The Rise Of The Caged Mafia King

Chapter 2 – The Arrest

The sound of sirens grew louder outside the estate.

Leo was still kneeling beside his mother’s body when the first police officers rushed into the room. Red and blue lights flashed across the walls, across the broken glass, across the blood on his hands.

“Step away from the body!” one officer shouted.

Leo looked up slowly, his mind still struggling to accept what he was seeing. “She’s my mother,” he said hoarsely. “She needs help.”

The officer’s voice hardened. “Sir, step away now.”

Leo raised his trembling hands and slowly stood up. His shirt was stained with her blood. His fingers were shaking.

Within seconds, more officers flooded the room. Cameras followed.

Cameras.

Leo turned toward the doorway just as reporters began pushing past the outer gates. Someone had called them fast. Too fast.

Flash!

Flash!

Flash!

“Leonardo Moretti! Did you kill your mother?”

“Is it true you argued with her tonight?”

“Were you fighting over control of the family business?”

The questions hit him like bullets.

“I didn’t kill her,” Leo said, his voice breaking. “I just found her like this.”

Two of his personal bodyguards pushed through the chaos, trying to reach him.

“Sir! We’re here,” Marco, his head of security, said urgently. “Don’t say anything. We’ll handle this.”

But they couldn’t.

Because behind them, walking calmly through the flashing lights, came Luca.

Uncle Luca looked perfectly composed. His suit was neat.

His hair was in place. His expression was almost… sympathetic.

He walked toward Leo slowly, ignoring the cameras.

“This is why,” Luca said quietly, stopping in front of him, “you never should have come home.”

Leo stared at him in disbelief. “You did this,” he whispered.

Luca’s lips curved slightly. “Careful what you say in front of the police.”

An officer stepped forward holding a clear evidence bag.

Inside it—

A knife.

Leo’s heart dropped.

“That was found near the victim,” the officer said. “It has your fingerprints on it.”

“That’s impossible!” Leo shouted. “I never touched that!”

Another officer spoke up. “We also have a witness who heard you arguing with her earlier tonight. Loudly.”

Leo turned to Marco. “Tell them. Tell them I wasn’t alone earlier.”

Marco’s jaw tightened. “We were stationed outside, sir. We didn’t hear anything inside.”

Because they weren’t allowed inside the private office.

Because Luca made sure of that.

Leo looked back at Luca. His uncle gave him a small, almost sad smile.

“You were angry, Leo,” Luca said gently, loud enough for the reporters to hear. “You and your mother disagreed about leadership. You felt she didn’t trust you.”

“That’s not true!” Leo snapped.

Flash!

Flash!

Flash!

The cameras loved it.

An officer grabbed Leo’s wrists roughly and pulled them behind his back.

“You are under arrest for the murder of Maria Moretti.”

The cold metal cuffs clicked around his wrists.

Marco stepped forward immediately. “This is wrong. There must be a mistake. He would never harm his own mother.”

“Step back,” the officer warned.

Marco looked helpless. For the first time in years, Leo saw fear in his most loyal guard’s eyes.

“Get a lawyer,” Leo told him quietly. “Don’t let him—”

The officer shoved him forward before he could finish.

As they walked him through the estate gates, the reporters moved like a swarm.

“Did greed drive you to kill her?”

“Was this about control of the Moretti empire?”

“Are you guilty?”

Leo kept repeating the same words.

“I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill her.”

But his voice was drowned by the noise.

As he was pushed into the police car, he looked up one last time.

Luca stood at the entrance of the estate, hands folded in front of him, looking every bit like a grieving brother.

Their eyes met.And Luca smiled.

*****

The interrogation lasted all night.

Leo sat across from two detectives in a cold room with white walls and harsh lights.

“We have your fingerprints on the weapon,” one detective said, sliding photos across the table.

“I didn’t touch it,” Leo repeated.

“You were the last person seen entering her office.”

“I found her already dead.”

“You were overheard arguing about control of the family.”

“That argument was weeks ago.”

The second detective leaned forward. “Your uncle testified that you were frustrated. That you felt overlooked.”

Leo let out a bitter laugh. “Of course he did.”

“So you admit there was tension?”

“In every powerful family there is tension,” Leo said. “That doesn’t mean murder.”

The detective studied him carefully. “Your uncle also said your mother planned to change her will.”

Leo froze.

“That’s a lie.”

“Was it?”

Leo leaned forward now, his voice low and steady. “You’re being manipulated. Check the security logs. Check who had access to the office before me.”

“We did,” the detective replied calmly. “The cameras inside the hallway were disabled.”

“Disabled?” Leo repeated.

“An hour before the murder.”

Leo slowly leaned back in his chair.

Of course they were.

Everything was prepared.Everything was clean.Everything pointed at him.

“Your uncle says he wants justice,” the detective continued. “He’s cooperating fully.”

Leo closed his eyes briefly.

Justice.