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

”For the first time in my life, I don’t know whether protecting someone means telling them the truth or keeping it from them.” Marcus watched him carefully.

Then another thought came to him. ”Why?” Marcus frowned. ”Why what?”

”Why can’t we find anything about her?” Viktor’s voice hardened again. ”When Sienna first came into my life, we looked into her background.” Marcus nodded.

”For months and found nothing.” Viktor shook his head. ”Everything just stops.” ”At Fabio.” Viktor’s eyes narrowed.

Marcus remained quiet. ”Whatever was there died with Fabio.” Viktor walked slowly around the desk. ”But now...it looks like someone else has taken over.” His eyes moved toward the ceiling, toward the bedroom where Sienna was sleeping.

”Someone has been protecting her.” He paused. ”Or hiding her.” Marcus looked at him. Viktor’s voice became colder.

”If they’re protecting her, then why?” He looked toward the dark window. ”And if they’re hiding her...” His expression hardened. ”Then what do they want from her?”

The question hung in the room. Viktor walked back to the desk and rested both hands against it. ”Who are you?” He wasn’t speaking to Marcus anymore. His eyes were fixed on nothing.

”Who are you protecting her from? and what do you want with my wife?” His jaw tightened.

”Are you protecting her from a catastrophe....or are you keeping her hidden because you plan to use her?” Marcus watched Viktor carefully. He knew his boss had reached the point where uncertainty was no longer going to be tolerated. Viktor straightened.

”Find out who has been watching Sienna.” Marcus nodded. ”I’ll start immediately.” ”And Marcus...”

”Yes, boss?”

”Don’t let anyone know we’re looking.” Marcus understood. ”Not even Sienna?” Viktor’s eyes moved toward the hallway. He thought of her sleeping upstairs. His entire world, completely unaware that people she had never heard of were fighting over her identity.

Marcus nodded. ”And also send word to Carina,” Viktor said. ”I need more answers from her.” Marcus gave a small nod. ”Too bad she left the country about an hour ago.” Viktor looked up.

”She left?”

”Apparently.” Marcus leaned against the edge of the desk. ”From what I heard, Aliya, Elena, and Don Capri went with them.” Viktor was quiet for a moment. ”They’re not at the mansion.”

”I know.” Marcus folded his arms. ”When I was coming in, I saw Marcel trying to get inside. He was asking what we had done to his mother. I told him we don’t have his mother.”

Viktor raised an eyebrow. ”What did he say?” ”He didn’t believe me.” Marcus shrugged.

”I figured if the Don had already left and those three couldn’t be found, they probably left with him.” Viktor leaned back in his chair. A slow breath escaped him.

”Good.” Marcus looked at him. ”Good?”

”At least I finally got rid of those people without having to kill them myself.” A faint smile touched Viktor’s face. ”With Aliya pretending to be his daughter, it should buy us some time.” Marcus nodded.

”Hopefully.” Viktor’s expression quickly became serious again. ”Keep looking.”

”I will.” Marcus hesitated before adding,

”Mannuel will be arriving soon. With his skills, we might finally get somewhere with information about Sienna.” Viktor glanced at him. ”Though his skills aren’t even close to Sienna’s.”

Marcus shook his head. ”If only we could ask her to do it herself.” Viktor stared at him for a moment. ”It seems I have a bunch of losers working for me.” Marcus straightened.

”Boss...”

”If you can’t get something as simple as this done, what exactly am I paying you for?” Marcus opened his mouth, then decided against answering. Viktor picked up a file from the desk.

”Get it done.”

”Yes, boss.” Viktor’s eyes moved toward the window. ”It has been too long since I went back to Kessler Construction.” Marcus’s expression changed slightly. ”With Aria’s mother gone, I need to start going to the office again.”

He paused. ”There are things that need my attention.” Marcus nodded. ”I’ll make sure everything is arranged.” Viktor was about to return to the file when another thought crossed his mind.

”And one more thing.”

Marcus waited. ”Have someone prepare a tomb for them in the Kessler cemetery.” Marcus blinked.

”For who?”

”Aria’s parents.” The answer was simple. Marcus studied Viktor’s face. Viktor’s expression had softened slightly. ”Aria might need a place where she can go and cry when she misses her parents.”

Marcus was quiet for a moment. Then he smiled faintly. ”Okay, boss.” He shook his head. ”That’s actually very thoughtful of you, taking care of your niece.”

