Chapter 9 - Matteo DeLuca smiled when Roman entered the office the following morning.
That was the most disturbing part.
He stood beside the executive desk with two cups of coffee and a folder containing security reports.
Exactly as he had done hundreds of times.
Gray suit.
Dark tie.
Silver watch.
No visible concern.
No indication that someone had fired three rifle rounds into a church less than nine hours earlier.
“Boss.”
Matteo placed the folder over the desk.
“We found the abandoned firing position.”
Roman removed his coat.
“Anything useful?”
“Professional equipment.”
“Wiped.”
Matteo shook his head.
“Shooter left 2 shell casings.”
“Probably deliberate.”
Roman sat.
“What caliber?”
“.308.”
“Common.”
“Yes.”
Matteo pushed one coffee toward him.
“No prints.”
Roman lifted the cup.
He drank.
Across the room, behind the door connecting the executive office to Tessa’s new workspace, Tessa listened.
She could not see Roman.
She did not need to.
The plan depended on performance.
Roman had wanted Matteo taken immediately.
Tessa stopped him.
Evidence came first.
Not because Matteo deserved legal procedure.
Because killing him without understanding the network would leave every hidden account, corrupt contact, and loyal operative intact.
Roman could remove a man.
Tessa wanted to remove the structure.
So Roman drank coffee prepared by the person they now believed had betrayed him for 10 years.
The act required more control than violence.
“Viktor?”
Matteo asked.
“Escaped.”
Roman’s voice remained flat.
“Lucia?”
“Still missing.”
Matteo sighed.
“I am sorry.”
Tessa’s fingers stopped over her keyboard.
The words sounded sincere.
That made them worse.
Roman responded.
“We will recover her.”
“Yes.”
Matteo said.
“We always recover our people.”
Tessa closed her eyes.
Roman remained silent for half a second too long.
Matteo noticed nothing.
Or pretended not to.
“You should rest.”
Matteo continued.
“You have not slept.”
“Neither have you.”
“That is what you pay me for.”
Roman opened the security folder.
Tessa heard paper moving.
“Where is Tessa?”
Matteo asked casually.
Tessa’s muscles tightened.
Roman turned a page.
“Safe residence.”
“Good.”
Matteo sounded relieved.
“She should remain away from the office until this is finished.”
“Why?”
A pause.
“She is valuable.”
Matteo replied.
“Viktor knows that.”
Roman’s voice became almost bored.
“Viktor requested her specifically.”
“So I heard.”
“How?”
Silence.
Only 1 second.
Then Matteo answered.
“Carmine mentioned it.”
Tessa typed a note.
Carmine had not mentioned it.
Not to Matteo.
Not to anyone outside the church operation.
First verified lie.
Roman continued naturally.
“Viktor claims someone inside the organization has been moving money.”
Another pause.
Tessa’s pulse quickened.
“Viktor claims many things.”
Matteo said.
“He is trying to make you suspicious.”
“He succeeded.”
Roman’s delivery remained dry.
Matteo laughed softly.
“Then he is more skilled than he was 10 years ago.”
Roman closed the folder.
“Review every captain.”
“All financial accounts.”
“All travel.”
“Everything.”
Tessa heard Matteo shift.
“You believe him?”
“I believe mathematics.”
Roman responded.
“That is Tessa’s influence.”
“Yes.”
Something entered Matteo’s voice.
Very small.
Contempt.
“She is changing how you operate.”
Roman stood.
“That is why I hired her.”
“She was hired to answer telephones.”
“No.”
Roman’s tone became colder.
“She was hired because she is competent.”
Silence.
Then Matteo recovered.
“Of course.”
“I meant no disrespect.”
Roman approached the door connecting Tessa’s office.
He did not open it.
“Find Saranov.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And Matteo?”
“Yes?”
“If anyone approaches Tessa, kill them.”
Matteo answered immediately.
“With pleasure.”
The outer entrance closed.
Roman remained motionless.
Tessa opened the connecting door.
They looked at each other.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Then Roman picked up the coffee Matteo had brought.
He threw it against the wall.
The cup shattered.
Dark liquid spread across the pale plaster.
“I want him downstairs.”
Roman’s voice was low.
“I want him tied to a chair.”
“I want every answer inside his skull.”
Tessa walked toward the desk.
“We have one lie.”
“One lie is enough.”
