Chapter 2 — The Man Sitting on His Right
For one second, nobody breathed.
Gabriel Costello stared at Vincent.
Vincent stared back.
The silence inside VIP Room Seven was so complete that Chloe could hear the faint ticking of the wall clock.
9:17 p.m.
She remembered the time because Beatrice had pointed at that clock when she warned her.
Before midnight.
Three hours.
Three hours until something happened.
Or someone died.
Chloe suddenly wished she had never understood a single word of sign language.
She wished she had walked into this room, placed the plates on the table, smiled politely, and walked back to the kitchen.
Instead, she was standing beside a mafia boss who was looking at his lieutenant as if he had just discovered a loaded gun beneath his pillow.
Gabriel's voice was quiet.
“What did you say?”
Chloe swallowed.
“Your mother said—”
“I heard you.”
His eyes never left Vincent.
“What exactly did she say?”
Chloe looked at Beatrice.
The older woman was pale.
Her hands trembled.
But she nodded.
Tell him.
Chloe turned back.
“She said the man sitting on your right is going to betray you tonight.”
One of the men at the far end of the table shifted in his chair.
Another reached beneath his jacket.
Gabriel raised one finger.
The man immediately stopped.
Vincent gave a short laugh.
It sounded forced.
“Come on, Gabriel.”
Gabriel didn't answer.
Vincent looked at Chloe.
“You've known her for what? Thirty seconds?”
Chloe didn't respond.
“She's old,” Vincent continued. “She's frightened. She doesn't hear what's happening around her. She could have misunderstood something.”
Beatrice suddenly slammed both palms against the table.
Everyone jumped.
Her hands moved rapidly.
Angrily.
Chloe understood every word.
“Don't you dare call me confused.”
Chloe translated.
Vincent's face hardened.
Beatrice continued.
“She has never been confused about you.”
Gabriel finally looked at his mother.
“Mom.”
Beatrice turned toward him.
Her hands moved.
“You have been warned before.”
Gabriel frowned.
“About Vincent?”
Beatrice shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed toward the floor.
Then toward the walls.
Then toward the men.
Chloe didn't understand.
Beatrice repeated the signs.
“Someone inside.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
“Someone inside what?”
Beatrice pointed at him.
Then herself.
Then made a gesture Chloe recognized.
Family.
Gabriel went still.
“Family?”
Beatrice nodded.
Vincent suddenly pushed his chair backward.
“I'm done with this.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Sit down.”
Vincent stopped.
Something in Gabriel's voice made the entire room freeze.
Vincent slowly sat.
Chloe could feel her heartbeat in her throat.
She wanted to leave.
Now.
Immediately.
But Beatrice reached for her hand.
Chloe looked down.
The older woman's fingers closed around hers.
Warm.
Weak.
Desperate.
Then Beatrice signed something Chloe hadn't expected.
“Please stay.”
Chloe stared at her.
Beatrice's eyes pleaded.
Chloe nodded.
“Okay.”
Gabriel heard her.
His gaze shifted toward Chloe.
“You're staying.”
It wasn't a question.
Chloe looked at him.
“I think your mother wants me here.”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“You think?”
“She asked me.”
Gabriel looked at Beatrice.
His mother nodded.
For several seconds, mother and son simply stared at each other.
Then Gabriel pulled out the chair beside him.
“Sit.”
Chloe hesitated.
“I have other tables.”
“I'll pay for your time.”
“That isn't how my job works.”
“I'll speak to your manager.”
“That definitely isn't how my job works.”
One of the men almost smiled.
Gabriel didn't.
But Chloe noticed something.
His eyes changed.
Just slightly.
Not anger.
Interest.
“You're not afraid of me.”
Chloe looked at him.
“I am.”
That answer surprised him.
“But I'm more afraid of losing my job.”
A tiny movement appeared at the corner of Gabriel's mouth.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
“Sit.”
Chloe sat.
She had never been this close to Gabriel Costello.
From across the restaurant, he had looked untouchable.
From three feet away, he looked tired.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
There were shadows beneath his eyes.
The kind that came from sleeping badly for years.
His hands rested on the table.
No rings.
No watch.
Nothing that announced his wealth.
Yet everyone in the room waited for his decisions.
Chloe wondered how a person became someone like him.
She immediately regretted wondering.
Gabriel looked toward his men.
“Everyone out.”
Vincent stared at him.
“Gabriel—”
“Everyone.”
Nobody argued.
Chairs moved.
Shoes crossed the floor.
Within twenty seconds, only five people remained.
Gabriel.
Beatrice.
Vincent.
