hands. A six-year-old girl, traded like poker chips by her own father, held hostage by a monster.

Arthur stepped forward. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gold watch—the one Celeste had tried to take from him just an hour ago.

“Richard,” Arthur said evenly. “Do you know why Salvatore engraved this watch for me?”

Richard wiped blood from his lip. “Because you were his lapdog.”

“Because I kept his secrets,” Arthur corrected.

He popped the gold cover open. With a small butter knife from the nearest table, Arthur pried the back casing of the watch off.

A tiny, folded piece of microfiche fell into Arthur’s palm.

Matteo stared at it. “What is that?”

“Your father didn’t put the real ledger in the coffin, Matteo,” Arthur said softly. “He knew Leo was weak. He knew graverobbers existed. He put a fake ledger in the casket. The real ledger—the list of every judge, politician, and syndicate boss your father owned—has been inside my watch for five years.”

Richard Vale’s eyes bulged. “You have the real ledger?”

Arthur nodded. “And I know exactly what’s on it, Richard. Including the four illegal casinos you run through shell companies. The ones the FBI has been trying to find since 2018.”

Arthur looked at Matteo. “Salvatore told me to only use this to protect the family.”

Matteo understood immediately.

He stepped up to Richard. “Here is the deal, Richard. You write down the exact location and fake name of my niece right now. In exchange, Arthur doesn’t hand this microfiche to the federal prosecutor tomorrow morning.”

Richard looked at the watch, then at Arthur. He was trapped.

With shaking hands, Richard took out a pen and wrote an address on a napkin.

“Saint Jude’s Home,” Richard whispered. “Her name is listed as Lily Davis.”

Matteo snatched the napkin.

“Luca,” Matteo barked. “Throw them out. If I ever see them in this city again, I’ll bury them myself.”

Luca dragged Richard out the door. Celeste looked back at Matteo, tears ruining her makeup.

“Matteo, please!”

The doors slammed shut.

The dining room was dead quiet. The guests had fled to the edges of the room.

Matteo looked at Arthur. “You kept the empire in your pocket for five years.”

Arthur smiled weakly. “I told you, son. Servants don’t wear family heirlooms.”

But as Matteo reached for the microfiche, Arthur’s knees suddenly buckled.

The old man collapsed onto the marble floor, clutching his chest.

“Arthur!” I screamed, dropping to my knees.

As I ripped open Arthur’s collar to check his pulse, I saw something that made my blood run cold.

Tattooed over Arthur’s heart was a black crest. The exact same crest Richard Vale wore on his pinky ring.

Share