Chapter 5 - The Web of Betrayal
The study was bathed in the warm, orange glow of the fireplace, but the air inside was cold enough to freeze blood.
Dante sat behind his mahogany desk, a glass of untasted whiskey resting beside a silver laptop. Standing across from him were Marco and three of his most trusted capos.
"We ran the records from St. Jude’s," Marco reported, his tone grim. "Dr. Harrison—the head surgeon who handled the delivery ten months ago—received a three-million-dollar wire transfer from an offshore account in Grand Cayman four days after Sophia died."
"Where is Harrison now?" Dante asked, his voice deathly calm.
"He left the country three months ago. Living in a high-security villa in Mexico. Protected by Marcus Vance’s men."
Dante leaned back in his leather chair, steepling his fingers. "Marcus Vance thought he could play the long game. He thought he could steal my biological child from a girl he thought had no family, put him in my arms, and wait until Leo was old enough to inherit the Sterling Trust before revealing the truth to destroy my credibility with the Board."
"And Sophia?" Marco asked quietly.
Dante’s eyes darkened with an ancient pain. "Sophia was barren. We knew it for three years. She went to a private fertility clinic in Sacramento... the same clinic where Elina Valdez’s records were stored. Sophia paid a surrogate coordinator to find a match. She didn't tell me because she was afraid I would leave her if she couldn't give me an heir."
He looked at the security monitor on his desk.
On the screen, Elina was lying on the massive king-sized bed in the nursery upstairs. Leo was curled tightly against her side, his small hand clutching her cardigan as they both slept peacefully under the soft glow of a nightlight.
"Sophia brought Elina to San Francisco to keep her close during the pregnancy," Dante continued softly. "But Marcus Vance found out. He staged the hit-and-run to kill Elina after the baby was born, intending to take the child for himself. But Elina survived. And the baby ended up with me."
"So what do we do now, Boss?" Marco asked, drawing his sidearm slightly from its holster. "Do we hit Vance's docks tonight?"
"No," Dante said, standing up and pulling his tailored suit jacket on. "Marcus Vance thinks Elina is still a broke waitress living in a tenement. He doesn't know she's in this house. He doesn't know her memory is returning."
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He looked down at his desk, picking up a heavy silver signet ring—the symbol of the Sterling Syndicate.
"We are going to throw a party," Dante said, a cold, predatory smile spreading across his face. "The annual Syndicate Gala at the Grand Plaza. And I am going to introduce my son's biological mother to the entire city."
