Chapter 2
Marcus regained his arrogance before anyone else.
He adjusted his cuff.
Then smiled.
“There.”
His breathing had steadied.
“You wanted your explanation.”
Lorenzo said nothing.
Marcus continued.
“You authorized continuity protocols before leaving for Europe.”
Lorenzo’s eyes narrowed.
Six months earlier, Lorenzo had spent nearly eleven weeks abroad resolving a violent dispute between two Bellandi-connected businesses.
During that absence, Victoria and Marcus handled daily family operations.
Temporary authority had been real.
Lorenzo remembered signing it.
He did not remember signing this.
Anthony placed the document on the narrow silver console.
Lorenzo read every line.
His name.
His digital certification.
The Bellandi seal.
The wording matched his legal office.
Marcus watched his face.
“You’ve been gone more than you realize.”
Lorenzo slowly looked up.
“I’ve been back nine days.”
Marcus shrugged.
“Some arrangements don’t disappear because you walk through the front door.”
Nearby capos exchanged glances.
Power shifted.
Only slightly.
But Lorenzo felt it.
Victoria stepped closer.
Her pearl bracelet clicked softly against her wrist.
“You returned and immediately started reversing decisions you didn’t understand.”
Lorenzo’s gaze moved toward her.
“What decisions?”
“Security rotations.”
“Because half the men didn’t report to Anthony anymore.”
“Vendor relationships.”
“Because nobody could explain them.”
“Personnel.”
“Because Marcus promoted men I never approved.”
Victoria’s lips curved.
“Exactly.”
Lorenzo’s jaw tightened.
To her, those were proof he was destabilizing something.
To him, they were proof something had grown without him.
Then Claire Benton, the family’s outside attorney, entered the gallery.
She had been attending the welcome party downstairs.
Lorenzo handed her the document.
“Authenticate it.”
Marcus’s smile did not move.
Claire checked the certification code from her tablet.
Her expression changed.
“Lorenzo.”
“What?”
“The digital authorization is valid.”
The room went still.
He stared at her.
“Mine?”
“Yes.”
“Impossible.”
Claire looked again.
“It came through your secure identity system.”
Victoria folded her hands.
She said nothing.
She did not need to.
Several capos now looked uncertain.
Lorenzo felt Isabella’s small hand inside his.
He looked down.
The child was staring at Marcus.
Not the ring.
Marcus noticed.
His smile faded.
Lorenzo crouched again.
“What?”
Isabella whispered:
“Uncle Marcus used Daddy’s voice.”
Every head turned.
Marcus’s face emptied.
Lorenzo’s eyes sharpened.
“What do you mean?”
Isabella touched her throat.
“He talked like you.”
Victoria closed her eyes.
Only for a second.
Too late.
Lorenzo saw.
Then Isabella pointed toward the concealed wall.
“There’s a box that talks.”
Anthony immediately turned back toward the passage.
Marcus moved toward him.
Three capos stepped between them.
No orders were needed.
Anthony disappeared behind the wall.
When he returned, he held a small audio device.
Claire inspected it.
Then looked at Lorenzo.
“It’s a voice-authentication terminal.”
Marcus’s confidence finally cracked.
Because Lorenzo’s secure authorization system did not require only a password.
May you like
For certain emergency commands—
it required his voice.
