Chapter 19 - THE SIBLING'S WARNING
Late that night, after Elena had returned to her private quarters, the silence was shattered by the vibrating buzz of her personal burner phone on the bedside table.
She picked it up immediately. It was an unknown number, but the voice on the other end was instantly recognizable—her younger brother, Leo.
"Elena? Is that you?!" Leo’s voice was frantic, breathless, muffled by static.
"Leo! Where are you? Are you safe?" she gasped, sitting up straight on her bed, clutching the phone to her ear.
"Elena, listen to me! You have to get out of that mansion right now!" Leo choked out, panic dripping from every word. "Those loan sharks... the ones who held Dad's notes... they didn't just sell the debt to Luca Rossi!"
"What are you talking about? Luca paid them off."
"No, Elena! He didn't just pay them!" Leo stammered, his voice breaking. "Three nights ago, the entire crew running that loan-sharking den in Queens was wiped out. Burned to the ground. People on the street are saying Don Rossi executed every single one of them because one of them grabbed your arm when they threatened our house!"
Elena’s blood turned to ice. She gripped the edge of the mattress, the room spinning around her. "He... he killed them?"
"Yes! And now Moretti's men are furious because those loan sharks were paying kickbacks to Brooklyn! Elena, they know who you are now! They know you're the reason Luca went to war! They're coming for—"
A deafening pop crackled through the phone line, followed by the sound of screeching tires and a sudden dead tone.
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"Leo?! Leo!" Elena screamed into the receiver, but there was only empty static.
***
