บท 41: Chapter 41: The Insider
As soon as he sat down, Richard Castle immediately asked, "Gianna, is our conversation safe with just the three of us here?"
Gianna, sensing the serious undertone in Castle's inquiry, reassured him, "Yes, the entire estate is now manned by my trusted people. This hall is completely secure from surveillance or eavesdropping. You can speak freely and boldly!"
Once assured of their privacy, Castle took a deep breath, seemingly making a big decision, and pulled out a special lion-head gold coin, a 'meeting gift' from his father, that featured the angry lion emblem on both sides.
John curiously accepted the lion-head gold coin from Castle. Although he was puzzled by the coin having the angry lion on both sides, he inspected it closely with great interest.
On the other hand, Gianna's reaction was starkly different from the casual John's. From the moment she saw the lion-head gold coin in Castle's hand, her pupils dilated dramatically, her breathing quickened unnaturally, and her nostrils flared involuntarily.
Her reactions clearly indicated that Gianna recognized the origin of the lion-head gold coin.
"Rick… did you meet the elder? How could you possibly have this coin?" Gianna's voice trembled slightly, laced with a hint of fear.
Castle smiled gently, soothing Gianna, who had always been kind to him, "This is one of the secrets I wanted to share with you!"
John finally noticed his girlfriend's tense demeanor and emotional unrest. He quickly held Gianna's hand as the couple looked expectantly at Castle for an explanation.
"This lion-head gold coin doesn't belong to the elder you mentioned but another person, who approached me in Paris and gave me this coin," Castle explained.
To John and Gianna, Castle didn't intend to hide the fact that he owned an original lion-head gold coin, as he was about to encourage Gianna to be wary of her brother Santino, needing a powerful backer for credibility.
What backer could be more reliable than his own father?
However, Castle also knew he couldn't reveal that this person was his father, as he faintly understood why his father had been living under an assumed name for decades. 'Lockset' must be evading the secret society established by a consortium of wealthy families, politicians, and certain CIA heavyweights. Didn't the series mention that even Senator William Blaken, the mastermind behind the murder of Beckett's mother, dared not provoke Lockset?
How powerful is a U.S. Senator? There are only two per state, making a hundred in total, and in some ways, a Senator in the U.S. holds more power than the President.
The real political core of the U.S. essentially consists of these Senators.
Even someone as powerful as Senator William Blaken from the series, who remained untouchable even after his downfall, dared not disclose anything about Lockset. Sean, merely a figurehead in the underworld, naturally found Lockset too formidable to confront.
Why? Because, like the High Table, Lockset isn't just one person but a collective of politicians and vested interests. Sean, no matter how influential, couldn't possibly prevail against a collective of the most powerful vested interests in the world.
So, Sean had to live incognito!
This was why Castle now felt it was safe to use the original lion-head gold coin to bolster his credibility in front of John and Gianna, yet absolutely could not reveal that it was a gift from his father. It wasn't that he didn't trust John and Gianna, but secrets become riskier the more people know about them.
And as a family man, Castle couldn't afford this risk!!!
Indeed, as Castle narrated his story, John was somewhat in the dark about the significance of the original lion-head gold coin.
However, Gianna, who had inherited the complete set of underworld rules, reacted differently.
Gianna looked seriously at Castle, "Rick, are you saying that above the High Table there is not only a high-ranking elder but also a mysterious figure above the High Table itself? What is your relationship with him, and why would he give you such a precious item? Do you realize what this coin represents? Just by showing this coin, all members of the High Table are bound to obey the holder's commands unconditionally!"
"Wow, is this coin really that powerful? Sean didn't mention this! If I had known it was this formidable, I would have bragged more about it!"
Hearing Gianna's voice tremble, Castle laughed, pretending to be nonchalant, "The person who gave me this coin didn't tell me these things. He just said it was a souvenir! Besides, I don't really need this coin's help for anything. I'm showing it to you because you both are people I trust deeply."
Knowing now that the coin Castle had shown them was indeed a significant item within the High Table system,
John recalled his last visit to the Continental Hotel where Winston had mentioned something about Castle's mysterious father. John glanced at Castle thoughtfully, a guess forming in his mind.
However, since Castle himself hadn't brought it up, John, as a friend, also kept silent, continuing to listen to Castle ramble on.
"Gianna, you and John are both my good friends, and I don't want to lie to you. Just know that I would never harm you.
As for my relationship with the owner of this coin, I cannot say, but I hope you can understand."
John Wick, hearing Castle's statement, was now certain that the person who gave him the coin was indeed his enigmatic father. He then tried to smooth things over, "Gianna, Rick is already showing great trust by letting us see this coin. Everything else is Rick's personal business, right?"
Gianna shot John a sharp look before turning back to Castle with a smile, "I'm not curious about your relationship with the person who gave you the coin! I'm just too surprised, and I wanted to see if Rick understands the significance of this coin.
John, what are you babbling about?"
Castle laughed heartily, intending to gloss over the topic, "This coin isn't the main point of what I wanted to discuss! I just wanted you to know that I received some disconcerting news about Gianna from the owner of this coin.
You might not know, but in France, I was initially planning to personally eliminate Valentino because I knew that the mercenaries hired from the Continental Hotel wouldn't strike against a member of your family's High Table.
But it was the owner of this coin who stopped me.
He advised me that given my relationship with you and John, and Gianna, news of such an action could easily lead your father to suspect you were trying to eliminate rivals.
Since he took a liking to me, he helped me out by having his own men take care of Valentino.
From what he said and didn't say, I deduced that Santino has already started his scheming quietly! Valentino was just one of his pawns.
Valentino was secretly supporting Albanian traffickers in the abduction and sale of young girls, essentially cultivating connections and selecting personnel to amass enough power to overthrow you when your family faces a major crisis.
So, I came here today, hoping you would take this seriously and not be caught off guard."
After listening to Castle's lengthy explanation, Gianna didn't immediately respond, instead falling into deep thought...
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