"Here's what's going to happen. You're going to tell me everything. Every detail of Caterina's plan. Every piece of evidence she has. Every person she's talked to. Every move she's planning to make."
"Go to hell?—"
I twist harder. The sound he makes is inhuman.
"Or I can break this arm in three places and move on to the other one. Your choice."
"She has photos!" he gasps out. "From Bianca's escort days. Client lists. Receipts. Everything."
"Where?"
"Safe deposit box. Chase Bank on Fifth Avenue."
"The key?"
"Caterina has it."
"Where does she keep it?"
"I don't know—I swear I don't know!"
I apply more pressure. He screams again.
"Her apartment!" The words come out strangled. "Bedroom safe. Behind a painting of Venice. Combination is her mother's birthday—zero-eight-two-three-nineteen-sixty-seven."
Better.
"What else?"
"She's planning to release everything next week. Before your father's gala. Maximum impact. Maximum humiliation."
"Who else knows?"
"Just family. Massimo doesn't approve—he thinks it's reckless—but Caterina doesn't care. She wants you ruined."
I release his arm. He collapses forward, gasping.
"Here's the message you're going to take back to your family." I grab his hair, force him to look at me. "Bianca is mine. Anyone who touches her, threatens her, or speaks about her the way you just did answers to me. And I don't negotiate. I don't forgive. I end things."
"You're making a mistake?—"
"No." I let him go. "You made the mistake. You came here thinking you could intimidate me with insults and leverage. But you forgot something important."
"What?"
"I'm not afraid of war. I'm not afraid of losing my position. I'm not afraid of your family or your connections or your power." I lean down until we're eye level. "Because the woman you just called a whore is worth more than everything you have combined. And I'll burn your entire family to ash before I let you hurt her."
I stand and nod to Enzo and Rafe.
"Break his left hand. Two fingers. Clean breaks." We usually don’t give orders to one another, but I know that if I try to do it, I might not be able to stop and kill the bastard. Rafe goes to business quickly.
Carlo tries to scramble away. Doesn't make it far.
The sound of bones cracking echoes through the warehouse.
When we leave, he's on the floor. Conscious. In pain. But alive.
The message will reach Massimo by morning. And when it does, he'll have a choice: control his daughter or watch his family bleed.
