Chapter 2 - Laurent Escapes Into The Underground Manhattan Service Tunnels
The heavy oak service doors of L’Étoile Noir swung violently against the wall as Monsieur Laurent bolted toward the kitchen. Silverware clattered against fine china as diners turned their heads in sudden, collective confusion.
Alessandro Moretti did not even blink, his dark eyes fixed on the empty space where the maître d’ had stood a second before. With a flick of his wrist, Alessandro signaled his lead bodyguard to block the rear exit.
"Do not let him leave the building," Alessandro ordered, his voice terrifyingly calm amid the mounting chaos. The bodyguard nodded once, moving with silent, lethal speed toward the swinging kitchen doors.
Camilla Russo stood frozen beside table four, her phone still raised in her hand as the livestream comments cascaded like a waterfall. "What is happening? Why is everyone running?" she demanded, her voice shrill and desperate.
Alessandro ignored her completely, turning his intense gaze back down toward me. "You knew what those marks meant the moment you saw them, didn't you, Sophie?" he asked softly.
My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird inside a cage. I clutched the heavy leather-bound reserve list to my chest as if it were a shield against his scrutiny.
"My father taught me that code when I was ten years old," I admitted, my voice shaking despite my best efforts. "He said it was a language reserved for people who had nothing left to lose."
Alessandro stood up slowly from his chair, towering over the white-linen table. The silver candlelight caught the sharp angles of his jawline as he stepped closer to me.
"Your father was Étienne Dubois, a man the international press branded as a thief," Alessandro recalled, his tone neutral and calculating. "The world thought he fled to Europe with eight million dollars of relief funds."
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"He didn't steal a single dime," I whispered fiercely, the old defensive anger rising inside me. "He was framed by the very people who now sit on the board of Black Star Holdings."
"And yet, his private cipher is written in my restaurant's wine list," Alessandro replied, his eyes narrowing. "Explain how that happened, Sophie, before my men drag Laurent back from the basement."
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