Chapter 189: The Romanos Are Surveilling Isabella

"...it’s owned by three other shell companies, which are owned by two offshore trusts, which are ultimately controlled by the Romano family."

Enzo stood, started pacing.

The Romanos were surveilling Isabella.

Not just watching her casually. Full military-grade surveillance. Recording every conversation. Every movement. Every private moment.

But why?

What did Dante Romano want with Isabella Russo?

"There’s one more thing," Clair said. "And this is where it gets really concerning."

"What?"

"The devices have been active for three weeks. Which means whoever planted them has been listening to Isabella for three weeks. But...." Clair pulled up transmission logs. ".....the data volume is massive. We’re talking hundreds of hours of audio. Conversations with multiple people. Phone calls. Everything."

"Can you tell who she was talking to?"

"Not from the logs alone. But I can tell you this....there were at least a dozen different voice patterns captured. Multiple men. Multiple conversations. And some of those conversations..." Clair hesitated. "Some of those conversations were intimate. Very intimate."

Enzo understood immediately.

Isabella had been bringing men to her apartment.

And the Romanos had been recording everything.

Which meant they had leverage. Blackmail material. Evidence of Isabella’s behavior that could be used against her or her family.

"I need copies of everything," Enzo said. "Every analysis. Every log. Every piece of evidence connecting these devices to the Romanos. And Clair.....this stays between us. No one else knows about this except you, me, and the people I explicitly authorize."

"Understood."

Enzo pulled out his phone, stared at Dimitri’s contact for a long moment.

Then hit call.

***

POV: DIMITRI

Dimitri was in his home office reviewing James Conley’s infiltration timeline when Enzo called.

It was nearly midnight. Calls at midnight were never good news.

"Enzo," Dimitri answered. "What’s wrong?"

"We need to talk. Now. In person." Enzo’s replied.

"I’m listening."

"Not over the phone. This is too sensitive, Will you come? Or should I come to you?"

Dimitri considered. ℯ

If Enzo wanted face-to-face, if he was willing to travel in the middle of the night....

This was important.

"Come here. Use the private entrance. Marco will let you up."

"Thirty minutes."

The call ended.

Dimitri sat back in his chair, mind already racing through possibilities.

What could be so urgent that Enzo needed to discuss it in person at midnight?

***

POV: ENZO

Enzo arrived at Dimitri’s penthouse at 12:34 AM carrying a secure laptop and the seven listening devices in a sealed evidence bag.

Marco let him in without question, Dimitri had clearly authorized the visit.

He found Dimitri in his office, already pouring scotch.

"You look like hell," Dimitri observed, handing Enzo a glass.

"I’ve been awake for thirty-six hours analyzing surveillance equipment." Enzo sat down heavily. "And what I found is going to complicate everything we know about Dante."

"Tell me."

Enzo pulled out the listening devices, set them on Dimitri’s desk.

"These were removed from Isabella’s apartment in Rome six hours ago. My security team found seven total. All planted within the past three weeks. All recording everything Isabella said and did."

Dimitri studied the devices without touching them.

"Who planted them?"

"Dante Romano." Enzo pulled up Clair ’s analysis on his laptop. "The devices are military-grade. Custom-made in Naples. Transmitting to a secure server owned by Romano shell companies. There’s no question. this is Dante Romano’s operation."

Dimitri’s expression darkened.

"Why is he surveilling Isabella?"

"That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out." Enzo showed Dimitri the transmission logs. "He’s been recording everything for three weeks. Every conversation. Every phone call. Every visitor."

"Which means he’s gathering intelligence," Dimitri said slowly. "On Isabella. On the Russo family. On anyone Isabella talks to."

"Including you." Enzo met Dimitri’s eyes. "Isabella and I spoke twice in the past three weeks. Once when I called to check on her. Once when she called me about being followed. If Dante’s been listening...."

"He knows you’re in contact with her. He knows you care enough to help her. He knows there’s a connection." Dimitri stood, started pacing. "Which means he’s mapping relationships. Building a network diagram of who talks to who. Understanding alliances."

"Exactly. And Dimitri...." Enzo hesitated. "There’s something else. The devices captured intimate conversations. Multiple men. Isabella’s been... she’s been bringing people to her apartment."

Dimitri’s jaw tightened.

He didn’t care about Isabella’s sex life. She wasn’t his problem anymore.

But if she was bringing strangers into her apartment while being surveilled...

"Dante could have someone close to her," Dimitri said. "Someone she trusts. Someone she’s letting into her apartment regularly."

"That’s my concern. What if one of the men she’s been seeing is actually working for Dante? What if he’s the one who planted the devices?"

"Do we know who these men are?"

"No. Just voice patterns on the recordings. But Dimitri...." Enzo’s voice turned grim. "If Dante has someone that close to Isabella, if he has a man she’s sleeping with who’s feeding him information...."

"Then Isabella’s completely compromised. Everything she knows, Dante knows. Everyone she talks to, Dante hears about. Every family secret, every business dealing, every private conversation....."

"All of it accessible to the man planning revenge against you."

The implications settled between them.

Dante Romano wasn’t just planning attacks on Dimitri’s operations.

He was infiltrating the social networks around him. Using people connected to Dimitri....even tangentially, as intelligence sources.

"We need to tell Lorenzo," Enzo said. "Isabella is his daughter. He deserves to know she’s being surveilled."

"No," Dimitri said immediately.

"What?"

"We don’t tell Lorenzo. Not yet." Dimitri moved back to his desk. "Because if we tell Lorenzo now, he’ll overreact. He’ll pull Isabella back into the family fold. He’ll assign protection. He’ll make a scene. And Dante will know we discovered his surveillance."

"So we just let Isabella stay compromised?"

"We let Isabella think she’s safe. We let Dante think his surveillance is still active. And i use that to my advantage."

Enzo understood immediately.

"You want to feed Dante false information through Isabella."