Viktor looked down at the papers in front of him. ”I’m not doing it for Aria.” Marcus frowned. ”Then who?” Viktor didn’t hesitate.

”Sienna.” Marcus smiled. ”Of course.” Viktor finally looked up. ”She worries about her.” He leaned back slowly.

”She won’t be able to rest knowing Aria has nowhere to go when she misses them.” Marcus nodded. ”And you want to give Sienna one less thing to worry about.”

Viktor said nothing. He didn’t need to. Marcus already understood. For the past few days, almost every decision Viktor made somehow came back to the same person.

Sienna. Her safety. Her peace. Her happiness. Even when he was dealing with enemies, business, the Don, the missing blood sample, and the mystery surrounding her identity, part of his mind was always with her.

Marcus watched him for a moment before quietly shaking his head. ”You’re really gone, boss.” Viktor looked at him.

”What?”

”Nothing.” Marcus turned toward the door. ”I’ll get everything done.” Viktor walked out. His thoughts had already returned to the bedroom upstairs. To Sienna. To the truth he still had to tell her. And to the question that refused to leave his mind.

How much longer could he protect her from the truth before protecting her became another form of betrayal?

—

By the time Viktor arrived at Kessler Construction, it was already past noon.

He had barely stepped through the main entrance when the atmosphere in the building changed.

A few employees had been taking advantage of the quiet afternoon. One was leaning back in his chair, scrolling through his phone. Another was talking to a colleague instead of working. Someone else had apparently decided that the pile of files on his desk could wait a little longer.

Then one of the directors spotted Viktor. He froze. ”Good afternoon, sir.” The greeting came so quickly that several people turned around. The director immediately straightened his jacket.

”Everyone, this is Mr. Kessler, the CEO.” Silence. Every employee who had been sitting comfortably suddenly found a reason to sit properly. Phones disappeared. Conversations stopped. Chairs scraped against the floor as people hurried back to their desks.

Viktor slowly looked around the office. He didn’t need to raise his voice. His presence was enough.

”So this is what happens when I stay away for a few months?” Nobody answered. Viktor’s eyes moved from one employee to another.

”Get back to work.”

”Yes, sir.” The response came almost at once. Viktor turned toward the director. ”I want the pending reports on my desk within the next minute.”

”Yes, sir.”

”And the construction schedules?”

”I’ll have them brought to you immediately.”

”Good.” Viktor continued walking.

”Call the project managers. I want updates on every active site. And if anyone has been sitting on an unfinished report because they thought I wouldn’t notice, tell them they have another thing coming.”

”Yes, sir.” The employees watched him disappear down the hallway. Only after the office door closed behind him did anyone breathe normally again. The mysterious big boss was back. And judging by the look on his face, nobody intended to give him another reason to visit unexpectedly.

Inside his office, Viktor dropped into the large chair behind his desk. A file was placed in front of him. Then another. Then another.

He signed one. Then another. A few minutes later, another stack appeared. Viktor stared at it. ”This is ridiculous.” He opened the first file. Budget approvals. The second. Construction reports.

The third. Contracts. The fourth contained another set of documents that required his signature.

He leaned back. This was exactly why he had asked his stepsister to handle most of the administrative side of the company.

It was boring. There was no strategy in signing papers all afternoon. No excitement. No challenge. Just files. More files. And somehow, every time he finished one, three more appeared. Viktor signed another document and rubbed his forehead.

His mind wasn’t even on the work. It kept drifting. Back to Sienna. Back to the photograph. Back to Don Konstantin. Back to the question of who had been hiding his wife all these years. He tried to focus.

He couldn’t. Another employee knocked and entered with more documents. ”Sir, these need your signature.” Viktor stared at the stack. ”Put them there.”

The employee placed them carefully on the desk. Viktor looked at the growing pile. Then he pushed his chair back. ”You know what?” The employee froze. ”Take all of this to the house.”

”Yes, sir.”

”Or call Marcus. He can deal with it.” The employee nodded quickly. ”Yes, sir.” Viktor stood. He had officially had enough of the office. He had been there barely an hour. And already he wanted to leave.

Perhaps his stepsister had been right all along. He wasn’t built for sitting behind a desk all day. His mind was somewhere else. More specifically, it was with his wife. ”I’m leaving,” he said.

The employee nodded. ”Yes, sir.” Viktor walked out of the office. The same employees who had been terrified of him a few minutes earlier watched him leave with almost visible relief.