38

38
Alaric’s POV
Driving through the city streets late at night, the tension inside the car was as thick as fog. Allesio sat beside me, eyes focused on the road ahead but occasionally darting toward me, waiting for my reaction each time we hit another dead end or picked up a new thread of evidence that led us in directions I didn’t want to consider. We’d been chasing this ambush for days now, and the pieces were falling together into a picture that was almost too twisted to believe.
I slid my car into an old garage downtown. The owner, an older man named Rico, had been at the port the night of the ambush, keeping an eye on the shipments for Guiseppe’s team. He’d heard rumors floating around the neighborhood that something was off with the Cruz family’s involvement. I wanted to press him for more, see if he’d noticed anything else out of place, anyone unfamiliar lurking around.
I stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut and walking straight into the garage without waiting for Allesio.
“Who is-” the man began, turning around and his jaw hanging when he saw it was me standing in front of him. “Mr Castillo.”
I shot him a cold smile that usually had men running.
“I’m here because of what happened with Guiseppe’s shipment. I heard you know some things.”
Rico looked nervous, his fingers tapping on the edge of the counter as he glanced from me to Allesio and back again. “I already told your guy what I know,” he said, voice shaky.
“Tell me again,” I insisted, voice steady, cold. “I want to make sure I didn’t miss any details.”
He swallowed hard, eyes flicking toward the back of the shop as though expecting someone to burst in. “I saw… different faces that night. Not just the usual Cruz boys.”
“Different how?” Allesio asked, picking up on the edge in my voice.
“They were… cleaner. Didn’t look like they’d spent much time around the docks, if you know what I mean.”
I glanced at Allesio, a frown pulling at the corners of my mouth. It was a description that fit too well with the reports we’d been gathering, all pointing toward an unexpected presence at the scene. I leaned in closer, watching Rico’s face. “And did these men interact with anyone specific?”
He hesitated, eyes darting downward. “One of them… I think he spoke with one of Guiseppe’s guys. Briefly, just a few words.”
That was enough to know there’d been more at play that night. Rico’s account matched others we’d heard about, descriptions of strangers who didn’t quite fit into the Cruz family mold. And while I was convinced the Cruz family had its hands dirty, the further I dug, the more it seemed they were just the smoke covering something far worse.
I thanked Rico, sliding him a few bills for his trouble, and we headed back out into the night. The streets were quieter now, the city beginning to settle down as the early hours crept up. But my mind was racing, piecing together the scraps of information we’d gathered.
Allesio broke the silence as he drove. “You’re thinking it’s not just the Cruz family, aren’t you?”
I nodded slowly, unable to shake the feeling that everything we’d uncovered was leading us in a direction I hadn’t wanted to consider. “If it’s not them, and if Guiseppe didn’t see this coming… then someone close to us is involved.”
“An allied family?” Allesio’s voice was incredulous, and I didn’t blame him. It sounded insane. But the more I thought about it, the more it felt inevitable.
“Think about it,” I said, voice low. “Only a family within our own circle would have access to the intel they needed to pull off this kind of ambush. Someone who knew exactly how Guiseppe’s operation worked, someone who could slip in and out without setting off alarms.”
Allesio’s grip on the wheel tightened, his jaw clenching. “But if that’s true, we’re dealing with a betrayal that goes beyond business.”
“I know,” I muttered, unable to hide the anger simmering under the surface. “If this is an inside job, it’s personal. And it’s dangerous for all of us.”
I made a turn and slid into a dingy bar down the docks, the kind of place where dockworkers went to drown out the stress of long shifts and lousy pay. Inside, the smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke hit us hard, but we found who we were looking for: a wiry man named Sal, who was nursing a beer at the bar and eyeing the crowd suspiciously.
Sal had seen something too, or so Allesio had said. I took a seat beside him, waving off the bartender’s offer of a drink. “Sal, you got a minute?”
He glanced over, wary. “Depends on who’s asking.”
I leaned in, voice low. “You were at the port the night Guiseppe’s shipment got hit. Tell me what you saw.”
