The Mafia King's Unknown Doctor Wife novel Chapter 336

Elena felt her skin turn pale. "Trafficking children?" she repeated. "How could anyone do that?"

"They've forgotten the rules of the mafia—rules I've made," Massimo said solemnly. "All things considered, perhaps I've been too loose in my rules."

"Mafia Kings tend to be fairly hands off," Luca defended. "The fact your family's insisted on adding two rules—to not harm medical personnel or teachers and to avoid child trafficking or selling drugs to minor—is more than the Contis did when they were in power."

"What does any of that matter?" Elena insisted. "We need to dismantle this child trafficking ring now."

"No," Massimo replied calmly, "we need to first be certain that the Massachusetts dons are engaging in child trafficking. And then we need to make sure we have hard proof. Otherwise, we'll just be heating up conflict with Tyler's closest allies on their home territory—and then we risk starting a war."

"Massimo, they're trafficking people," Elena started to protest. "We can't just let them—"

"Only the kidnapping and selling of children is forbidden by mafia law," Massimo said coldly. "I can't punish mafia members for unwritten moral laws."

He turned away from Elena and kept his focus on Luca. "Tell me everything," the Mafia King ordered. "Don't spare a single detail."

"There's only been a few tips, which admittedly could've been fake," Luca reported. "But their language makes me think they're different people, and none of it sounded rehearsed."

"But you haven't verified them yet?" Massimo pressed.

"No, sir, proving the tips' legitimacy will take some time, as they were all anonymous," Luca replied. "But they contained detailed information on one office building—one that's registered as a joint venture between the Sala and D'Amico families."

"Could you find building layouts from our records?"

"As well as some online, which match our own," Luca said, handing Massimo a tablet. "Since it's a shipping company the two families own, it would be easy to outfit the building to handle human merchandise."

Massimo frowned as he looked at the tablet, clearly reading a more detailed report. Elena waited anxiously for his next words.

"This is paper-thin, Luca," Massimo chided. "These claims need to be thoroughly verified."

"Are you kidding me?" Elena interrupted. "There has to be a reason Luca brought this up now—right?"

Elena looked desperately at Massimo's second-in-command. He nodded.

"Some of the tips mention a big sale happening tonight at midnight," Luca explained. "But, more pressingly, it's questionable how well-fitted the office building is to support human merchandise. There's... a high likelihood that, if the merchandise is children, they won't last long."

Elena felt her heart stop. "Those kids could die if we're not fast," she murmured.

Massimo sighed. "Investigate the anonymous tips," he told Luca, handing back the tablet. "You have two hours."

The mafia don walked over to Elena and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's have an early dinner at one of the restaurants downtown while we wait."

Elena didn't feel like eating, but she knew Massimo had already compromised once for her sake—and that she couldn't deny her boss what he wanted. So she mutely nodded her head.

Massimo waited as he and Elena sat in silence and stared at their meals. The atmosphere of the restaurant was the sort Massimo would usually enjoy—quiet, private, but still sophisticated—but he found it annoying right now. It only made the fact Elena was too overwhelmed to speak more obvious.

But it wasn't a good reason to waste a good meal. Massimo cut into his steak precisely as he thought about what to say. He needed to cheer up Elena, but he would not give her false hope.

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