Chapter 2 - THE FIRST COIN
Vincent did not look at Dante. He kept his eyes on the three gold coins resting on the marble table. Slowly, he reached out, picked them up, and walked across the silent room toward the kitchen door. The guards at the perimeter tensed. Clara’s breath hitched, her knuckles turning white around the silver serving fork.
Vincent knelt. It was a calculated movement, dropping a man of his stature to eye level with a three-and-a-half-year-old holding a one-eyed bear.
He held out his palm. The gold coins gleamed in the dim light of the chandelier.
"My daughter used to get three wishes," Vincent said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the floorboards. "One absurd. One practical. One secret. You said your mother apologizes for things she didn’t do. If I give you these coins, what is your first wish?"
Ellie didn't hesitate. She took one coin from his palm. Her small, warm fingers brushed against his calloused skin.
"I wish the bad man in the blue suit would stop putting his heavy boxes in Mommy's car," Ellie said clearly. "It makes Mommy cry."
The silence in the room shattered into a deafening vacuum. Dante was wearing a navy blue suit.
May you like
Vincent stood up slowly. He turned his head, his eyes locking onto his brother. Dante's patient smile had frozen into something brittle and hollow. The heavy boxes. The missing shipments from the docks that Dante had claimed were intercepted by a rival family. Clara had been forced to transport them to avoid suspicion, taking the blame for logistical 'errors' to keep herself and her daughter alive.
"Clara," Vincent said, his voice devoid of all warmth. "Take Ellie upstairs. To the west wing. Do not leave until I come for you."
