Page 26 of Broken Honor

I stare at him, calculating.

“And you believe this?”

“Mother J did,” he says. “And I do now.”

“Why?”

“Because she started digging. Quietly, ruthlessly. And what she found scared even her.”

I lean back slowly. “Which was?”

“They had a child. Just before they died, Lena gave birth.”

The words settle between us like lead.

“She thought the child was still alive. Hidden. Protected by someone outside the circle.”

“And she started looking?”

“Relentlessly. Pulled every favor, every contact, every whisper in the underground. Not to destroy the stash—but to hand the child their inheritance.”

“And then she died.”

Bugatti nods. “Shot in her own villa. No robbery. No message. Just clean execution. Her son swore it was Desmond’s doing.”

“He told you this himself?”

“Yes. I met him a month after the funeral. He said his mother had uncovered more than she’d told anyone. He didn’t know the child’s name or location, but he swore he’d find them. He said it was the only way to get back at Desmond.”

“And now the son’s missing.”

“Vanished a week later. No phone signal. No trace. Not even a whisper from the street. I’ve looked, Vieri. I’ve really looked.”

“And Desmond?”

Bugatti’s mouth tightens.

“He reached out two months ago. Said we needed to move the stash—claimed the location was compromised. I didn’t trust it. But I went, like an idiot, to supervise the transfer.”

“And?”

“I found his body before I found the crates.”

I go still.

“Stab wound. Deep. Clean. He was lying facedown near the vault doors. No signs of forced entry. No guards. No crates. Not a single bar. Not a single stone.”

“And the vault?”

“Empty. The codes were changed. The security system wiped. Whoever took it knew exactly how to get in—and how to cover their tracks.” He looks at me shaking. “I don’t know who was able to move that much gold or how they did it but it happened. I swear.”

My jaw ticks.

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this when I called you from prison?”

“I didn’t have proof. Not then. And I was afraid you’d come out and think I betrayed you.”

“Did you?”

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