The arrest had not gone public yet.
But the moment the news slipped into the highest political chamber of Portovelo, the room fell into a silence thick enough to choke on.
The Chief Minister's private council chamber—normally filled with loud voices, egos, and arguments—felt colder tonight. The polished wooden table reflected their anxious faces back at them like a mirror they didn't want to look into.
The name alone carried weight heavier than law.
Vincenzo Moretti.
Captured.
A minister dropped his pen.
Another sucked in a sharp breath.
A third stared ahead, unable to blink.
For a moment, none of them spoke, because none of them had believed this could ever actually happen. They weren't cowards—they were seasoned political players, used to blood, scandals, and threats.
But Vincenzo?
He was a different class of danger.
Not because he ever hurt them directly…
But because he was the kind of mind that made chaos look planned.
Someone who survived every political trap they set.
Someone whose "coincidences" felt like surgical strikes.
They believed he was a silent architect of violence.
A man who didn't need armies—he needed only opportunity.
So their disbelief was not fear.
It was shock that someone like him could be caught.
One minister finally exhaled:
"Impossible… How can he be arrested just like that? No leaks? No movement? No whispers?"
They all knew something else too:
If Vincenzo had even ten seconds of warning, he would vanish like smoke.
A younger minister looked around nervously.
"Who ordered the arrest? Who had the authority to move Mateo into custody so quietly? When did this operation even start?"
Then someone cleared his throat.
All eyes turned.
Minister Ravan Trevis—one of the most powerful men in the room, the type whose signature could resurrect or bury careers—slowly raised his hand.
"It was my order."
The room froze.
Even the air stilled.
Ravan's expression did not show pride or fear—just cold calculation.
"I didn't inform any of you," he continued calmly. "Because leaks are too common. If Vincenzo had sensed even a shift in the wind, he would have walked into the ocean before letting us put cuffs on him."
A few ministers stiffened.
They understood the insult hidden beneath the explanation:
He didn't trust the room.
And he was right not to.
Ravan kept talking, voice low and steady.
"We all knew the day would come when we'd have to arrest him. The Santoro gang massacre was not the only stain on our city.
the park incident… the dragging of Santoro's leader… captured by that boy Mateo—"
One minister cut in sharply:
"Mateo is in custody now, isn't he? Protected?"
Ravan nodded.
"The operation was timed when Mateo finally agreed to speak. And with the video he recorded—even though the face is blurred—the voice… the tone… they match Vincenzo's."
Another minister whispered:
"That alone is enough for an arrest warrant."
They all knew the truth:
The blurred video wasn't solid evidence.
But the city didn't need solid evidence to suspect Vincenzo.
His legend filled in the missing pieces.
The good minister—who had always fought honestly—leaned forward.
"This was necessary. A man responsible for orchestrating violence on that scale should face judgment. Mateo risked his life to speak. We must protect him."
Silence followed.
The corrupt ministers looked away.
Not because they were afraid of Vincenzo.
But because many of them had once tried to strike from the shadows—political blocks, manipulated investigations, funding criminal groups to weaken the Morettis.
And they failed every time.
To them, Vincenzo was not supernatural…
He was simply too clever, too slippery, too unpredictable.
Many had believed he was responsible for deaths he had nothing to do with.
A minister smirked bitterly.
"We tried to cut off his influence many times… yet he always sidestepped the blade. Every attempt failed. Every plan backfired."
Another muttered:
"And now he's arrested. Not because of our strategies. Not because of intelligence work we supervised. But because Ravan moved alone."
Ravan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You can thank me later. For now, we must move carefully. If any of you have… connections to certain sectors, I suggest you sever them before the investigation expands."
The good minister didn't miss the implication.
He knew corruption was deeper than the ocean between the two cities.
He knew they all wore masks—some cleaner, some filthier.
But without proof, he couldn't do anything yet.
Politics was not good vs evil.
It was gray vs darker gray.
But tonight, every shade in the room agreed on one thing:
They believed they had finally captured a monster.
A mastermind.
A man whose shadow they thought stretched beyond Portovelo and reached into Acrofo.
They were very confident.
Very proud.
And very wrong.
-------
*CHIEF OFFICE*
The Chief's office was sealed. Not metaphorically. Literally. Three layers of soundproofing. Signal jammers humming inside the walls. No windows. No cameras.
Only a single table, a heavy desk, and the weight of an entire city sitting between them.
The five officers stood in front of the Chief.
Not like heroes. Not like men celebrating a victory. Like professionals who had just pulled a trigger they knew could not be unpulled. The Chief didn't ask them to sit.
