Chapter 7
Anthony Russo asked to speak privately.
We went into my study.
He remained standing.
“I should have stopped it.”
“Which part?”
His face tightened.
“More than one.”
Good.
He had noticed Mother eating less.
He asked Hattie once.
She said Adelaide had become stubborn about meals.
Anthony accepted that.
Why?
Because Mother had always been stubborn.
Easy explanation.
Then he saw Nolan arriving at the estate repeatedly while I was away.
Not unusual.
Then Bianca disappeared.
Hattie told everyone she had gone away after an argument with me.
Anthony knew we had not argued.
He almost called.
Almost.
I looked at him.
“Why didn’t you?”
His answer was painful because it was not cowardice exactly.
“You were handling something serious.”
“So?”
“I thought if Bianca wanted space, dragging you home would humiliate her.”
Respect.
Misapplied.
Then Mother stopped coming downstairs.
Anthony asked to see her.
Hattie said no.
That should have ended his hesitation.
It did not.
Why?
Because Hattie was family.
Blood creates terrible exemptions.
“I should have walked upstairs.”
“Yes.”
No comforting lie.
Then Anthony told me something useful.
The day Bianca vanished, he saw Graham’s car.
He also saw another man nearby.
Not one of Nolan’s regular people.
“Who?”
“Evan Hale.”
Nolan’s younger brother.
I had not heard the name in years.
Evan wanted nothing to do with Mafia life.
Owned a small transport company.
Why was he there?
Anthony did not know.
Nolan did.
His face later told me.
We found Evan that afternoon.
He was furious.
At Nolan.
Not me.
Nolan told him Bianca and an old friend needed discreet transportation because of a marital crisis.
Evan provided a car and driver.
Then discovered the passengers were being restrained.
He confronted Nolan.
Nolan threatened to pull every Carbone-related contract from his company.
Evan backed away.
Another person controlled through assumptions about my authority.
Again.
Nolan never needed permission.
He needed people to believe defying him might reach me.
May you like
I was starting to see the real pattern.
My name had become a shadow large enough for other people to hide inside.
