Chapter 5
Celeste smiled.
Not frightened.
Almost pleased.
“Finally.”
Rocco stared.
She stood beside Salvatore’s chair.
“You've spent an hour circling the obvious.”
“What obvious?”
“That your security is lazy.”
Matteo stiffened.
Celeste looked toward him.
“Don't glare.”
“If an engaged woman can discover how your dead boss summoned armed men, somebody else can too.”
Rocco watched her.
“You were testing it?”
Celeste’s smile sharpened.
“Maybe.”
Vincent looked disgusted.
“You don't test a war signal before your wedding.”
Sebastian laughed.
“Old men hear one bell and start smelling gunpowder.”
Vincent turned.
Sebastian continued.
“You want to know why your generation is losing?”
“Because every corridor has a story.”
“Every chair has a sacred ass.”
“Every bell is a prophecy.”
Donna looked down.
Sebastian noticed and smirked.
“And every old woman is untouchable.”
Rocco’s eyes hardened.
Sebastian smiled wider.
“There's your face again.”
He pointed.
“The one that says nobody can speak honestly because Donna might cry.”
Donna whispered:
“I didn't ask him to protect me.”
Sebastian looked at her.
“No.”
His voice became crueler.
“You just trained him to.”
Donna flinched.
Sebastian leaned closer.
“You raised a boss who still checks whether his mother approves.”
Rocco stepped forward.
Vincent placed one hand on Rocco’s arm.
Not stopping him.
Reminding him.
Sebastian saw it.
His smile became triumphant.
“There.”
“Still managed by old people.”
Rocco removed Vincent’s hand gently.
Then looked at Sebastian.
“You want me angry.”
Sebastian’s smile weakened.
“A little late for insight.”
“No.”
Rocco’s voice remained calm.
“You need me angry.”
The chamber quieted.
Celeste’s eyes narrowed.
Rocco looked around.
“You bring my mother into the garage.”
“Humiliate her.”
“Let Sebastian challenge me.”
“Sit in my father’s chair.”
“Ring an old signal.”
His gaze returned to Celeste.
“You keep pushing.”
Her smile returned.
“Maybe you're easy to push.”
Rocco did not react.
That irritated her more.
Then Vincent spoke.
“They asked me one question.”
Rocco looked toward him.
“What?”
“What happens if Rocco attacks the Hale family before the wedding?”
Silence.
Celeste’s face hardened.
Sebastian turned sharply.
Vincent continued.
“I said half Boston assumes the alliance is broken.”
Rocco’s eyes moved toward Sebastian.
Vincent added:
“And three crews on the North Shore immediately choose sides.”
Celeste’s jaw tightened.
Rocco finally understood part of the structure.
They wanted a public rupture.
Not necessarily a secret coup.
A split.
Rocco looked at Celeste.
“You wanted me to strike first.”
She laughed.
“You already did.”
His expression did not change.
“Not enough.”
Celeste’s smile thinned.
Rocco continued.
“You wanted witnesses.”
“Capos.”
“Guests.”
“Men who carry stories.”
Sebastian stepped in.
“Or maybe you’re just trying to make your temper sound strategic after the fact.”
Rocco ignored him.
He looked toward Donna.
“Why the shoes?”
Donna swallowed.
“She said if I cleaned them…”
Her voice shook.
“…she would let Nora leave.”
Nora’s face changed.
Rocco turned toward the maid.
She began crying again.
Celeste rolled her eyes.
“Oh, for God's sake.”
Rocco looked back.
Celeste crossed her arms.
“She overheard a conversation.”
Nora whispered:
“I only brought towels.”
Celeste looked at her.
“And then stayed outside the door like a rat.”
Nora lowered her head.
Celeste smiled.
“You see?”
“Servants always remember innocence after they're caught listening.”
Rocco’s voice went cold.
“What did she hear?”
Celeste did not answer.
Nora did.
“Sebastian said…”
She struggled.
Rocco softened his voice.
“Say it.”
Nora looked toward Sebastian.
He smiled at her.
Not kindly.
“Go ahead.”
His voice became mocking.
“Tell your little story.”
Nora swallowed.
“He said the wedding bell wasn't for the guards.”
Rocco’s eyes narrowed.
Vincent stiffened.
Nora continued:
“He said it was for the guests.”
Celeste stopped moving.
Rocco caught it.
“What guests?”
Nora’s breathing shook.
“The ones waiting under the chapel.”
Silence.
Vincent stared.
Rocco looked toward the passage floor.
The old underground chamber connected to a second sealed entrance beneath the chapel crypt.
If that entrance had been reopened—
men could enter the estate without using any gate.
May you like
The bell was not meant to summon Bellacorte guards.
It was meant to tell hidden men when to come up.
