Chapter 4 - The Snake Tattoo
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The temperature in the hospital room plummeted to freezing.
Dante stood up slowly, his jaw clenched so tightly a muscle feathered near his ear. He looked at Nina, then at Elina, before his dark eyes settled back on the door.
"A snake on his hand," Dante repeated, his voice barely a whisper, yet carrying the lethal weight of a loaded gun.
Elina grabbed Mia’s hand, pulling the child protectively against her legs. "Mr. Moretti, she just has an active imagination. She watches cartoons—"
"Do not insult my intelligence, Elina," Dante interrupted coldly. "And do not diminish what your daughter just told me."
He pulled out his phone, dialing his head of security. "Lorenzo. I need the security footage from the east wing corridor for the past forty-eight hours. Right now."
"Boss, the cameras in the east wing were taken offline for maintenance yesterday afternoon," Lorenzo’s voice crackled through the speaker. "Vincenzo ordered it."
Dante’s blood turned to ice. Vincenzo. His oldest capo, a man who had served their father before them. A man who had a distinct, coiled serpent tattooed across the webbing of his right hand.
"Find Vincenzo," Dante commanded. "Bring him to the basement. Do not let him speak to anyone."
Dante hung up the phone and turned to Nina. "Pack your bags, Nina. Gather whatever medical supplies you need to keep him alive. We are moving Matteo."
"Moving him?" Nina asked, her eyes widening. "He’s in critical condition. Transporting him could trigger a cerebral hemorrhage."
"Leaving him here guarantees he gets a lethal injection before midnight," Dante stated brutally. "This house is no longer safe."
Dante looked at Elina, who was shaking visibly. "You and the child are coming with us."
"No!" Elina protested, taking a step backward. "Please, sir, we don't want any part of this. Let us go. We won't say a word to anyone."
"Vincenzo knows the child saw him," Dante said, closing the distance between them. He towered over the frightened maid, but he did not raise his hands. "In my world, witnesses do not get to walk away. If I leave you here, he will slaughter you and your daughter to cover his tracks. You are under my protection now."
Elina looked down at Mia, who was humming quietly, completely oblivious to the fact that she had just exposed a mafia coup.
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"Where are we going?" Elina whispered, her voice trembling.
"To a ghost house," Dante replied. "A place that doesn't exist on any map."
