Chapter 64 The call

Chapter 64 The call
Alessandro
I stood there, staring at the remnants of my wife, and felt something crack open inside me. They had known. They had known about the tracker, had probably known about it all along. They'd led us here deliberately, wasting our time, demonstrating their superiority while they moved Bianca somewhere we couldn't follow.

Jennifer. It had to be Jennifer. She was the only one outside my immediate circle who knew about the trackers. I'd had one made for her during our engagement, back when I'd still believed that our union was inevitable, when I'd cared enough about her safety to take precautions. She had remembered, and she had told them. She had probably planned this entire thing.

Rage, hot and blinding, threatened to consume me. My hands shook as I picked up the broken necklace, the metal cold in my palm. I could see it so clearly now,Jennifer orchestrating this, using her intimate knowledge of my security measures against me, working with Marco to create the perfect betrayal. But why? Revenge for being cast aside? An attempt to force me back to her? Or something else, something deeper and more dangerous?
"Alessandro." Salvatore's voice cut through the fog of fury. He was holding Bianca's sweater, and his face was grim. "There's something here. Feel the weight."

He handed me the sweater, and I immediately understood what he meant. There was something in one of the pockets—a small, hard shape. I reached in and pulled out a phone. Not Bianca's phone, which had been left behind at the café. This was a burner, cheap and anonymous.

It rang in my hand.

I answered without hesitation, already knowing who would be on the other end.

"Alessandro." Jennifer's voice was smooth as silk, tinged with satisfaction. "I hope you enjoyed your little treasure hunt. Did you appreciate the attention to detail? I thought the folded sweater was a nice touch. It shows respect, don't you think?"
"Where is she," I said, my voice deadly calm despite the inferno raging inside me.
"Safe. Comfortable, even. I'm not a monster, Alessandro. I just needed to correct a mistake. Your mistake. Do you remember what you promised me? What our families agreed to?"

"That arrangement ended when you."
"When I what?" she interrupted, her voice suddenly sharp.

"When I had the audacity to expect you to honor your commitments? When I refused to be humiliated publicly by your infatuation with some little mafia princess playing at being innocent?"

"Bianca has nothing to do with our past."

"She has everything to do with it!" The smooth veneer cracked, revealing the anger beneath.

"She is the embodiment of your disrespect. You cast me aside for her. You broke your word, damaged your family's alliance with mine, all for what? Love?" She spat the word like a curse. "You're not a man who gets to choose love over duty, Alessandro. None of us are. And I'm going to remind you of that."
"If you hurt her."
"You'll what? Come after me? Please do. I'm counting on it, actually,because when you do, you'll have to face some difficult choices. Your wife or your position? Your heart or your legacy? It's going to be fascinating to watch you try to reconcile those competing interests."

The line went dead.

I stood there, the cheap phone in one hand, the broken necklace in the other, and felt the hope shatter, leaving behind a void colder than the grave. Jennifer wasn't just taking revenge. She was trying to force a crisis, to make me choose between my personal desires and my family's interests. It was a calculated gambit, one that demonstrated how well she still understood the world we inhabited.
"We need to move," Salvatore said quietly. "If she called, it means they're already moving Bianca again. They used the tracker to lead us here, to waste time."

He was right. Every minute we stood here was a minute Bianca got further away. I pocketed the phone and the necklace I would keep them, both as evidence and as reminders of how badly I'd underestimated Jennifer's capacity for vengeance.

"Get me everything," I said, my voice cold with purpose. "Every asset Jennifer Vitale controls, every property, every business, every connection. I want her financial records, her phone logs, her movements for the past six months. And find me Marco's contacts, his bank accounts, his family. Someone knows where they've taken my wife, and I will tear this city apart until I find them."

We moved back through the warehouse, faster now, with purpose. The rain had intensified, coming down in sheets that made the night almost opaque. As I climbed back into the SUV, I caught sight of my reflection in the darkened window—my face was a mask of cold fury, my eyes dead and hard. I looked like my father in his worst moments, like the monster people whispered about in quiet corners.
Good. Let them whisper. Let them fear. Because I was about to become everything they suspected I was, and God help anyone who stood between me and getting Bianca back.
My phone rang again,not the burner, my personal line. Luca Morena's name appeared on the screen. I closed my eyes briefly, steeling myself for what was coming. Then I answered.
"She's gone," I said before he could speak, the admission like acid in my throat. "Taken by Jennifer Vitale. I failed to protect her, Luca. The fault is entirely mine."
There was a long silence on the other end of the line, the kind of silence that precedes violence.
"Come to my home," he said finally, his voice unnaturally calm. "We need to talk. And Alessandro? Come alone. Just you and Salvatore. This conversation requires privacy."
The line went dead.