Chapter 44: Old D'Antonio's Surprise

On the Long Island Expressway in New York, Castle, after agreeing to bring Alexis to meet Gianna soon, contentedly bid farewell to the couple and drove home. With a full stomach and in high spirits, he chatted on the phone with Beckett, telling her about his return and that he would report to the police station the next morning.

Beckett, who was busy finalizing paperwork for a case at the police station, was not exactly thrilled to learn that Castle, whom she found quite bothersome, would be following her around again starting tomorrow. This only added to her feeling that the universe was conspiring against her.

Castle, oblivious to Beckett's thoughts and feeling unburdened by any distractions from his mission to woo his wife, cheerfully drove home, unaware that thousands of miles away, an old man was eagerly absorbing information about him and John from his butler.

Back in Rome, in the study of the D'Antonio family castle, the old patriarch, Mr. D'Antonio, sat in silence after hearing something unsettling from his butler. After a moment, he asked with a heavy tone, "What did you say? Gianna already knows Santino's scheming and has completed her setup against her brother?"

The butler, alert and careful not to underestimate the gravity of the situation, replied, "Yes, sir. The intelligence I have indicates that Miss Gianna was aware of the incident in Paris, France, and it's possible that she even provided some intelligence support for the operation that neutralized Mr. Santino's influence."

"Tell me everything about what happened…"

Although the news had dampened his spirits, Old D'Antonio was still eager to know how his daughter intended to deal with her brother.

"Sir, it all started about a month and a half ago in New York when the son of the local Russian mob boss, Tanasov, took a liking to an antique car owned by John Wick. Everything unfolded from there...

Then, a writer friend of Mr. Wick suddenly came into our view, assisting Mr. Wick along with another assassin friend named Marcus. In one night, they eliminated both Tanasov and his son, took advantage of the chaos within the Tanasov family to wipe out most of their active members...

The day after this deed, Mr. Wick suddenly requested a meeting with Miss Gianna, insisting that the meeting not take place in Italy but in Marseille, France, and also requested that Miss Gianna keep the meeting confidential. Honestly, I and the intelligence team were perplexed as to why Miss Gianna would trust a request from an assassin and indeed follow through with it."

At this point, the butler paused, allowing Old D'Antonio to chuckle, "Gianna has been smitten with John Wick ever since she met him years ago. Even though John initially rejected her, her affection for him remained. No doubt, she was thrilled to receive his invitation for a meeting."

The butler, in charge of all external intelligence for the D'Antonio family, was well aware of these dynamics. As a servant, sometimes playing dumb and allowing one's superior to demonstrate their wisdom is part of the job—especially for someone like him, who had served Old D'Antonio for decades.

Old D'Antonio knew his butler's tactics well but didn't mind. After all, there's a certain pleasure in being able to play along, even before an old fox like himself.

"And then what happened?"

Old D'Antonio, having enjoyed a moment of intrigue, was more eager to hear what came next.

The butler continued, referring to the folder he held, "After that, Mr. Wick flew alone to Marseille and met with Miss Gianna. However, what they discussed remains unknown to us as only Gianna's personal bodyguard Cassian was present with them, and we haven't been able to question Cassian directly. After that meeting, Cassian no longer served as her personal bodyguard but instead started recruiting skilled individuals across Europe and the USA, conducting defensive training in a camp under Miss Gianna's control in Africa.

It appears that these preparations were more about enhancing her personal security rather than offensive purposes.

After Cassian left, Mr. Wick has been primarily responsible for Miss Gianna's personal security, and it has been confirmed that Miss Gianna and Mr. Wick are now in a romantic relationship."

"Heh, she finally got her wish," Old D'Antonio chuckled, like a father amused and content to see his daughter finally achieve her long-held desire.

After laughing for a while and even fantasizing about his future grandchildren, Old D'Antonio snapped back to the present, ready to hear more.

Seeing that his master was ready to continue, the butler proceeded, "Three days ago, that writer friend of Mr. Wick who had helped eliminate the Tanasov family flew alone to Paris. Upon arriving, he used a direct line

 provided by Miss Gianna to the Continental Hotel to hire a mercenary squad to rescue two kidnapped American girls.

The following day, a fierce battle erupted on Paradise Street in Paris, at a location known to be associated with an Albanian trafficking ring that Santino had dealings with. All members of the trafficking ring were killed, and four of our family members were found dead at the scene, two of whom were executed after interrogation.

According to the evidence and traces left at the scene, this was the work of the mercenary squad hired by Mr. Wick's friend."

"Our family members were involved?"

Old D'Antonio instinctively inquired.

"Yes, those four members of our family were under Master Santino's command; they were there to take custody of the kidnapped girls from the Albanians," the butler explained hastily.

"Santino, that fool, always messing things up..." Old D'Antonio's expression showed frustration and anger.

"And then what?"

Once Old D'Antonio seemed slightly calmer, the butler continued, "After rescuing the two American girls, they escorted them directly to the American Embassy in Paris, leaving behind dozens of other kidnapped girls, thus confirming that the target of Mr. Wick's writer friend was specifically the two Americans.

The mission of the mercenary squad was thus completed, and each member received a payment of two hundred thousand dollars and a gold lion coin worth a million.

However, that same night, the person in charge of the Paris club, Valentino, a subordinate of Master Santino, was attacked by another mysterious force. In this assault, Valentino and twenty-one of his men were killed. Four members of European financial dynasties and a prince from the Middle East, who were enjoying their time at the club, also perished in the incident.

Subsequently, the club was destroyed by explosives and finally set on fire, erasing all traces.

But we can confirm that the mercenaries hired by Mr. Wick were not involved in this last action."

"So, you think that this attack on Santino and Valentino was orchestrated by Gianna?"

"No, sir, those responsible actually left a mark, but it was initially overlooked due to the fire. Sir, the strike team that carried out the attack belongs directly to 'the Elder'!"

"What? The Elder?"

For the first time since the beginning of their conversation, Old D'Antonio's eyes widened in genuine surprise, reflecting a sharp intensity as he turned to face his butler.

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