Chapter 2 - The Price of Silence
The rain had turned into a steady, freezing drizzle by the time the black sedan idling outside a dilapidated four-story tenement building in East Harlem.
The paint on the exterior walls was peeling like dry skin, and half the streetlights on the block were smashed. This was the territory of Sal Marcone—a mid-level loan shark and slumlord who operated under the shadow of rival organizations, exploiting people who had nowhere else to turn.
Inside his heated car, Alessandro lit a dark cigar, the tip glowing red in the dim interior.
"How much did he demand from her?" Alessandro asked.
Marco pulled up the digital ledger provided by their intelligence contact. "Sophia’s original rent was twelve hundred a month. When her late husband passed away two years ago, she fell two weeks behind. Marcone’s nephew, Leo, added a 'late fee' of five hundred dollars a week. She’s been paying him nearly two thousand dollars a month just to keep the door locked. She's been working three jobs, sleeping four hours a night."
Alessandro took a slow drag from his cigar, letting the smoke curl toward the leather ceiling. "He was bleeding her dry while she cleaned my house."
"Yes, boss."
"Let's go say hello to Leo."
They didn't break down the door of the ground-floor management office. They didn't need to. When Marco knocked three times with the heavy gold signet ring on his finger, a scruffy man in an undershirt unlocked the deadbolt, expecting another desperate tenant with a handful of crumpled bills.
Instead, he found Marco Rizzi pushing the door open with enough force to send him tumbling backward over a messy wooden desk.
"What the hell?!" Leo scrambled to his feet, reaching toward his waistband.
Before his fingers could touch metal, Marco’s hand locked around Leo’s throat, slamming him against the wall so hard the framed yellowed land permits rattled against the plaster.
Alessandro walked into the room calmly, stepping over scattered papers and empty beer cans. He pulled a fine silk handkerchief from his pocket and dusted off a metal folding chair before taking a seat.
"Leo Marcone," Alessandro said smoothly.
Leo gasped for air, his eyes bulging as he recognized the man sitting before him. "M-Moretti? What... what is this? This is Marcone territory! You can't—"
"I am not here on business regarding your uncle," Alessandro interrupted, resting his hands on his knees. "I am here regarding one of my employees. Sophia Delgado."
Leo’s pale face turned gray. "Delgado? The... the cleaning girl? I didn't know she was with you! I swear, boss, I didn't know!"
"She wasn't 'with me,'" Alessandro corrected quietly. "She was simply an honest woman working under my roof. And you have been terrorizing her while her child went without proper clothes."
Alessandro gestured with his finger. Marco loosened his grip just enough to let Leo slide down to his knees, gasping and coughing on the dirty floor.
"You are going to do three things, Leo," Alessandro said, leaning forward until his face was inches from the trembling landlord. "First, you will cancel every dollar of debt, real or invented, for every single tenant in this building."
"That's... that's fifty thousand dollars!" Leo squeaked.
Marco’s boot landed heavily on Leo’s hand, crushing his fingers against the floorboards. Leo let out a strangled scream.
"Second," Alessandro continued, unaffected by the noise, "you will sign over the deed of this building to the Moretti Housing Trust by midnight tonight. The rent will be cut in half, and the repairs will begin tomorrow."
"My uncle will kill me!" Leo sobbed, blood dripping from his lip.
Alessandro stood up, buttoning his suit coat with slow, deliberate precision.
"If your uncle has a problem with my real estate acquisitions, he knows where to find me," Alessandro said softly. "Third... if I ever hear of you, or any of your men, coming within three blocks of Sophia Delgado or her daughter again, I won't send Marco. I will come myself. Do you understand me?"
"Yes! Yes! I understand! I swear it!" Leo wept, pressing his forehead against the floor.
"Good." Alessandro walked out the door, Marco following closely behind.
As they stepped back out into the cold rain, Marco adjusted his jacket. "What about Sophia and the child, boss? Once she leaves the hospital, she can't come back to this place. Even with the deed transferred, it’s not safe."
Alessandro looked back at the decaying building, then down at his wrist watch.
"She won't be coming back here," Alessandro said. "The east wing guest cottage at the estate has been empty since my mother passed. Tell Rosa to have it cleaned, heated, and fully furnished. Stock the kitchen with fresh food. Get a wardrobe for the child—proper clothes, shoes that fit, and toys."
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Marco paused, staring at his boss in surprise. "The guest cottage? Boss, that's inside the perimeter walls. Outsiders aren't allowed to live on the estate grounds."
"Sophia Delgado walked into my study today through her daughter," Alessandro said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "They are no longer outsiders. They are under my protection."
