Chapter 3
The storage room smelled of dust, rubber flooring, and old tennis nets.
Rocco entered with Michael and two bodyguards.
Grant had already demanded an attorney.
Bianca refused to answer questions.
Rocco did not need either of them yet.
The room itself was enough.
Half the shelves were empty.
A folding table stood against the back wall.
Four chairs surrounded it.
There were marks in the dust where heavy cases had recently been moved.
Michael pointed toward the service entrance.
“That door opens directly onto the lower ramp.”
Meaning someone could enter and leave without crossing the members’ lobby.
Rocco crouched beside a fresh tire mark.
“How long has this been happening?”
“I don’t know.”
Michael looked miserable.
“I thought Grant was conducting your business.”
That sentence followed Rocco back upstairs.
Your business.
His name.
His club.
His people.
And yet he had no idea what had been happening beneath his feet.
Rocco ordered every employee who worked the parking level during the previous three months to remain available for questioning.
He did not threaten anyone.
“Anyone who tells me the truth keeps their job.”
Several employees looked surprised.
That bothered him.
Apparently they expected fear before honesty.
One valet finally raised his hand.
He remembered expensive SUVs arriving after midnight.
Another employee remembered Grant ordering him to keep license plates out of the handwritten overnight log.
A third recalled Bianca bringing sealed envelopes downstairs.
None knew what was inside.
All believed Rocco had authorized it.
Michael looked at him.
Rocco understood the real problem.
Grant and Bianca had not needed to forge his signature.
They had something more useful.
His reputation.
Nobody questioned an order if they believed it came from Rocco Bellandi.
That evening, Rocco went home with Mia.
Her bedroom light stayed on all night.
At 2:03 a.m., she appeared in his doorway holding her stuffed rabbit.
“Daddy?”
Rocco sat up.
“Come here.”
Mia did not move.
“Is Bianca coming back?”
Rocco looked at his daughter.
May you like
“No.”
Only then did she cross the room.
