“Take a chill pill, Dante!” Marco’s voice is sharp, cutting through the tension. “Jesus Christ, put the gun down before you make everything worse!”
“You just admitted?—”
“I admitted nothing! I said it would have been better business-wise, not that I fucking tried to kill you!” His hand is steady, but I can see sweat beading on his forehead. “If you were really in acoma like you said, maybe you should be a little less crazy right now!”
Fuck it.
He’s right.
I’m acting on emotion instead of logic, precisely the kind of reaction that could get me killed.
I raise my hands and step back, letting my weapon drop to my side. “Alright. Alright.”
Marco watches me for a few seconds before lowering his own gun, though he doesn’t holster it. “Fuck, Dante. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”
“I am smart. Smart enough to know my plane didn’t just malfunction.”
“So what? You think I sabotaged it?”
“I think someone did. Someone who knew my schedule, had access to my aircraft, and stood to benefit from my death.” I sit back down, but keep my weapon within reach. “The question is who.”
Marco runs his free hand through his hair, the gun still loose in his other hand. “You really think someone in the family wanted you dead?”
“Yes, and sitting here listening to you talk about myobsessionbeing bad for business…” I let the words hang. “Makes me wonder if someone thought the operations would run smoother without me.”
Marco sets down his gun, his casual demeanor finally cracking. “I didn’t try to kill you. Look, we can figure this out after dealing with the Russians.”
“What do they want?”
“Restoration of full operations within thirty days, or they start eliminating everyone connected to the network. Starting with the most visible targets.”
“Kasimira.”
“Among others. They see her as the key to reactivating everything, since all the shell companies are registered in her name.”
“Then we give them what they want.”
“It’s not that simple. She’s married to your father now, under his protection. Getting access to her requires dealing with Moretti security, family politics, and legal complications.”
“Legal complications?”
“Your father thinks you’re dead. Your will transferred everything to Kasimira, who then married him. From his perspective, she inherited your assets legitimately and their marriage is legally binding.”
“But I’m not dead.”
“Does he know that yet? When he finds out, it creates problems. If you’re alive, your will is invalid. Kasimira never actually inherited anything. Her marriage to him might have been based on false premises.”
The implications hit me like a physical blow. If my return invalidates the will, if Kasimira never legally owned the shellcompanies, then what happens to the financial networks we built?
“The companies revert to me?”
“Legally, yes. But practically, it’s more complicated. She’s been operating them for months as their supposed owner. She’s signed new contracts, made financial decisions, created legal obligations in her name.”
“Which makes her valuable to the Russians regardless of legal technicalities.”
“Exactly. They don’t care about inheritance law. They care about having someone who can sign documents and authorize transactions.”
“Then we remind her where her loyalties should lie.”
