—  Hello, this is Wayne Boyd. 

 

“Wayne, it’s me.”

 

—  …Liliana?

 

Liliana glanced quickly at the organization members waiting outside the public phone booth and spoke rapidly.

 

“Something urgent came up. My little brother got hurt, and he’s at Langdon University Hospital right now… I can’t talk long.”

 

—  I’ll disguise myself and head over there. 

 

“No. The Benedetti people are still sticking close…. I’ll go home for a bit. Can you go there first and wait for me?”

 

— Understood. I’ll leave right now. 

 

“…Thank you.”

 

Not long after, she stepped out of the phone booth. Her face was subtly tense, but to the waiting organization members, it probably just looked like she was distraught over her brother.

 

“Angelo still hasn’t woken up yet, right?”

 

When Liliana asked about him, they looked troubled and answered hesitantly.

 

“Well… he’ll probably regain consciousness tomorrow. It could be even later. It might be better to keep watching over him a little longer…”

 

“…I see.”

 

Worried eyes turned toward Liliana, but she had already expected this. She had only brought it up to say what came next.

 

“Then I’ll stop by the house for a bit. I don’t know how long I’ll have to stay at the hospital… I need to change my clothes and pack some things.”

 

💫

 

When she opened the familiar front door and stepped inside the house, what greeted Liliana was a head of golden-blond hair shining brightly alone in the dark living room.

 

At the sound of the door closing, Wayne quickly stood up and turned to look at her. 

 

Even from a distance, her complexion didn’t look good. He hurried over and supported her.

 

“Liliana, are you okay? I heard about the shooting from the police on my way here.”

 

“My brother is fine. One bullet was a through-and-through… the other hit his shoulder, so it wasn’t life-threatening. That’s a relief…”

 

“…What about you?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

She thought she had already cried out all the tears for the day. But suddenly a hot surge rose in her throat. 

 

Liliana clenched her fists tightly. She had expected that the first person to ask if she was okay would be that man, not Wayne or Silvano.

 

She forced away the indifferent face that had flashed in her mind and lifted the corners of her mouth.

 

“Of course. Thank you for coming. Did you have any trouble getting here?”

 

“A colleague who came with me distracted the security guards while I slipped in. We’ll do the same when leaving, so you don’t need to worry.”

 

Wayne sat Liliana down on the living room sofa and added,

 

“Liliana… is it really okay for you to come here like this?”

 

“I came out saying I needed to pack some things, so they probably won’t suspect anything too much right now…”

 

“You’ll have to head back soon, then.”

 

“…Yes. There’s something I really need to talk about… I thought I should see you, even if only for a little while…”

 

Her throat felt dry. 

 

At some point, it seemed like she only contacted or needed Wayne when there was something important to discuss.

 

She felt too guilty to even look at him properly, but Wayne gently stroked the back of her hand with his endlessly warm palm, unaware that it only made the heavy guilt weigh on her even more.

 

“It’s fine. Go ahead and tell me.”

 

“…”

 

“Come on. Speak comfortably.”

 

Liliana took a deep breath and finally spoke.

 

“…You mentioned it before, right? That before you started cooperating with me, you had the Corella Family as your target.”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

“Could you… Possibly share the information you collected back then? You know Prosecutor Harvey Green well, don’t you? If you can hand over the materials on the Corella Family… I want to contact Harvey Green and prepare to indict Gasparo.”

 

For Liliana, this was the best option. 

 

To bring Gasparo down more easily, quickly, and surely than through a sluggish war of attrition, she needed Wayne’s intelligence network and Harvey Green.

 

Desperation burned in her clear green eyes as she looked at him. Wayne met her gaze with wavering eyes, then slowly lowered his head.

 

“Uh… Liliana.”

 

Her heart sank with a thud. 

 

From the choked sound of his voice, she already knew. The desperate request she had barely managed to make was going to be rejected the moment she voiced it.

 

“I’m sorry. If I could help, I’d do it in a heartbeat… but it probably won’t be of much help. It’s not because the materials are confidential—it’s for a different reason.”

 

“Won’t… be of much help?”

 

“With the materials I currently have, we could probably get Gasparo sentenced to one or two years in prison. The problem is that it’ll be difficult to secure a heavier sentence than that. That’s why we’ve been keeping those materials on hold until now.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“We still need to wait for the right time. For a more severe punishment.”

 

It was a reason she couldn’t argue against. She couldn’t even throw a tantrum and say it was okay.

 

But when the lifeline she had been desperately clinging to suddenly snapped, everything before her eyes went pitch black.

 

“I’m sorry I can only say this… but for now, we need to slowly gather more evidence.”

 

“…”

 

“Don’t be impatient. Just like you’ve been doing until now.”

 

It was the most realistic advice, but it was by no means the solution she had hoped for.

 

💫

 

When she returned to the hospital, unexpected news was waiting for her. While she had been away, Paul had moved Angelo to the VIP ward.

 

Whether that had been Theodoro’s intention or his excellent secretary’s, she couldn’t tell.

 

“…Sean?”

 

As she approached the newly assigned hospital room, the first thing she saw was red hair like the setting sun. 

 

Sure enough, the man leaning against the door with his arms crossed was Sean O’Connor.

 

“Don’t tell me… you’ve been standing like that the whole time?”

 

He had been standing in exactly the same posture in front of the door when she left. The only thing that had changed was the floor number; he was still as motionless as a statue.

 

Liliana’s mouth fell open in shock, but Sean only shrugged indifferently.