Chloe.
And one man standing near the door.
Gabriel looked at him.
“You too.”
The man nodded and left.
The door closed.
Gabriel turned toward Vincent.
“Now.”
Vincent folded his hands.
“What?”
“My mother says you're going to betray me tonight.”
Vincent leaned back.
“Your mother has been trying to tell you that everyone is dangerous for twenty years.”
Beatrice immediately signed.
Chloe watched.
“She says you are lying.”
Vincent looked at Chloe.
“Of course she does.”
Chloe translated.
Beatrice pointed toward Vincent.
Then made another sign.
Chloe frowned.
She didn't recognize it immediately.
It was an older variation.
Leo had used it once.
A sign for secret.
But Beatrice wasn't saying secret.
She was saying hidden.
Something hidden.
“Your mother says something is hidden.”
Gabriel's expression changed.
“Where?”
Beatrice looked around.
Then pointed toward Gabriel.
His jacket.
His chest.
Then toward the floor.
Chloe couldn't understand.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “I don't know.”
Beatrice closed her eyes.
She looked frustrated.
Then she pointed toward the ceiling.
The chandelier.
Then toward the wall.
Finally, she touched her own necklace.
Her pearls.
Gabriel stood.
He walked toward her.
“Mom, what are you trying to tell me?”
Beatrice removed the pearl necklace.
She placed it in his hand.
Gabriel stared at it.
“What?”
Beatrice pointed at the clasp.
Gabriel examined it.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Then Chloe noticed something.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
She pointed.
“There.”
A tiny black mark was carved into the silver clasp.
Three lines.
Then a small circle.
Gabriel's expression became unreadable.
Vincent stood.
“What is that?”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Sit.”
Vincent sat.
Chloe stared at the mark.
It felt familiar.
Not because she had seen the symbol before.
Because Beatrice was frightened of it.
Gabriel turned the clasp over.
There was another mark.
A tiny number.
Seven.
Gabriel's fingers tightened.
“Where did you get this?”
Beatrice pointed toward the restaurant.
Then toward Chloe.
Chloe blinked.
“Me?”
Beatrice nodded.
Gabriel looked at Chloe.
“Have you seen this before?”
“No.”
Beatrice shook her head.
She signed again.
Chloe watched carefully.
Her hands moved slowly.
“Not here.”
Gabriel leaned closer.
“Where?”
Beatrice pointed at Chloe.
Then made the sign for brother.
Chloe froze.
Her stomach dropped.
“Leo?”
Beatrice nodded.
The name seemed to drain the warmth from the room.
Chloe stared at her.
“How do you know my brother?”
Beatrice didn't answer.
Instead, she reached into her handbag.
Gabriel watched.
Vincent watched.
Beatrice pulled out a small envelope.
Old.
Yellowed.
The edges were worn.
She placed it on the table.
Then pushed it toward Chloe.
Chloe didn't touch it.
“What is that?”
Beatrice signed.
“Your brother.”
Chloe's breathing stopped.
“No.”
Beatrice nodded.
“No,” Chloe whispered.
She pushed the envelope back.
“My brother is dead.”
Beatrice grabbed it and pushed it toward her again.
“Open it.”
Chloe looked at Gabriel.
He was staring at the envelope.
“What does she mean?”
Chloe's voice trembled.
“She says it's about Leo.”
Gabriel's face hardened.
“Open it.”
Chloe stared at him.
“You knew about him?”
“No.”
“Then why do you sound like you expected this?”
Gabriel didn't answer.
Vincent suddenly spoke.
“Maybe you should leave.”
Chloe looked at him.
He was staring at the envelope.
Not at her.
At the envelope.
His face had lost its color.
Chloe noticed.
So did Gabriel.
Gabriel turned slowly.
“Why?”
Vincent looked at him.
“Why what?”
“Why should she leave?”
Vincent hesitated.
“I don't know what your mother is doing.”
Gabriel stood.
“Neither do I.”
His eyes remained on Vincent.
“But you're scared.”
Vincent's jaw tightened.
“I'm not scared.”
“You are.”
“I said I'm not.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“You looked at that envelope before you looked at Chloe.”
Vincent said nothing.
Chloe's hands went cold.
Gabriel returned to the table.
“Open it.”
This time, Chloe obeyed.
Her fingers shook as she broke the seal.
Inside was a photograph.
Old.
Slightly faded.
A young man stood beside a black sedan.
Chloe recognized him immediately.
Leo.
Her little brother.
Alive.
Smiling.
Standing beside someone she didn't recognize.
A man in a dark coat.
