Page 108 of The Silence Lies

My blood runs cold and a foreboding chill travels up my spine. I’ve worked with plenty of monsters in my time, but someone who deals in the flesh trade deserves a fate worse than death. I can already tell that’s the direction Luca’s theory is going.

Sera huffs, seemingly exhausted by the onslaught of information. “Do you think we can trust Raf enough to do some digging?”

Luca nods, certain of the answer to her question. He doesn’t even need to think about it. “I think Raf has already proved where his loyalty lies.”

“What do you want to do going forward?” Levi frowns, tugging his phone out of his pocket. He’s immediately distracted by whatever he’s reading, his brows knitting together.

“Business as usual,” Sera answers firmly. “We’ve got the girl, The Vultures are on our side. If Raf can find the mole or the ally, then we will need to discuss that in more depth. I’m not making any decisions until we know what we’re dealing with.”

“So?” Levi asks, eyes still glued to the screen.

“So now we go for the jugular.”

Luca starts to rub his hands together, a sinister smile creeping over his lips. “Take the Verdis out.”

It’s what he came for in the first place. The dynamic of the Mafia has always been odd, but I can’t fault the way it is run. Their structure is like a tree. Branches spear off in various directions. Families run their own businesses. But if it jeopardizes the integrity of the trunk of that tree, the man—or in this case, woman— take matters into their own hands. Gone are the days where families were always fighting for territory. The organization has developed a lot in the last few decades.

Of course, there will always be feuds, it’s natural. But the final say comes from up top. In this situation, though, it’s not that simple. The feud built by the Verdis is aimed at the person up top. Even with all my years doing this job, it’s a situation I’m not familiar with.

“I want their livelihood destroyed,” Sera growls. “I want the Verdis so lost they won’t have anything, no one to turn to, nowhere to run, no money to pay anyone. I want them to cower when the darkness comes, so they can see what they have forced upon themselves.”

In this moment, she looks every bit the ruthless leader men work so hard to perfect; she’s calm but deadly. She’s her father through and through, and I’m sure he’d be proud to see her like this.

“I’ll ask Raf to track their movements.” Luca stands, staring down at Levi with concern. “With the Vultures on board, that’ll make things easier. We’ll use Raf’s intel to take out the other warehouses. The last one had over seven million dollars worth of coke and dirty money. Who knows what these other compounds carry.”

Sera nods in agreement, turning to follow Luca’s gaze. “What’s wrong?” she asks.

Without a word, Levi reaches for the TV remote. The sound of a news reporter captures our attention. We all turn to watch, the screen filling with the recording of dead bodies being wheeled across concrete, the shipping docks in the background signaling to where it’s being filmed.

“It is believed to be connected with the Bianchi family, the leading supporters to Governor D’Angelo. Right now, the docks have been closed pending an investigation into the sex trafficking reports.”

“The fuck!” Sera shoots up from her place on the couch. Her face contorts as anger rages through her. I can already feel the torrent of emotions battling inside of her, but I’m faced with more complex feelings.

I stare at the screen longer than necessary. Bodies are being wheeled all over the place, dead bodies, bodies in bags. I gulp trying to hold back the disgust, but the look on Sera’s face tells me this has nothing to do with her.

Someone is setting her up.

Luca turns to Sera. “Now would be a good time to call in a favor from the governor.”

“No shit!”

“There are over two hundred reported dead so far. While coroners work on identifying the bodies, we understand that this is part of a traffic ring. Some as young as six years old have already been confirmed as being among the dead, with the ages ranging as far as twenty. We’ll have more news in an hour.”

Bile rises to the surface. The heat crawling up my neck now wraps around my throat, making it so damn hard to breathe. My fears and doubts start creeping in as endless possibilities war with what I’m hearing. I can’t take it anymore.

I storm out the back door without looking back, without acknowledging that I’ve left my mark to calm myself down.

Before I know it, I’m inside the pool house, reaching for the sink. I splash my face with cold water, hoping to extinguish the raging inferno inside of me. I already know what’s coming, the prospect sits at the back of my mind constantly, and I know that this isn’t Sera’s doing, yet she’s being blamed for it.

A soft tap comes at the door to the pool house. Cautiously, I move towards it, taking every step slow and determined to douse the anger.

When I open it, Sera is standing outside, her arms folded over her chest. A worried line works its way between her brows while she chews her lip.

I step aside. She recognizes the gesture and enters the pool house, taking in her surroundings. I suppose, since I’ve never seen her use the pool, that she rarely comes in here. That, or she’s surprised at the state of it.

It’s a studio type layout. A bathroom is tucked away in the corner, separate from the bedroom, with a hallway opposite that leads to the front door Sera just entered through. It’s small, cozy, but I like it. Exposed wooden framework lines the ceiling, supporting beams on either side of the bed, presenting the image of a four poster without the other two posts. It’s elegant in a simplistic way, giving it a subtle beach vibe at the same time.

“Is everything okay?” she asks.

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