“No.”
Roman stared at her.
“It is enough for you emotionally.”
Tessa’s tone stayed controlled.
“It is not enough strategically.”
“He knew Viktor requested you.”
“Yes.”
“That information was restricted.”
“Yes.”
Roman gripped the edge of the desk.
“So we take him.”
“And then what?”
Tessa asked.
“We discover his bank passwords while his network realizes he disappeared?”
“We allow Shaw to destroy records?”
“We allow compromised employees to run?”
“Matteo has had years to prepare for interrogation.”
She moved closer.
“If Viktor is correct, Matteo has built an organization inside yours.”
Roman’s eyes were furious.
“I will burn it out.”
Tessa placed both hands against his chest.
“You will.”
Her voice softened.
“But not blindly.”
Roman looked down at her.
The contact controlled him better than a shouted command.
“We give Matteo what he wants.”
Tessa said.
“What?”
“Me.”
Roman’s entire body hardened.
“No.”
“Not physically.”
“No.”
Tessa sighed.
“You reject plans before hearing them.”
“When the first sentence contains giving you to a traitor, yes.”
“Roman.”
“No.”
She stared until he stopped speaking.
Then she continued.
“Matteo believes I discovered the financial irregularities.”
“He knows I am influencing you.”
“He wants me removed.”
“Yes.”
“So we create the opportunity.”
Roman’s expression became dangerous.
Tessa went to her computer.
“We leak a schedule.”
“A false one.”
“I will supposedly leave the secure residence tomorrow evening to meet an auditor.”
“Minimal security.”
“Predictable route.”
Roman understood.
“You want Matteo to attack.”
“I want him to activate people.”
Tessa corrected.
“We track communication.”
“Vehicles.”
“Financial movements.”
“Whoever responds becomes visible.”
Roman looked toward the window.
It was a good plan.
He hated it.
That was usually how Tessa recognized the best ones.
Carmine entered 15 minutes later.
When Tessa explained, his reaction matched Roman’s.
“No.”
She looked at him.
Carmine raised both hands.
“I respect you.”
“I genuinely do.”
“But absolutely not.”
Tessa folded her arms.
“Excellent.”
“Now that both men have completed the emotional portion of this meeting, can we discuss execution?”
Carmine looked toward Roman.
“She has become worse.”
“I know.”
Roman replied.
“I live with her.”
They prepared the trap.
At 4:00 p.m., Tessa intentionally sent an email through the corporate calendar.
Meeting: Independent Financial Review.
Tomorrow.
8:30 p.m.
Location: Harbor Trust Building.
She included a note instructing security that only one driver would be required.
The calendar entry remained visible to executive-level users.
Matteo.
Shaw.
Carmine.
Roman.
Tessa.
And the security director.
Five minutes passed.
Nothing.
Ten.
Nothing.
At 4:16, an encrypted data packet left the corporate network through an unauthorized secondary connection.
Tessa saw it.
She did not breathe.
“Someone transmitted.”
The technical specialist beside her nodded.
“We are tracing.”
The route passed through three external servers.
Then disappeared.
Roman stood behind Tessa.
“Whose workstation?”
“Not yet.”
The specialist typed.
“Connection bounced internally.”
“Could originate from any executive user.”
Tessa watched the screen.
At 4:21, Benedict Shaw left his office.
Security cameras showed him entering the men’s restroom.
No telephone visible.
At 4:23, Matteo made a call from his official device to Pier 12.
Routine.
At 4:24, Adrian Keller used an internal security terminal.
At 4:26, nothing.
Then the specialist spoke.
“We have a second transmission.”
“Source?”
Tessa asked.
The screen refreshed.
The signal originated from a printer.
Tessa frowned.
“A printer?”
“Executive floor.”
The technician magnified the route.
“Someone installed a hardware bridge.”
Tessa stood.
“Which printer?”
Three men moved.
Roman immediately reached for his weapon.
The technician looked up.
“Finance department.”
Benedict Shaw.
They crossed the executive corridor without running.
Running warned people.
Tessa moved beside Roman.
Carmine and two guards followed.
Shaw’s office entrance was open.
His assistant looked up.
“Mr. Valorie?”
“Where is Benedict?”
Roman asked.
“He left.”
“When?”
“Five minutes ago.”
“Where?”
“He did not say.”
Roman turned.
“Lock the building.”
