Chapter 6 - BEYOND THE MAHOGANY MASK
The cold draft blowing through the thin vertical gap carried a sharp, metallic chill that cut through the warm air of the study. Roman’s hand hovered over the edge of the shifted bookcase, his fingers inches away from pulling the hidden door open.
Mia stepped back slightly, her hands supporting the sleeping baby on her back as she watched the powerful man hesitate for the first time in his life.
"Mr. Duca?" Mia whispered, her voice trembling. "Is... is she going to come out?"
Roman didn't answer immediately. His mind was racing, connecting threads of rumors, unexplained land deeds, and old syndicate disputes that stretched back fifteen years. The name whispered from behind the wall belonged to someone who had officially vanished during the restructuring of the North End territories—someone whose absence had reshaped the power structure of the entire city.
With a firm, decisive movement, Roman hooked his fingers into the edge of the wooden door and pulled.
The heavy bookcase swung outward on silent, hidden iron hinges, revealing a narrow stone passage cut directly into the interior brick framework of the mansion. The passage was lit only by a faint, flickering amber bulb attached to an old copper conduit far down the corridor.
Standing—or rather, leaning—against the damp brick wall just three feet inside the passage was a woman.
She was thin, her frame wrapped in a dark, threadbare woolen coat. Her long hair was silver-grey and tangled around her shoulders, framing a face lined with deep exhaustion. Yet despite her frail appearance, her dark eyes held a sharp, piercing clarity as she looked out into the brightly lit study.
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Roman took an instinctual step back, his hand reaching inside his dark jacket out of pure reflex before he froze, recognizing the face staring back at him.
"You..." Roman breathed, his voice barely audible over the rain. "They said you were buried in West Roxbury twelve years ago."