Sal hesitated, glancing at Allesio, then back at me. “I don’t know if I should be talking about this.”
“If you want to keep getting paid to keep an eye on things for us, you’ll talk,” I said, my tone leaving no room for argument.
He sighed, fingers tapping nervously against his glass. “Fine. There were some new faces that night. Real clean-cut, like they didn’t belong. But it wasn’t just them… I recognized one of ’em. Guy named Carlo. Works for Don Ferraro.”
That name hit me like a punch to the gut. Don Ferraro was supposed to be one of our allies, a close family with a reputation for loyalty. If his men were Involved, it was bigger than a small-time heist; it was a calculated move, a betrayal that would shake the entire foundation of our operation.
“You’re sure it was Carlo?” I asked, voice tight.
Sal nodded, looking down at his drink. “I’d bet my life on it. Saw him talking to some of the guys right before everything went down.”
I forced myself to stay calm, my mind racing. If Ferraro was behind this, then he’d not only betrayed Guiseppe but also me-and he’d done it in a way that risked tearing apart our alliances.
We left the bar, Sal’s words racing through my mind as we walked back to the car. Allesio was tense, his expression mirroring my own disbelief and anger.
“This changes everything,” Allesio said quietly as we got back in the car.
“It does,” I replied, my voice colder than I intended. “If Ferraro is behind this, he’s crossed a line that can’t be uncrossed.”
The drive back was silent, both of us lost in thought. I couldn’t shake the anger boiling in my veins, the realization that someone I’d trusted was willing to risk everything for what? A chance to make a quick grab at Guiseppe’s resources? It was reckless, selfish-and if I was right, it was only the beginning.
We arrived back at my office, and I spent the next few hours pouring over the surveillance footage from the night of the ambush. It was grainy, the angles terrible, but it gave me a glimpse of what we needed. There, in one of the frames, I saw him-Carlo, walking along the edge of the port, just as Sal had said. He was meeting with a few men whose faces I didn’t recognize, but it was enough. It was proof, cold and undeniable, that someone close had turned against us.
I needed to confront Ferraro, but I wouldn’t tip my hand just yet. If he thought he’d gotten away with this, he’d let his guard down. And that’s when I’d be ready.
“Arrange a meeting with Ferraro,” I murmured to Allesio.
“You’re not going to confront him outright, are you?” He asked, eyeing me warily and I shook my head. No I wasn’t going to confront him outright.
“Fine,” he grunted, getting up and walking out of my office.
**
I sat on the edge of my table, twirling my gun in my hand just as Ferraro walked into my office and stopped dead on seeing the gun.
I shot him a sly smile, watching him closely. Allesio walked in and closed the door behind him, then remained standing there, keeping watch.
“What’s with the gun?” He asked, eyeing it warily.
“Just taking precautions, since so many people are intent on betraying me these days,” I answered, watching the way his throat bobbed and he stilled. I smiled.
Dropping the gun on the table, I walked around to my chair and sat in it.
“You asked for a meeting,” he murmured without sitting. “Well here I am.”
“I want to go over your shipment details. I’m sure you must have heard what happened with Guiseppe’s shipment-” I paused, eyeing him and noting the way his eyes darted to the gun again. He looked like he was going to bolt. “-and we wouldn’t want the same to happen to yours.”
“Oh,” he replied, relaxing and slipping into a mask of calm as he took a seat at the other end of the table. “Let’s get on with it then. I have other things to do.”
As we wrapped up, he gave me a strained smile, patting me on the back like old friends. “Good to see you, Alaric. We’ll catch up again soon, yeah?”
I nodded, forcing a smile of my own. “Sure. Let’s keep in touch.”
As he left, I watched him go, anger simmering just below the surface. Ferraro might have thought he’d covered his tracks, that his status as an ally would shield him from suspicion. But he’d underestimated me, and that was his mistake. He’d crossed the line and that couldn’t go unpunished.
Once he was gone, I turned to Allesio. “Keep an eye on him. I want to know his every move.”
Allesio nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. “We’ll be ready, boss.”