Chapter 2 - The Leak Beneath the FloorboardsInside the brightly lit security annex of the Moretti mansion, Dante Moretti—Roman’s cousin and head of security—stood over a massive bank of glowing monitors. His face was pale, sweat beading along his hairline as he scrolled through the encrypted server archives.
"The camera wasn't knocked down by a storm, Boss," Dante said, his voice tight. "The mounting bolts were sheared from the inside with a precision bit. Someone on our own domestic staff helped Sullivan map out the dead zones."
Norah stood by the heavy oak table, wrapped in a dry woolen blanket Roman had tossed over her shoulders. She watched the way Roman moved—quiet, predatory, and entirely focused. He didn't yell at Dante; he didn't smash a monitor. His silence was far more terrifying.
"Who had access to the master maintenance schedule?" Roman asked, pacing slowly behind Dante's chair.
"Only three people outside the core security team," Dante replied, tapping a key. "The head groundskeeper, the kitchen inventory manager... and Maria, the senior upstairs housekeeper."
Norah gasped softly. Maria had worked at the estate for twelve years. She was the one who taught Norah how to properly polish the antique mahogany desks in Roman’s private library.
"Maria?" Norah murmured. "That's impossible. She has grandchildren in the city. She’s quiet, she’s—"
"Maria’s grandson racked up a thirty-thousand-dollar sports betting debt with Liam Sullivan last month," Roman interrupted smoothly, stopping his pacing to stare directly at Norah. "Desperate people do desperate things, Norah. They trade information for breathing room. Just like your brother."
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Norah flushed, looking down at her sneakers. "Ben is stupid, not malicious."
"Stupidity and malice look identical when they compromise my perimeter," Roman snapped, though the harshness in his tone softened by a fraction when he saw the flash of pain in her gray eyes. He turned back to Dante. "Bring Maria to the lower study. And send two cars to the Narrows. Bring Liam Sullivan and her grandson to me. Tonight."
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