He already knew this wouldn't be a comfortable conversation.
He looked at Daniel first.
"Start from the beginning."
Daniel nodded.
"Mateo was placed under protective custody two days ago. Initially, only our unit and internal security knew."
Lena continued without waiting.
"That didn't last."
She tapped her tablet, pulling up a chaotic map of red indicators.
"Within twelve hours, rumors started circulating. Not officially. Not cleanly. But enough."
Alex added, jaw tight:
"Street whispers. Dock workers. Low-level fixers. People who shouldn't know… knew."
The Chief leaned back slowly.
"So the city knew Mateo was alive."
Ethan corrected him.
"No, sir. The city knew Mateo was important."
That distinction hung heavy.
Marcus spoke next, voice firm.
"And in this city, when a witness becomes 'important', he becomes a countdown."
The Chief nodded once.
"That's why hiding him stopped being an option."
Daniel confirmed.
"Yes, sir. If Mateo stayed hidden, the pressure would only build. Someone would try to extract him. Or kill him. Or force a confession."
Lena added.
"And if Mateo died quietly… the case dies with him."
The Chief folded his hands.
"And Vincenzo walks free."
Silence.
Then Alex spoke, blunt.
"And if Vincenzo walks free, he says the video is fake. Blurry face. No fingerprints. No direct order. The case drags on for years."
Ethan finished the thought.
"Until people forget."
The Chief exhaled slowly.
"So you decided to freeze the board."
Daniel met his eyes.
"Yes. Arresting Vincenzo early was the only move that removed his ability to act."
The Chief raised an eyebrow.
"You arrested the most powerful criminal in the city not because you were ready… but because you couldn't wait."
Marcus answered calmly.
"We weren't late. We were exactly on time."
The Chief studied them.
"No resistance," he said.
Daniel nodded.
"He walked out."
The Chief's expression tightened.
"That's the part I don't like."
Lena spoke carefully.
"Sir… everyone expected violence. Even us. The department expected it."
Alex added.
"That's why it worked. He didn't resist because resisting would confirm every rumor."
Ethan frowned.
"Or because he already knew resisting was pointless."
The Chief leaned forward.
"Do you believe he knew about Mateo before anyone else?"
Daniel didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Lena added.
"And he knows we arrested him because of Mateo."
Alex crossed his arms.
"That's what worries me. From his perspective, this arrest makes sense. Which means he understands our logic."
The Chief's eyes narrowed.
"A man like Vincenzo doesn't panic when he understands your logic."
Marcus nodded.
"He adapts."
The Chief stood up.
"So let's be clear. You didn't arrest him because you had an airtight case."
Daniel answered.
"No. We arrested him because waiting would have killed the witness."
The Chief walked to the wall, where a paused frame from the arrest video was displayed.
Vincenzo Moretti. Hands behind his back. Expression calm. Eyes unreadable.
The Chief stared at it.
"This city has tried to kill him before," he said quietly.
Marcus answered.
"Yes. Politicians. Rival gangs. Even people who benefited from his existence but wanted him gone."
Lena added:
"They all failed. Not because he's untouchable — but because he never leaves evidence."
The Chief turned.
"And yet today… he walked."
Daniel's voice was cold.
"That's why this doesn't feel like a win."
The Chief nodded slowly.
"Because from his point of view, this arrest isn't chaos."
Alex said it plainly.
"It's just another board state."
The Chief looked at all five.
"You're telling me that arresting him early was the right move."
"Yes," Marcus said.
"But you're also telling me," the Chief continued, "that he expected something like this eventually."
Daniel answered.
"Yes."
The Chief exhaled.
"Then this goes deeper than we thought."
Lena frowned.
"He believes we arrested him to protect Mateo."
The Chief corrected her.
"No. He believes we arrested him because we know he's already guilty."
Silence.
Ethan spoke softly.
"And from his reputation… that's not an unreasonable conclusion."
The Chief nodded.
"That's the danger. Everyone thinks he's the mastermind. Including us."
He straightened.
"You did the right thing. Arresting him early bought us time."
He paused.
"But time against a man like this is not safety."
The room felt heavier.
The Chief's final order was simple.
"Mateo stays alive. Vincenzo stays contained. And nobody — not the media, not politicians, not even internal departments — gets comfortable."
Daniel nodded.
"Because if he planned for this—"
The Chief finished.
"—then the real move hasn't happened yet."
Silence fell again.
Not fear.
Calculation.
Because no one in that room believed Vincenzo Moretti was innocent.
And that belief alone was already shaping the future.