on any blueprint of

om-it was a chamber of secrets. Blood-red wallpaper peeled at t

longed to Don Salvatore. The other

roke th

r creak

ng from a rusted chain. Dust particles d

. Next to it: photographs, names, timelines. Some

sk. Different from the family books. This one was ha

ENCE - OPERA

lipped

7: "Nigh

Orazio B

: Elim

e, leaked intel

s: D.V.

ence preserved.

8: "Holl

Father

s: Si

leaks regarding und

ers:

cted. Danilo proceed

pulse

weren'

state-lev

. No title. Just a date. "October 11t

tatus: "Vanished. P

darker than

r? Or sc

losed t

as the ghost behind the throne. The one who c

he disa

dropping, usin

pretending t

e-he wa

from a hidden drawer. It showed Salvatore and Danilo at the Velrano docks,

uring the late '90s. Name's Pietro Sanzini. Went dark two decades ago. Now

he photo. "Pull

sure you want to

rust anyon

orm. Broken windows, tagged walls,

ts. Inside: a single overhead bulb, a gutted car on cinder blocks, and

ed in with

look up. "We

m him. "You used to work for

froze

ned, and blinked in disb

mile. "That's

rd a weapon. Toward a cigarette.

'd die before t

orward. "Tell m

was a myth in motion. The kind of guy who d

he disa

as loyal. And loyalty is fat

rpened. "Did my f

dn't. That's why he sent him to Pier 17 with

n wh

for silence. But someone's out there breaking that pact now.

him by the s

. "I give you names, I'm

alread

st and Knox. Unit 7. It's where Danilo kept the

d him. "If yo

're in the middle of a war that started before you were born. Yo

rco stood out

tters i

the doo

ildew and metal

a duffel bag, and a

the duff

bundles of cash, and a folde

der. Letters. Con

ade his sto

behind his head. A gun to his sk

gun wasn

photo–blurred but unm

opped th

th him wasn't co

s qui