Chapter 7
Vivienne laughed.
Too late.
Too loud.
“You're turning string into kidnapping now?”
Alessandro removed the black thread from the can.
Nico took one look.
“Three knots.”
His expression hardened.
“Child transfer.”
Gerald stepped forward.
“That's Marzano superstition.”
Nico looked at him.
“No.”
“It was used by your people twenty years ago.”
Gerald’s smile thinned.
Vivienne’s eyes flashed.
Alessandro heard the distinction.
“Cross people.”
Nico nodded.
“Back when their father ran transport through the old north road.”
Gerald’s posture changed.
Alessandro looked toward him.
“Where does three knots go?”
Nico hesitated.
Then:
“Saint Agnes.”
Vivienne snapped:
“Enough.”
Every eye moved toward her.
She realized.
Too late again.
Alessandro stood.
“You know it.”
She lifted her chin.
“Everyone old enough knows Saint Agnes.”
“No.”
His voice stayed low.
“You know what was going there.”
Vivienne’s face hardened.
Then she smiled again.
“Fine.”
Gerald whispered:
“Vivienne.”
She ignored him.
“Lily was going to Saint Agnes for two hours.”
Nora’s face went white.
“What?”
Vivienne rolled her eyes.
“Stop acting like I planned to bury her.”
Her gaze moved toward Alessandro.
“The old convent sits outside Carbone territory.”
“Nobody would touch her there.”
Alessandro stared.
“And while she was gone?”
Vivienne smiled.
“You would be told Nico’s people had taken her.”
Nico cursed under his breath.
Gerald’s jaw tightened.
There it was.
The real shape.
A staged disappearance.
Alessandro’s daughter safe but unreachable.
An exiled faction blamed.
And every capo watching what Alessandro chose next.
Vivienne stepped closer.
“This family has spent years whispering that you became soft after Lily.”
Her eyes were bright now.
Almost triumphant.
“I was going to end the whispering.”
“By taking my daughter.”
“By giving you a choice.”
Her voice sharpened.
“Sit in your chair and remain Boss.”
“Or run after your little girl like a frightened widower.”
The cruelty hit harder because she said it calmly.
Nora stared.
“You're sick.”
Vivienne turned.
“And you're fat, sentimental, and employed.”
Her lip curled.
“None of those things make your opinion relevant.”
Nora’s face flushed.
Lily looked upset.
Alessandro stepped forward.
Vivienne’s attention returned to him.
“You wanted the truth.”
She smiled.
“There it is.”
Gerald finally looked irritated.
“You weren't supposed to explain this here.”
Vivienne laughed.
“Oh, now you're concerned?”
Gerald’s eyes hardened.
Alessandro watched.
A crack.
Nico saw it too.
Alessandro asked:
“What happens if I stay?”
Vivienne’s smile widened.
“You prove you can still put the family above one child.”
“And if I leave?”
Gerald answered.
“Then the capos learn something.”
Alessandro looked at him.
Gerald’s voice became smug.
“That your chair is empty whenever Lily cries.”
A few capos bristled.
Gerald saw them.
“Don't look offended.”
He pointed around the garden.
“Half of you have said it privately.”
Silence.
He smiled.
“There.”
The accusation landed because it was partly true.
Then Nora spoke.
“Vivienne asked me something last week.”
Alessandro looked toward her.
Nora’s breathing shook.
“She asked if Lily slept through the night when you weren't home.”
Vivienne’s face hardened.
Nora continued.
“She asked whether Lily would follow me if I told her you were waiting outside.”
Alessandro’s eyes became cold.
Vivienne snapped:
“I was testing you.”
Nora stared.
“Why?”
Vivienne smiled.
“Because after the wedding, I needed to know which servants were useful.”
There it was.
May you like
Lily’s disappearance had not been the first test.
Nora had been under evaluation for weeks.
