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CHAPTER 145
Tanggal publikasi:
2026-11-11 09:37:41
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The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 147
RAVENNANICO’S POVNico had been sitting across the street since eight that morning.He’d found the place on his sixth day in Ravenna. The train ticket had given him a town to start with, nothing more. Matteo could have been anywhere. He wasn’t likely to choose a decent hotel, not with his face and surname. Someone would recognise him eventually.So Nico had spent the previous afternoon going from one lodging house to another, showing the photograph to anyone willing to look at it.The sixth landlady had recognised him.She’d held the photograph for a while before asking, “Has the young man done something wrong?”“Not that I know of.”“He pays by the week. Doesn’t cause trouble.” She returned the photograph. “Keeps mostly to himself. Spends half his time at that window.”Nico had thanked her and left.Now he sat in a café opposite the building, a cup of coffee growing cold in front of him. He’d been pretending to read the same newspaper for almost an hour.At ten past nine, the pensio
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 146
FOUR O’CLOCKELIAN’S POVThe first time I see it, I assume someone has forgotten it.There’s a small plate on the back stair, just outside the kitchen. A slice of bread with butter, a napkin underneath. I’m coming from the library with a book tucked under my arm, and I stop long enough to look around.Nobody is there.I leave it alone.When I pass the stairs again an hour later, it’s still there. The butter has started to melt, so I figure whoever left it must have been called away. I go upstairs without giving it another thought.That evening, I asked Rosa whether the kitchen staff had started using the back stairs for their breaks.“Not that I know of, sir.” She’s stirring a pot. “Why do you ask?”“Just curious.”She glances at me, then returns to her cooking. I know that look. She’s decided there’s something I’m not telling her, but she’s polite enough not to ask.The following afternoon, the plate is there again.Four o’clock. Same place. Same napkin.This time I sat down and pick
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 145
DINNER AT SEVENELIAN’S POVThere was dirt under my fingernails. I’d washed my hands twice, but some of it had settled too far underneath, and I was still trying to scrape it out with my thumb when I took my seat at the dining table.Rosa noticed immediately.She gave me a disapproving look from beside the sideboard.“I washed them,” I said.She raised an eyebrow but said nothing.Salvatore was already seated at the far end of the table. His plate was untouched, his napkin still folded neatly beside it. He wasn’t reading, which was unusual. Most evenings, he had a newspaper or some papers beside him, something to keep his attention occupied while he ate.Tonight, he was simply sitting there, his hands resting on the table.“Good evening,” I said.“Elian.”He didn’t look up immediately. When he finally did, I noticed how tired he seemed. Not the usual sort of tiredness that came after a long day. There was something else about him, something I couldn’t quite place.Rosa served my soup.
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 144
WHAT WAS IN THE FOLDERSALVATORE’S POVNico placed the folder on my desk.He didn’t sit down. He didn’t even pull out the chair. He simply stood there, watching me.“Read everything first,” he said. “Then we can talk.”I untied the string and opened it.There were four pages of Nico’s handwriting, a copy of a telegram with a faded blue stamp, and a sheet torn from an old ledger.I started with his notes.The housekeeper. The driver’s brother. The clerk at Borgo Alto.Three separate accounts, all pointing in the same direction.I left the telegram until last.ALL AS YOU SAID. DONT WORRY. BACK SOON.I read it twice before putting it down.Then I straightened it against the edge of my desk. I wasn’t sure why I did that. Perhaps I needed something to keep my hands occupied.“Three people,” Nico said. “They don’t know each other, and their stories match. The clerk asked for money before handing over the ledger page, but the others didn’t ask for anything.”“The housekeeper saw Corrado send
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 143
CHAPTER 144: NICO’S POVBorgo Alto wasn’t much of a station. There was one platform, a leaking roof and a small ticket office with peeling paint around the window.Nico arrived a little after noon. A dog had settled across one of the benches, fast asleep. Apart from that, the place was empty.An old man sat behind the ticket window, wearing a grey cardigan. He had a newspaper spread out in front of him and was busy with a crossword when Nico approached.“Next train’s at four,” he said without looking up.“I’m not here for a train.”That got his attention. He put down his pencil and looked at Nico.“Then what are you here for?”“Were you working here in the spring? Around the time of the Rossi wedding?”The man gave a small laugh. “I’ve been working here for thirty-one years. That’s a lot of springs.”“A young man came through. Tall, dark hair, well dressed. He was carrying a bag.”The old man looked at him for a moment.“I remember him.”Nico pulled out the chair opposite the window
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 142
STATIONSALVATORE’S POVNico arrived at seven in the morning. His shirt was creased, his shoes were dusty, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.Salvatore glanced up from his desk.“You drove through the night.”“Most of it.”“Sit down.”Nico remained standing. He had a thin folder tucked under his arm, tied with a piece of string. He kept one hand over it.Salvatore put his pen down.“What have you got?”“Two people.”“Who?”“The housekeeper and the driver. I found them separately. Neither knows the other has spoken to me.”“And?”“They’ve told me things that match.”Salvatore leaned back in his chair. “About Matteo?”“Yes.”“Then tell me.”Nico looked down at the folder.“Not yet.”Salvatore waited.“There’s a railway station I need to visit. It's a small place, north of here. I want to find the clerk who was working that morning. If he remembers seeing a young man with a bag, that gives us something more solid.”“You believe the two witnesses?”“I do.”“Then what’s stopping y
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