Rory doesn't smile.
"They wanted a Donnelly-Crowley marriage because it gave them an illusion of peace while they pulled the real levers. Now it is an actual alliance. With a living heir. And that makes you dangerous."
"So Padraig is protecting the illusion," I say.
"He is the illusion," Rory answers.
"The man who pretends this is still an era of gentlemen's wars. Who believes the right suit and the right dinner guest will keep bloodlines in check. But his real loyalty is to Moretti, because Moretti is promising him Europe. A seat at the global table. And all Padraig has to do is deliver one body. Yours.”
"There's more," Rory adds.
"We pulled this from an intercepted message. Padraig's been talking to someone in Brussels. A banker. One of your old names. Liam…"
"My ex-fiancé," I say flatly.
Niamh's eyes widen slightly.
"He's tied to dormant Donnelly assets," I explain.
"Trusts. Bonds. Property. If they're using him, it means they're going for inheritance next."
"Exactly," Jack says.
"They want to erase not just your living claim, but your legal and financial ones too. No heir. No holdings. No presence."
I close the file.
My voice is calm.
"They won't succeed."
Niamh watches me for a beat longer than necessary.
"No," she says.
"But it means war."
After that, they take their leave and I get more work done.
I uncap a pen, pull a legal pad toward me, and start filing out what I know and what I need to know and what still hides in the silences between the council's offer and the Italians' threat.
At the top of the page I write,
ENEMIES WITH NAMES.
Moretti– Italian, not the top of the chain, but close.
Sends a photo to provoke, not bluff.
Photographer unknown.
Possibly local.
Need to shake the source.
Knows about Aoife.
The children.
