“Why?”
“People are terrified of the man.They said it was too dangerous to defy him.When I froze, Nikolai told me that I needed to go home and fix my own problems before I got myself killed digging into his family’s business.”I pause, letting the weight of what I’m about to say settle between us.“But now I have a theory.And if I’m right, your father isn’t just a participant in this operation.He’s possibly one of the architects.”
“No.”She shakes her head, denying it even as the evidence sits right there on the desk.“Dad is ruthless, but he’s not—he wouldn’t?—“
“Wouldn’t he?”I move closer to her, cupping her face in my hands, forcing her to meet my eyes.“Your father built an empire by being willing to do things other people wouldn’t.By identifying opportunities and capitalizing on them without hesitation.Human trafficking is the most profitable organized crime after drug smuggling.If Giovanni saw an opportunity to corner a market, to build an operation that would generate billions in revenue...”
“Stop.”She pulls away from me, wrapping her arms around herself.“Just stop.”
I let her have the space she needs, but I don’t stop talking.She needs to hear this.She needs to understand the scope of what we’re dealing with.
“Nikolai is still in Russia.He’s been gathering intelligence on his uncle’s dealings, trying to map out the network without alerting Gregor that he’s onto him.When I spoke to him last week, he mentioned finding more connections between the Russian and the Italian operations.They go beyond the ties to the Camorra that we’d already uncovered.These connections link the Bratva to the DiLorenzos.”
“Between the Bratva and my family,” Serena says, and her voice is hollow.
“Yes.”
She sinks into one of the chairs, and I watch her process what this means.Her father isn’t just a criminal.He’s part of a trafficking network that spans continents.He’s complicit in the exploitation of thousands of people.And he might work for the man who ordered my mother’s death.Now, intelligent, beautiful, powerful Serena is realizing that she is his daughter.Bound to him by blood and by the Syndicate structure that demands absolute loyalty to family.
“What do we do?”she asks finally.
I pick up the flash drive again and slide it into my pocket.“We gather evidence.All of it.We need documentation on every single person involved in this operation.Names, transactions, locations, and victim information.Everything.But we do it quietly.We do it carefully.We’ll be walking through a minefield.Because if we move too fast, we might be blown to pieces.If we alert the wrong people, this entire operation goes underground, and we lose them.”
“We can’t go to my brother yet.We can’t go to the other families.”
“Not yet.”I sit down across from her, keeping my voice level and calm, even though I want to punch something.“If we expose this prematurely, we risk war between the families.And most importantly, we risk giving them time to destroy evidence and disappear.”
“So what, we just pretend everything is fine?We live in this penthouse like we’re a happily married couple while my father continues to sell human beings?”
“No.”I reach across and take her hands in mine.Her skin is cold, trembling.“We investigate.We document.We build an airtight case against every single person involved.And then, when we have enough evidence to ensure convictions, we decide what to do with it.”
“Decide what to do with it?”She pulls her hands away.“Shelby, these are crimes against humanity.We have to go to law enforcement.”
My heart drops.“That was my mother’s plan.It got her killed.”
Serena holds my stare for a long moment.Conflicting emotions dueling on her expression.Anger.Frustration.Disgust.But sadness prevails.
“So we’re just supposed to let this continue?”Serena whispers, her voice breaking.
“Absolutely not.We shut their operation down from the inside.We use the Syndicate structure as a weapon while we gather evidence.”
Serena stands and walks to the window, staring out at the harbor the same way I was moments ago.“My father will die.”
It’s not a question.It’s a statement of fact.
“Probably,” I agree, because lying to her serves no purpose.“Unless he provides evidence against the higher-ups in exchange for reduced sentencing.The Syndicate rules are harsh, but the endgame will be getting the Widowmaker.”
“Father won’t do that.”
“I guess not.”
She’s quiet for a long time.I can almost hear the gears grinding in her head as she works through this.She’s turning the situation over in her mind, examining it from every angle.She’s trying to find a solution that doesn’t require her to sacrifice her father.
I’m here to tell her that no such solution exists.
“I can’t be the one to bring him down,” she says finally, turning back to face me.“I can’t be the engineer of my own father’s destruction.”
“You won’t be.I will.”I stand and move to her, pulling her close.She resists for a moment, then collapses against me, her body shaking with sobs she’s been holding back.“We can do this together.But Serena, I need you to understand something.”
