Chapter 4 - The Toy with Eyes
The private security office in the basement of the Moretti estate was a fortress of steel and glass, lined with dozens of high-definition monitors displaying real-time feeds from every angle of the property.
Dante sat in a leather swivel chair, holding a warm cup of tea. Lily was sitting on a small stool beside him, eating a plate of chocolate chip cookies that the shaken kitchen staff had hastily prepared for her.
Mara stood near the door, nervously twisting her hands.
"Mr. Moretti," Mara said softly. "My mother is asking if we can go to the guest house. Lily needs to rest."
"Lily stays here," Dante said without turning around. "Where I can see her. You may sit down, Mara. You're safe."
Marcus finished plugging a black, encrypted hard drive into the main server rack. The large wall screen flickered to life, showing a clear, high-angle view of the marble library.
"Where is this camera hidden?" Marcus asked, surprised. "I personally checked the room for sweeps last month."
"Inside the eyes of the brass owl statue on the top shelf," Dante replied coldly. "I don't trust anyone, Marcus. Not even my own security team."
Dante leaned forward. "Fast-forward to 1:30 PM today."
The video sped up. The screen showed the quiet library. At 1:45 PM, Dante entered the room, sat at his desk, and began reading through a stack of folders.
At 2:02 PM, Thomas the valet entered the library carrying the silver tray with the glass of scotch. He set it on the side table near the leather chair and stepped back.
"Stop," Dante said. "Zoom in on the tray."
Marcus paused the footage and zoomed in. The video was crystal clear 4K resolution.
Thomas had placed the glass on the table. But he hadn't dropped anything into it. He simply set the tray down, bowed slightly, and walked out of the room.
"Wait," Marcus blinked. "Thomas didn't poison the glass?"
"Keep playing," Dante ordered.
For five minutes, the glass sat untouched on the table while Dante worked at his desk.
Then, at 2:09 PM, a figure entered the library from the side terrace door—a door that required an internal security code to unlock.
The person was wearing dark clothing and leather gloves. They stepped quickly up to the table, pulled a small glass vial from their pocket, unscrewed the cap, and poured the contents directly into the scotch.
"Zoom in on the face," Dante demanded, his voice dropping an octave.
Marcus enhanced the image, clearing the pixelation around the intruder's face as they turned toward the terrace door to exit.
When the image settled, a sharp, collective gasp filled the room.
It wasn't a guard.
It wasn't a rival syndicate member.
It was Julian Moretti—Dante's half-brother.
"Julian..." Marcus whispered in utter disbelief. "He... he tried to kill you?"
Dante didn't react with anger. His face became entirely emotionless, a stone mask carved from ice. "Julian has owed thirty million dollars to the New York syndicates for over a year. If I die without an heir, my share of the Moretti holdings transfers directly to him."
"That bastard," Marcus growled, reaching for his sidearm. "I'll put a bullet in his head right now."
"No," Dante said smoothly. "Shooting him is too simple. Look closer at the video, Marcus."
Marcus frowned, leaning closer to the screen. "What am I looking for?"
Dante pointed a long finger at the lower left corner of the screen.
May you like
Just as Julian was pouring the liquid into the glass, another figure was visible in the doorway of the library, watching him in absolute silence.
It was Mara—Lily's babysitter.
