Page 1 of Silent Night With Alessio

1

Alessio

The reports spill acrossmy desk, the ink dark, fresh, heavy. One sighting here, another there…Vitale goons poking around the Luciana’s Las Vegas properties, scoping out our safe houses, tailing our runners.

They’re getting too close. Far too close. I’ve got that feeling again, that cold crawl at the base of my neck, like someone’s sliding an ice pick into my spine. The attacks are a constant at this point. It’s exhausting.

I sit back, stretch my fingers, and push the papers away, clearing my line of sight to the window.

Snow piles up outside, blanketing the grounds of The Bellini Lodge, stretching out in a clean sheet of white, as far as I can see. The pines look ghostly, half-buried under snow, and the sky’s hanging low, swollen with clouds.

We’ve got everyone in the immediate Luciana family here for the holidays, the lot of us up here in Winter Haven. Tucked away from the heat of our enemies in the city.

It’s supposed to be a break, a safe distance from all that chaos back in Vegas, and I’m grateful for it, even if I don’t fully believe in "safe" these days.

I pull another report in front of me, scanning it for patterns. Strange cars parked on the same corner twice in three days, men loitering around the old gambling hall down on Fremont. Vitale dogs, circling.

If they’re looking for us, they won’t find us up here. Still, the itch doesn’t leave.

Everyone's been on edge lately, as they should be. The Vitale Family keeps sniffing around us, looking for cracks.

They’ve been able to find out that we came here, but Winter Haven is enough of a neutral ground it gives us a chance to breathe.

Business doesn’t follow us to Winter Haven, but I can’t afford to let my guard down. I’m on the phone with our guys back in Vegas every hour, getting updates, tracking any hint of trouble. Making sure nobody so much as stumbles across where we’re holed up.

Anything I hear, I pass straight to Elio, my boss and the chief advisor. He’d want to know, even if he’s not here to handle it himself.

And that’s the problem, isn’t it? The man should be here. I’ve scoured every inch of this lodge looking for him, like some kind of ghost hunter in a haunted house. But he’s just... gone. No message, no explanation, nothing. And it’s not just about business or keeping tabs on Vitale’s latest trick. This year’s holidays mark something different, something bigger.

The city’s buzzing about the upcoming signing ceremony, a tradition held once every twenty years, bringing together the most powerful families in Winter Haven, the Luciana family included. It’s an occasion that carries weight, respect. It’s a chance to reaffirm alliances, settle scores, and secure the Luciana name for the next generation.

Elio knows this. He knows the stakes, knows the eyes of the entire city are on us. So where the hell is he?

With the Vitale trouble at our necks and Massimo still working to assert himself to both friend and foe that he is more than worthy of his new position as Don of our Mafia family—we need everything running smoothly, without a hitch, to show that he has a good grip on things.

Why would Elio be missing in action right now? The man is sharp, too sharp to disappear without good reason.

Unless... unless it’s something he doesn’t want me to know about. But that doesn’t sit right either. When it comes to the family, we don’t leave each other in the dark. Not with something this big.

I reach for the phone and dial his number, my fingers tapping faster than I’d like to admit. The line rings, and each ring is another second. My patience thins. Finally, I hear a click. The line goes silent.

"Elio," I say, my voice steady, but the edge in it is unmistakable. "Where the hell are you?"

Elio’s voice breaks through the static, steady, cutting. “What’s the matter, Alessio? Can’t handle things on your own?”

I grit my teeth. “It’s not that. It’s just... things are stacking up. The Vitale are creeping around, and then there’s the signing ceremony in two weeks.” My voice tightens despite myself. “Aren’t you supposed to meet the boss for the ring?”

There’s a pause, a long silence on the other end. I can almost see him there, weighing my words, deciding what he’ll let me in on. When he finally speaks, his tone is short and decisive. “Handle it. You can take care of it.”

I press the phone closer. “Sir, you’re the Chief Advisor. It’s usually the chief advisor who does this.”

“Yeah, well, now I want you to go do it.”

I bite down on my tongue, holding back the frustration clawing up my throat. “What do I tell the boss when he asks why you’re not the one getting the ring?”

A sharp exhale from Elio cuts through the line. “Damn it, Alessio! I’m busy with other stuff, alright? Can’t you see what’s happening? The Vitale is on our tail everywhere we turn. I’m handling something right now, and I can’t talk about it. Not yet.” His voice drops low, as if admitting he’s got his own cross to bear.

Guilt lances through me. He’s right. Vitale has been stepping up their game, pushing us at every corner. I’m sure there are other attacks that I’m not even aware of.

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