Chloe stared.
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
She turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
Three words.
DON'T TRUST THEM.
Chloe's vision blurred.
“Where did this come from?”
Beatrice touched the photograph.
Then pointed toward the man beside Leo.
Chloe looked at him.
“Who is he?”
Beatrice shook her head.
She pointed at Gabriel.
Then Vincent.
Then herself.
Then the photograph.
Her hands moved.
“Your brother found something.”
Chloe's heart pounded.
“What?”
Beatrice signed:
“He found the truth.”
Chloe stared at her.
“What truth?”
Beatrice looked toward Gabriel.
Then toward Vincent.
Then she signed one sentence.
“Your brother died because of what he discovered.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Chloe couldn't breathe.
She looked at Gabriel.
His expression had gone completely still.
“What did she say?”
Chloe couldn't answer.
Beatrice touched Chloe's shoulder.
Chloe finally whispered.
“She says Leo didn't die because of an accident.”
Gabriel's eyes sharpened.
Vincent stood.
“That's enough.”
Gabriel turned.
“Sit down.”
Vincent didn't.
“Gabriel, this is insane.”
Gabriel's voice became dangerously calm.
“Sit.”
Vincent remained standing.
For the first time, Chloe saw something behind his eyes.
Not anger.
Panic.
He looked at the photograph again.
Then at Beatrice.
Then at Gabriel.
And Chloe understood something.
Vincent knew.
He knew exactly who was in that photograph.
Gabriel saw it too.
“Who is that man?”
Vincent said nothing.
Gabriel stepped closer.
“I asked you a question.”
Vincent swallowed.
“I don't know.”
Beatrice slammed her hand on the table.
Her hands moved rapidly.
Chloe translated.
“She says you know.”
Vincent looked at Beatrice.
“You should stop.”
Chloe stared at him.
“You understand her?”
Vincent's face changed.
Gabriel turned.
“You understand sign language?”
Vincent didn't answer.
Gabriel's eyes became colder.
“Since when?”
Vincent finally said, “A long time.”
“Then why did you pretend you didn't?”
“I never said I couldn't understand her.”
“You let me believe you couldn't.”
Vincent looked away.
Gabriel's voice dropped.
“Why?”
Silence.
Beatrice suddenly signed something.
Chloe watched carefully.
Her blood ran cold.
The sign was simple.
Danger.
Then she pointed at Gabriel.
Then toward the restaurant door.
Then toward the clock.
9:31.
Chloe translated.
“She says we're already too late.”
Gabriel looked at the clock.
“What does she mean?”
Beatrice signed again.
“Someone knows.”
“Who?”
Beatrice's hands trembled.
“I don't know.”
“Then what do you know?”
Beatrice reached into her handbag again.
This time she pulled out a small silver key.
She placed it in Gabriel's palm.
Gabriel stared at it.
“Where does this go?”
Beatrice pointed toward Chloe.
Chloe frowned.
“Me?”
Beatrice nodded.
Then she pointed toward the photograph.
Then toward the key.
Then she signed:
“Leo left it for you.”
Chloe felt tears forming in her eyes.
“He left it?”
Beatrice nodded.
“He knew.”
“What did he know?”
Beatrice looked at Gabriel.
Then at Vincent.
Then she leaned toward Chloe.
Her hands moved more slowly than before.
Every sign deliberate.
Every movement filled with fear.
Chloe translated in a whisper.
“He knew someone inside the Costello family was watching him.”
Gabriel's face hardened.
Beatrice continued.
“He tried to warn someone.”
“Who?”
Beatrice pointed toward Gabriel.
Gabriel stepped back.
“Me?”
Beatrice nodded.
“Why didn't he?”
Beatrice's eyes filled with tears.
“Because someone stopped him.”
Chloe looked at Vincent.
Vincent's face had become completely expressionless.
Gabriel noticed.
“You knew Leo.”
Vincent didn't answer.
“You knew him.”
“I knew of him.”
“You met him?”
Vincent remained silent.
Gabriel grabbed the back of the chair.
“Did you meet him?”
“Yes.”
The answer was barely audible.
Chloe felt something inside her collapse.
“You met my brother?”
Vincent looked at her.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“Where?”
Vincent hesitated.
“Outside a warehouse.”
Chloe stared at him.
“What warehouse?”
Vincent looked at Gabriel.
“Your father owned it.”
Gabriel went completely still.
“My father?”
Vincent nodded.
“Before he died.”
Gabriel's father had been dead for fifteen years.
Chloe looked between them.
“What did Leo find there?”
Vincent said nothing.
