Chapter 15 - The Paris Escape|
Dawn broke over the Chicago skyline, casting pale orange light through the heavy smog.
Inside Bellavita, the crime scene tape had been cleared away by men who didn't wear police uniforms. The broken glass had been swept, the velvet curtains pulled shut, and the heavy front doors locked tight.
Elena sat at a corner table, wrapped in a heavy wool coat Matteo had given her. A hot cup of black coffee sat untouched before her.
Matteo stood near the bar, speaking in low, urgent tones to three senior lieutenants of the syndicate. They nodded respectfully, their faces filled with a mixture of fear and deference. The power shift had been swift and absolute. Matteo was no longer just an enforcer. He was the Don.
When the men finally left, bowing slightly as they exited through the back, Matteo walked over to Elena’s table and pulled out a chair.
He looked older in the morning light. The silver at his temples seemed more pronounced, the lines around his eyes deeper.
"My men cleared your apartment," Matteo said quietly. "It wasn't burned as badly as Luca thought. Your mother's personal belongings are safe in a secure storage unit."
"Thank you," Elena said, her voice flat.
"I’ve arranged a trust fund for you," Matteo continued, placing a black leather folder on the table between them. "Five million dollars. A new identity, if you want it. A house anywhere in the country."
Elena looked at the folder, then up into Matteo's dark eyes.
"You're buying my silence?" she asked.
"No," Matteo said firmly. "I'm giving you the life your mother wanted for you. A life away from this violence. Away from me."
Elena touched the smooth leather of the folder. "And what happens to the ledger?"
"I burned it twenty minutes ago," Matteo replied smoothly.
Elena stared at him, trying to read his face. "You burned thirty years of blackmail material?"
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Matteo didn't answer immediately. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small piece of folded paper, placing it next to the folder.
It was a flight ticket to Paris, departing in four hours.
