The Mafia King of Philadelphia: From witness to his doted wife

The Kessler Mansion

Viktor’s phone vibrated against the desk. He glanced down. A message from Sienna.

I found something interesting. Why don’t you come and have a look?

A smile touched Viktor’s mouth before he could stop it. Marcus noticed immediately. He stared at his boss.

”Boss.” Viktor didn’t look up. ”What?”

”Why are you smiling?” The smile disappeared. ”I wasn’t.” Marcus gave him a look. Viktor slipped the phone into his pocket.

”What do you have?” Marcus sighed and returned to the problem at hand. ”We’re still struggling to identify the man who won the bid.” Viktor’s expression became serious again. ”And?”

”And we still don’t know what he plans to do with the information.” Marcus leaned forward. ”Should we try something else?”

Viktor considered it. Before he could answer, Marcus added, ”There’s another problem.” Viktor looked up. ”I can’t get in touch with Rocky.” The smile was completely gone now.

”How long?”

”Too long.” Marcus hesitated. ”I think he may have been exposed.” Something cold settled in Viktor’s chest. ”I have a bad feeling about that.” He stood.

”The moment we lost contact with him, we should have assumed the worst.” Marcus nodded. ”There is something else.” Viktor waited.

”I had to reduce the number of guards at the manufacturing site.” Viktor’s eyes narrowed. ”Why?”

”Farm Hills needed more security.” Viktor’s expression hardened. ”Add more men there.” Marcus immediately straightened. ”Yes, Boss.”

”I don’t want any intruders.”

”I’ll handle it.” Viktor picked up his phone again. Sienna’s message was still on his mind. I found something interesting. Knowing his wife, that could mean anything something that could change the course of his entire day.

Viktor glanced toward the door. ”Handle Rocky.” Marcus nodded. ”Yes, Boss, even if I have to tear through every system connected to it.”

Viktor gave a short nod. Then he left the study. His steps carried him down the hallway toward the bedroom, walking toward his wife to see what she had discovered

Sienna was sitting behind her computer when Viktor walked into the bedroom.

She had changed out of her pajamas and was now curled into the chair, one leg tucked beneath her. Several windows were open across the screen.

Viktor stopped at the sight. ”I thought I told you to rest.” Sienna didn’t even turn around. ”I have been resting.” Viktor folded his arms.

”Sienna.”

”For two days.” That got her attention. She turned in the chair to face him.

”You get to leave this house and go to work. You get to talk to people. You get to do whatever mysterious mafia-business thing you do all day.” Her eyes narrowed.

”But I can’t even go to university.”

”You’re recovering.”

”So am I.”

”You’re sitting behind a computer.”

”And?” Viktor stared at her. Sienna turned back to the screen. ”If I can’t go to university, at least let me do something I actually enjoy.”

”I arranged online classes for you.” That made her stop. Slowly, she turned around. ”You did what?”

”Online lectures. Until you’re fully recovered.” Sienna stared at him as though he’d personally insulted her. ”Do you know how boring online lectures are?” Viktor raised an eyebrow.

”They’re lectures.”

”Exactly.” She threw her hands into the air. ”You sit there and stare at diagrams all day. That’s not learning.”

”It is, technically.”

”No, Viktor.” She shook her head. ”I like being there. I like seeing things properly. Feeling the texture of things, asking questions, moving around.” Viktor’s lips twitched.

”You’re very passionate about this.” A laugh almost escaped him. Almost. ”Anyway.” Sienna spun back toward her computer before he could continue arguing.

”Look at this.” Viktor’s expression changed. He walked closer. ”What did you find?” Sienna moved the chair slightly so he could see the screen. ”The person who won the auction.”

Viktor went still. Marcus had been working on that problem for hours. Sienna had apparently solved it from the comfort of their bedroom. He looked at her. She gave him a smug little smile.

”What?”

”Nothing.”

”Say it.”

”I didn’t say anything.”

”You were thinking it.” Viktor leaned closer to the screen. ”Show me.” Sienna’s fingers moved across the keyboard.

”The person hid themselves well.” A new window opened. ”But I found them.” Viktor’s eyes moved over the information. Then Sienna shook her head. ”Well... technically, him isn’t the right word.”

”What do you mean?”

”It’s not one person.” She opened another file. ”It looks like an organization.” Viktor’s attention sharpened.

”And?”

”I dug deeper.” More information appeared. ”There are three people involved.” Viktor studied the names. Sienna continued speaking. ”And here’s the interesting part.” She opened a list of projects.

”They’ve invested in several projects over the years.” Viktor leaned closer. Sienna pointed at the screen. ”All of them involved failed attempts at developing or producing vaccines.” His eyes narrowed.

”That explains why they wanted the project.”

”Exactly.” Sienna leaned back. ”But I still don’t understand something.”

”What?” She turned toward him.

”What are they really after?” Viktor didn’t answer immediately. Sienna looked back at the files. ”It can’t be because they suddenly care about humanity.” Her fingers tapped lightly against the desk.

”So what is it?” She glanced at him.

”Money?”

”Power?” Viktor looked at the screen. ”Vaccines are one of the fastest ways to make enormous amounts of money.” Sienna listened.

”You’re not dealing with individual customers,” Viktor continued. ”If a product is successful, governments buy it. International organizations buy it. Entire countries can become your clients.” Sienna nodded slowly.

”That’s what I was thinking.”

”Of course you were.” She looked at him. Viktor smiled. ”Well done, my little hacker.” Sienna’s mouth curved.

”Little Hacker?” She was everything but a little hacker; she was the best big hacker, but she let it go, now was not the time to gloat.

”But,” Her smile disappeared. ”Oh, here we go.”

”You’ve done enough for today.”

”Viktor.”

”Come downstairs.”

”I just found...”

”Lunch.” Sienna stared at him. ”Did you even look at what I found?”

”Yes.”

”And?”

”And I’m hungry.” Viktor smiled. But as Sienna closed a few of the files and stood from her chair, his eyes returned to the screen. To the name of the organization. His smile faded.

He knew that name. And he didn’t like seeing it there. Not after everything that had happened twenty years ago. Not after the burned laboratory. His father’s death. Don Konstantin’s missing daughter.

Something about the organization sitting behind that winning bid felt wrong. Deeply wrong. Viktor hoped Sienna would lose interest. That she would go back to university. To books. To ordinary problems. Anything but this.