“Leave us, Dante,” Luigi said.
Dante placed the bugs on the table and left with the sweeper.
Luigi went around his table to where Paulo stood and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked into Paulo's eyes, and Paulo held his gaze.
“Paulo,” he said. “Answer me truthfully. Did you betray me?”
Paulo frowned. “No, dad. I didn't. Why do you think so?”
“The tip off that alerted the police to our operation last night came from your email,” Luigi explained, “that email I just showed you. So, I'll ask you again, as your father: Did you betray me?”
“No,” Paulo said firmly. “There must be some mistake.”
He didn't try to wriggle away or avert his gaze. He kept his eyes locked with Luigi's.
“What sort of mistake?” Luigi asked.
Paulo scrunched up his face thoughtfully. “I'm not sure… somebody might have snuck into my room and used my email to send it.”
Luigi wasn't convinced. “All your devices are locked to fingerprint scans and codes, aren't they?”
“They are…” The frown on Paulo's face cleared up. It was replaced by a stony blankness; the trademark looks of the Frazetta family when things go wrong. “Camille asked to borrow my laptop to check her work emails last night.”
Camille.
She had also been in Luigi's bedroom this morning. Yet that didn't explain how the information about the consignments could have gotten to her.
Paulo was either lying, or Camille was working with somebody at the top of his hierarchy.
“Sit here,” he told Paulo and grabbed the house landline.
“Sir?” Lucia was on the other end, waiting to attend to his needs.
“The bugs you found in Paulo's rooms, where did you see them?” Luigi asked.
“One was in the breast pocket of his jacket, and the other was under his desk,” Lucia replied. “He's not in trouble, is he?”
“Bring Camille to my bedroom immediately,” Luigi instructed and replaced the phone.
“You don't believe me,” Paulo said, “your own son.”
“You've been terribly careless,” Luigi fired back. “I'd be more furious with you if some amateurs were able to infiltrate our family and gather information because of you than if you betrayed me.”
“I could never betray you,” Paulo said.
“Your weakness, your excessive love for women is a knife at my throat!” Luigi snarled. “How is it different from a betrayal?”
“Betrayals sting more. I may have failed you, but I never spurned the path I swore to you.” His eyes were bright with unshed tears, but he inclined his face and blinked hard to keep them from spilling.
Luigi stormed out of the room. On his way to his bedroom, he grappled with his own failure.
Camille came into the room five minutes later. Her nipples were hard beneath the shirt she had chosen. This time, it was a crop top that showed off her toned midriff. Her skirt came down to her knees, but Luigi was certain there was nothing under it. Just her pussy, his place of comfort.
As soon as she shut the door and bolted it, she ran over to hug him. To Luigi's eternal shame, he opened his arms to enfold her.
I can't be sure it's her yet,he reasoned.There's no real evidence.
She stretched up to kiss him, and he bent to meet her lips. They were soft, like he recalled, and warm and pliable, like her body, which pressed against his.
