Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask (by Silver Spoon) novel Chapter 535

Chapter 535: Chapter 131 Lila in Ruins

Daniel’s POV

The days crawled by as I waited for word from Beckett. My patience was wearing dangerously thin, and every instinct honed by years in both the Thorne organization and the police force told me something significant was brewing. According to our intelligence network, Gideon would be visiting Aria soon, and I was desperate for any information that might surface from that meeting within the family’s inner circle.

When my encrypted phone finally buzzed with Beckett’s contact code, I grabbed it instantly. "Beckett! I was just thinking about you."

"Daniel, what a week it’s been," he said, his voice carrying the exhaustion of someone who’d been managing multiple family crises. "I’ve been dealing with one emergency after another, including breaking up an actual fistfight between two of our people."

"A fistfight?" I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Violence within the family ranks was serious business.

Beckett chuckled, though there was an edge to it. "I’ll forward you the security footage from our surveillance system. The cameras caught everything. Lila might not appreciate me sharing it, but you’ll get a kick out of seeing what happened. I should be furious about the breach of family protocol, but honestly, it was too entertaining. But listen, I need to ask for a favor that requires your police connections."

"What do you need?" I asked, my curiosity about the fight mixing with concern about what kind of favor required my law enforcement resources.

"Katarina’s heading your way with sensitive materials. She’ll be stopping by the precinct with boxes from the deceased maid’s storage unit, plus that DNA sample we discussed for our investigation into the family matter. Could you escort her to the laboratory using your official capacity?" The request caught me off guard, but I understood the delicate nature of what we were dealing with.

"Of course I can handle that. She mentioned she’d obtain that sample, but I’m dying to know how she managed to pull it off without arousing suspicion." I couldn’t imagine the lengths she’d gone to within the heavily monitored family compound.

Beckett laughed heartily, the sound carrying hints of both admiration and exhaustion. "My friend, all hell broke loose in the family estate, just as I predicted it would. Watch the video I’m sending through our secure channel. You’ll understand everything once you see who was involved." His tone suggested that the altercation involved people whose participation would surprise me. "By the way, you’ll need a doctor’s authorization for the official testing. Can you arrange that through your contacts?"

"Yes, that won’t be a problem. I have a trusted physician who handles sensitive cases for the department. Did the storage unit yield anything useful for our investigation?" My investigative instincts were kicking into high gear, sensing we were close to a breakthrough.

"We searched it yesterday afternoon, but the sheer volume of materials made it impossible to examine everything on-site. Security concerns meant we had to bring it all back to the estate, but my father was lurking around suspiciously all evening, almost like his old instincts sensed something was happening. Lucinda didn’t want to waste any time or risk discovery, so she loaded everything into her vehicle at dawn and hit the road before anyone else was awake," Beckett explained, his tactical planning evident even in family matters.

"I’m beyond curious now about what we might find," I admitted, and he agreed we both were eager for answers. We arranged to speak later about the contents of the storage boxes once they’d been properly examined, said our goodbyes using our usual coded farewell, and I returned to my case reports while waiting for Katarina’s arrival.

Time slipped away as I worked through the endless paperwork that came with maintaining my cover as a legitimate police inspector. A sharp knock at my office door pulled me from my concentration on a money laundering case. "Come in," I called out.

Inspector Adler entered with his characteristic smile, escorting a familiar and elegant figure. "Hey handsome, look who I found in the lobby asking specifically for you," he announced cheerfully, clearly impressed by his distinguished visitor.

"Inspector Adler has been quite the perfect gentleman," Katarina remarked, offering him one of those gracious smiles that made her so effective in high society circles.

"This remarkable lady is my sister-in-law, Adler," I explained to my colleague. "She’s married to Lila’s brother and part of one of the city’s most prominent families."

"Yes, she mentioned her connection to the Sullivan family," Adler nodded respectfully. "She was kind enough to take photographs with my daughters when my wife dropped me off."

"Your daughters were here at the precinct?" I asked, surprised by this breach of our usual security protocols.

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