Alarms did not sound.
Instead, security entrances quietly sealed.
Elevators stopped.
Garage barriers lowered.
Carmine used the radio.
“No one exits.”
Tessa entered Shaw’s office.
Clean desk.
Computer locked.
Family photograph.
Half-finished sparkling water.
She opened the printer panel.
A black device no larger than her thumb had been attached behind the network port.
“There.”
Roman looked at it.
Tessa did not touch.
“Shaw was transmitting information.”
“Or someone wanted us to believe he was.”
Carmine stared at her.
“How suspicious do you need to become before you accept that people occasionally are guilty?”
“Very.”
Tessa replied.
“It keeps Roman alive.”
A security guard called through the radio.
“Vehicle movement in garage level 2.”
“Black Mercedes.”
“Employee plate registered to Mr. Shaw.”
Roman moved.
They reached the garage less than 2 minutes later.
The Mercedes had not escaped.
It had crashed into the lowered barrier.
Driver door open.
No Shaw.
Blood marked the steering wheel.
Tessa approached slowly.
“Do not touch anything.”
Roman looked around.
Carmine pointed toward the service corridor.
“Blood trail.”
They followed.
The trail ended near an emergency stairwell.
Benedict Shaw lay over the concrete landing.
Alive.
Barely.
A knife wound darkened his shirt.
Roman crouched beside him.
“Benedict.”
Shaw opened his eyes.
Fear entered them.
Not fear of Roman.
Urgency.
“He knows.”
Shaw whispered.
Roman leaned closer.
“Who?”
Shaw coughed.
Blood touched his lip.
“Tessa.”
His eyes found her behind Roman.
“He knows you found the transfers.”
Tessa stepped forward.
“Matteo?”
Shaw’s face changed.
That was answer enough.
“Why were you running?”
she asked.
Shaw struggled for breath.
“Because I helped him.”
Roman became completely still.
Shaw looked toward him.
“Years.”
His voice cracked.
“I moved money.”
“I changed summaries.”
Roman said nothing.
Shaw began crying.
“I never knew about Salvatore.”
“I swear.”
“Matteo said it was only money.”
“He said nobody got hurt.”
Tessa crouched.
“Where is he moving the funds?”
“Account numbers are inside my home safe.”
Shaw’s body shook.
“He told me to destroy them tonight.”
“I refused.”
“Why?”
Tessa asked.
Shaw looked toward Roman.
“Because he said Lucia is already dead.”
Roman’s face emptied.
Shaw continued desperately.
“And Tessa is next.”
A suppressed gunshot sounded from the upper garage.
The round struck Shaw directly through the chest.
Carmine pulled Tessa backward.
Roman turned.
Another shot hit concrete.
“Cover!”
Men moved behind vehicles.
Tessa pressed against the side of an armored SUV.
Shaw lay motionless several feet away.
Roman raised his weapon but had no target.
The shooter had fired through the open stairwell from above.
Footsteps retreated.
Carmine shouted into the radio.
“Level 3!”
“Seal everything!”
Roman looked toward Tessa.
She was unharmed.
Then his eyes returned to Shaw.
The only witness who had started speaking was dead.
Tessa understood immediately.
“This was not an escape.”
She said.
Roman looked at her.
“Shaw was bait.”
Her voice became cold.
“Matteo knew we would discover the transmitter.”
“He wanted Shaw blamed.”
“When Shaw ran, Matteo killed him.”
Roman’s expression became almost peaceful.
The kind of peace that arrived before destruction.
Carmine’s radio crackled.
A guard’s voice came through.
“We found the shooter’s position.”
“Empty.”
“Security camera shows a maintenance uniform.”
“Face covered.”
Tessa stood.
“Matteo will disappear.”
Roman shook his head.
“No.”
His voice was soft.
“He believes we still lack proof against him.”
Tessa looked toward Shaw’s body.
“He does not know what Shaw told us.”
Roman met her eyes.
A dark understanding passed between them.
“Then we make him believe Shaw died before speaking.”
Tessa said.
Roman’s mouth curved.
There was no warmth in it.
For the first time since discovering the betrayal, Roman looked less angry.
He looked focused.
“Tomorrow night.”
he said.
“We give Matteo his opportunity.”
Tessa understood.
The false financial meeting would continue.
May you like
The trap had not failed.
It had become real.