 

“We’ve got to help each other out.”

 

“What do you mean help each other out…? I haven’t done anything for you.”

 

“Enya came back thanks to you. Since it’s a family matter, I can at least do this much.”

 

Her throat tightened. She dug her nails into her tightly clenched fist and tried to sound calm as she changed the subject.

 

“…What about dinner? You haven’t eaten, have you?”

 

“Dinner?”

 

Sean uncrossed his arms, checked his wristwatch, and muttered with a sigh.

 

“Ah… I didn’t realize it had gotten this late.”

 

How many times had this happened today alone? Tears welled up in her eyes again. 

 

Through the small window in the door, she saw Enya inside the room, gently wiping Silvano’s face with a damp towel.

 

She had made one more request to Wayne. She had asked if the FBI could step in to protect Angelo. What had Wayne answered back then?

 

“Well, it’s possible, but I don’t recommend it. Not for any other reason—it’ll probably make things difficult for you. If something dangerous happens to your brother again… and our agents step forward to protect him, wouldn’t the Benedetti Family become suspicious?”

 

That, too, was something she had no choice but to accept.

 

Yet she couldn’t shake off the bitter feeling. 

 

Seeing these gang members who had stepped up on their own to take care of and protect Angelo—even though she hadn’t asked them to—made it even harder.

 

“Sean, you don’t have to push yourself. There are plenty of Benedetti people here too. Go have dinner with Enya.”

 

“What about you?”

 

“Me…? Does it look like I can eat right now?”

 

Liliana let out a small, bitter laugh, but the stone-faced man didn’t smile and shot back,

 

“Nonsense. Go out with Enya and buy some sandwiches.”

 

“…”

 

Later, the two of them had gone to buy light food and returned carrying six different kinds of sandwiches, saying they didn’t know what Liliana liked.

 

These people really seemed determined to make her heart swell with emotion.

 

Anyway, that night passed quietly without any major incidents. Angelo remained deeply asleep, and Silvano still hadn’t returned even after sunset.

 

Instead, Sean and Enya stayed by Liliana’s side, but after she begged them repeatedly to go home and rest…

 

They eventually left the hospital around midnight.

 

As expected, there was no call from Theodoro. He didn’t come in person either.

 

She spent the boring time alone though organization members were stationed around her and eventually fell asleep.

 

And when she opened her eyes again…

 

“Sister, sis…”

 

“…Huh?”

 

“Sister, wake up. Hurry.”

 

“…Angelo?!”

 

At some point, Angelo had woken up. With his messy bedhead, he was shaking her.

 

“Are you okay?! How do you feel?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine, but look at that. Watch the news, quick. That’s our union office.”

 

“Uh… huh?”

 

Liliana turned to the TV in a daze, and her eyes filled with shock.

 

It was a morning breaking news report: a large explosion had occurred near Chamber Harbor the previous evening.

 

💫

 

The previous day, around 6 p.m. Theodoro’s office.

 

Silvano, who had rushed over after receiving the call, frowned deeply the moment he entered. 

 

He thought something major had happened, but the person who had summoned him was sitting leisurely in his chair, smoking a cigarette and looking out the window.

 

“You son of a bitch with no sense of shame.”

 

“…What?”

 

“Your Lily’s little brother got shot, and you’re just sitting here smoking and slacking off?”

 

“Me?”

 

Theodoro let out a relaxed chuckle as if it wasn’t even worth responding to, and slowly turned his chair to face forward. 

 

However, the eyes that stared directly at Silvano gleamed with the sharp light of a predator.

 

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and spoke quietly but firmly.

 

“Sit. I’ll only explain it once, so listen carefully.”

 

“What the hell… why are you acting all serious?”

 

Before Silvano could even finish grumbling and sit on the sofa, the story began.

 

“A few days ago, I heard Angelico Moretti received a warning from the truck drivers’ union committee. It seems they gave him an earful about his radical union activities.”

 

“Wait, the truck drivers’ union? There hasn’t been a strike lately, has there?”

 

“Right. There wasn’t a strike. There wasn’t really anything that could be called radical activity either.”

 

“So they were just looking for an excuse.”

 

Theodoro nodded in agreement.

 

Just as he said, it was nothing more than a fabricated pretext to justify an attack.

 

“After that, Angelico Moretti was attacked. They probably used the excuse that he didn’t take the warning seriously, and the higher-ups in the union made their move.”

 

“So what you’re saying is… Gasparo used the union to mess with Angelo.”

 

“…”

 

Silvano’s silent affirmation was answer enough. He let out a heavy sigh, then roughly ran his hand through his hair.

 

“Haa…. You’ve been investigating this the whole time?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“…You unlucky bastard. I thought I could score some points with Lily this time.”

 

The latter part was muttered so quietly it was almost inaudible, but Theodoro’s brow still furrowed.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“Nothing. Anyway… so what are you going to do?”

 

“What do you mean, what am I going to do? They have to pay the price too.”

 

The answer came so smoothly that Silvano’s eyes narrowed thinly.

 

“The union… Gasparo’s younger brother is the vice president there.”

 

“So?”

 

“Are you crazy? If you touch Nicholas Corella, it’ll be all-out war for real.”

 

“It was going to happen eventually anyway. This just speeds it up.”

 

There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in Theodoro’s voice as he answered. His decision had already been firm even before he called Silvano over.

 

Even if this was the foolish decision of a man who had gone mad over a single woman.