One of his own lieutenants. A man trusted with territories and collections for years.
Emma spoke then, very quietly. She said the man with the scar had not only come to their home. She had seen him at other houses nearby. She counted the families she knew about on her fingers.
Seven families.
Seven households stripped of everything while their children watched.
Rocco stood and made a phone call.
He arranged for food and cash to be delivered to the house within the hour. He arranged for the electricity to be restored the following morning. He arranged for someone to fix the broken front door.
Sarah stared at him and asked why he was helping them.
He looked at Emma when he answered.
He told her that someone had used his name to destroy her family.
And that made it personal.
The Meeting at Midnight
That same night, Rocco drove back through the rain to his office and called Vincent directly.
Vincent answered casually. Too casually. He said he had heard Rocco had been in the neighborhood and asked if everything was all right.
Rocco kept his voice level and mentioned Sarah Thompson’s name.
The silence on the other end lasted exactly long enough to confirm everything he already knew.
