Marco walked slightly ahead, guiding Don Genovese through the halls of Commissioned. The bar buzzed with the usual rhythm of evening service.
It had been a while since the older Genovese had stepped inside the place.
The staff had noticed immediately when he arrived.
Since Luca wasn’t around, the responsibility of hosting him had fallen to Marco.
"So Luca didn’t tell you where he was going and when he would be back?" Don asked.
"No sir." Marco answered respectfully.
Behind them, Julian followed a few steps back, his hands in his pockets as he listened to the conversation with mild interest.
Don Genovese stopped walking briefly, glancing around. "Did he go with his ring?" he asked.
Marco shook his head. "No. He told me he left it behind. He didn’t want to be tracked."
Don Genovese’s eyes narrowed slightly.
That detail clearly didn’t sit well with him.
"He assured me he wasn’t doing anything dangerous," Marco added quickly.
Luciano Genovese disappearing without his ring meant only one thing. He wanted privacy.
"Idiot went to see his mother." Don said flatly.
"How would you know that?" Julian asked.
Don Genovese didn’t even look at him at first. Instead, he stood at the glass partition of the platinum section, his large hand resting against the railing as he stared down at the dance floor below.
The music pulsed through the club in deep, rhythmic waves. Colored lights slid over the bodies moving beneath them, laughter and drunken energy rising from the crowd. From up here, the chaos looked controlled—contained behind glass.
"He doesn’t want me to find her," Don continued calmly. "But I know where she is."
Julian said nothing to that.
The private booths behind them were already filled with the type of clientele that kept Commissioned thriving.
"Any raids lately?" he asked.
Marco straightened slightly beside him. "No sir." He gestured toward the floor below with a faint smile. "The cops have done well to stay away from Commissioned. Our clientele can be frightening."
Don raised an eyebrow slightly.
"We have judges, politicians... even the richest man in New York is a platinum member and his wife," Marco continued proudly. "People who come here don’t want headlines."
"Luca has kept this front quite steady," Don said after a moment. He turned toward them now, nodding slightly. "Amazing job guys."
Then the older man shifted his gaze toward Julian.
"Take me to his office."
Julian nodded. "Of course."
He turned toward the hallway that led deeper into the club.
But before they could take more than a few steps, Marco’s phone vibrated in his pocket.
He slipped the device out quickly, glancing down at the screen. His brows furrowed immediately. "Nonnina?" he said as soon as he picked up.
Only one person would ever call him from the home phone.
Don Genovese’s eyes flicked toward Marco slowly.
Julian stopped walking.
As Nonnina spoke, colour drained from Marco’s face.
"I’ll be right there." He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t even wait for a response before pulling the phone away from his ear.


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