Rocco’s jaw tightened.

He had heard stories like this before—loan sharks, extortionists, street criminals—but when the girl lifted her sleeve and revealed bruises along her thin arm, something colder than anger ran through him.

“They told mommy not to tell anyone,” she added softly.

Then she looked up at him again.

“But I recognized one of them.”

Rocco leaned down, his voice calm but dangerous.

“Tell me who.”

A Name That Should Have Protected Them

The girl’s small hands trembled as she spoke.

“It was a man from your gang, sir.”

For a moment, the rain was the only sound between them.

“My mommy cried,” she continued. “She said the mafia took everything from us.”

Rocco froze.