Gabriel stepped toward him.
“Tell me.”
Vincent's eyes shifted toward Beatrice.
She was crying silently.
Then Vincent whispered:
“He found a room your father told everyone didn't exist.”
Gabriel's face changed.
“What room?”
Vincent looked at Chloe.
Then at the key.
“Your brother had the key.”
Chloe looked down at the silver key in Gabriel's hand.
A small number was engraved into it.
Seven.
The same number carved into Beatrice's necklace.
The same number as the room.
VIP Room Seven.
Chloe suddenly understood why Beatrice had chosen this restaurant.
It wasn't coincidence.
It wasn't dinner.
She had brought Gabriel here because something was hidden here.
Something connected to his father.
Something connected to Leo.
Something connected to Vincent.
And possibly something connected to the reason her brother was dead.
Gabriel closed his hand around the key.
“Where is the room?”
Vincent looked at him.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
Beatrice suddenly stood.
Everyone looked at her.
She walked toward the wall.
Her hand pressed against a section of dark wood paneling.
She tapped three times.
Nothing happened.
Then she looked at Chloe.
Chloe stepped closer.
Beatrice took her hand and placed it against the wall.
“Feel.”
Chloe frowned.
At first, she felt nothing.
Then—
A vibration.
Very faint.
Almost imperceptible.
Something was running behind the wall.
A machine.
An electrical system.
A hidden mechanism.
Chloe pulled her hand back.
“There is something behind it.”
Gabriel looked at the wall.
Vincent whispered:
“No.”
Gabriel turned.
“You know what's behind there.”
Vincent's silence was answer enough.
Gabriel walked toward the panel.
He ran his fingers along the wood.
Nothing.
Then Beatrice pointed toward the silver key.
Gabriel inserted it into a tiny hole hidden beneath the molding.
Click.
The wall unlocked.
A section of panel moved inward.
Behind it was darkness.
And a narrow staircase leading down.
Chloe stared.
Her heart hammered.
Gabriel looked at Vincent.
“You said you didn't know.”
Vincent's face was pale.
“I didn't know she still had the key.”
Beatrice stepped toward the opening.
Gabriel caught her arm.
“No.”
She turned angrily.
He shook his head.
“I'm going first.”
Beatrice signed furiously.
Gabriel watched her.
Then his expression softened.
For the first time that night, he seemed less like a crime boss and more like a son.
“I know.”
Beatrice stopped.
Gabriel touched her hand.
“I know you're trying to protect me.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
He squeezed her fingers.
“But you should have told me.”
She signed:
“You never listened.”
Gabriel looked down.
The words hurt.
Because they were true.
He had spent years protecting his mother from danger while never realizing that she had been trying to protect him from something much closer.
He turned toward the staircase.
Then stopped.
He looked at Chloe.
“You're coming with us.”
Chloe stared.
“What?”
“You're the only person here who understands my mother.”
“I am a waitress.”
“Tonight, you're more than that.”
“I don't want to be.”
“I know.”
That answer surprised her.
Gabriel looked at her for another second.
Then he said quietly:
“Neither did my mother.”
He descended the first step.
Vincent followed.
Beatrice followed him.
Chloe remained at the top.
She looked toward the open wall.
Then at the restaurant behind her.
Her old life was still there.
Tables.
Customers.
Dirty glasses.
A manager who would probably fire her.
Rent.
Bills.
Normal problems.
Then she looked down at the photograph in her hand.
Leo was smiling.
Alive.
Looking directly into the camera.
As if he knew someone would find this picture someday.
Chloe took a breath.
Then stepped into the darkness.
Behind her, the hidden door slowly began to close.
And somewhere beneath Il Canto, a telephone started ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Gabriel stopped walking.
Vincent froze.
Beatrice's face went white.
The fourth ring echoed through the underground corridor.
Gabriel turned slowly.
“Who else knows we're here?”
Vincent said nothing.
The phone rang a fifth time.
Then a sixth.
Gabriel looked at Chloe.
Chloe looked at the photograph.
On the back, beneath the words DON'T TRUST THEM, another line had appeared in faded ink.
A line she hadn't noticed before.
IF GABRIEL FINDS THIS, TELL HIM SALVATORE IS ALIVE.
Chloe's blood turned cold.
She looked up.
“Gabriel…”
He turned.
“What?”
Chloe held up the photograph.
Her voice barely came out.
“There is another name.”
Gabriel stared at the writing.
For the first time that night, the color disappeared completely from his face.
Because Salvatore Costello had been dead for eight years.
May you like
Or at least—
that was what Gabriel had always believed.
