One careless quote.
Emilio is waiting in my study when I arrive, his expression grim. "How bad?" he asks, reading my face.
"Madison knows about the surveillance."
"How much?"
"Enough." I pour myself a glass of whiskey and drain it in one swallow.
Emilio shifts uncomfortably. "Boss, if she decides to talk."
"She won't." The conviction in my voice surprises even me. "Madison isn't vindictive. She's angry, but she's not stupid."
"Angry people do stupid things."
"Not her." I pour another whiskey, this one to sip slowly while I think. "What time are her friends leaving in the morning?"
"Antonio is picking them up at the hotel before daylight to take them back to the airport."
“Let me know the minute they’re in the air and out of Sicily. What about their communications? Phone calls, emails, social media posts about their visit?"
"Clean so far. Standard tourist photos. Nothing about you or Madison's situation."
"Continue monitoring them for the next month. If they start asking questions or making contact with authorities, I need to know immediately."
"Understood." Emilio hesitates. "What if Madison runs?"
The question I've been avoiding. What if she disappears in the night and resurfaces in Naples, demanding protection while spilling everything she knows about my operations?
"Then I’ll deal with it."
"How?"
I meet his eyes across the desk. Emilio has been with me for eight years. He's seen how I handle problems that threaten the family business. He knows what "dealing with it" typically involves.
"Not the way you're thinking," I say quietly. “She's not a business rival or a competitor's soldier. She's..." I pause, searching for the right words and fail. "She's Madison."
"She's a security risk."
"She's under my protection."
"Even if she betrays you?"
The question hangs between us, loaded with implications. In my world, betrayal has consequences. Swift, permanent consequences. It's how I've maintained control for over a decade, how I've built an organization that other families respect and fear in equal measure.
But Madison isn't part of that world. She stumbled into my territory by accident, became entangled in my business through circumstances I orchestrated. Whatever she does now is a reaction to my deception, not a calculated attempt to destroy me.
"Even then," I say finally. “But she won’t.”
Emilio nods slowly, but I can see the concern in his expression. My men follow me because they believe I make rational decisions based on what's best for our interests. Protecting someone who could destroy us challenges that belief.
"What do you need from me?" he asks.
"First, make sure all surveillance equipment is removed from her cottage and car. As soon as possible. I want every camera, every listening device, every tracker gone."
"Are you sure? That seems counterproductive."
“Maybe. But if she chooses to stay, it won't be because she's being watched. It'll be because she wants to."
