But fighting wasn’t the only way out.
“I’m here, release my grandfather.”
“After I kill you.” Don Conti glared at me. Scattered across his desk were photos of his son’s dead body.
“For what? Those images lie.”
The contempt on his face was obvious. “You are a coward, a betrayer, a murderer, and a perfidious serpent.”
I could own the murderer title. Being called a lying snake wasn’t as comfortable, but it still fit the truth. Betrayer? Unlikely.
Coward? Never. “I walked into your doors on my own power. I was not dragged here, nor do I avoid my fate.” I was not that word.
He tipped his head, as if barely acknowledging the woman on his left hand. “My daughter’s marriage to you was arranged. You ran to my son to beg him to change my mind. And when he said he could not, you killed him.”
“Hardly. I went to Chicago to offer a different bargain. Your son was unwise to refuse it.”
Don Conti slammed his hand to the surface of the desk and rose from his seat to send his death glare at me more directly. “You killed him!”
The nearest photo had fluttered toward me, twisting as if Don Conti’s will had turned it so I could see it better.
“Guns are the tools of amateurs. Your son was shot. I would not stoop so low.”
“You lie.”
It was time to change tactics. “Your American holdings are floundering because of poor leadership. Your assets here are frozen or locked in trust. Your banks owe fines you cannot pay. Your family needs three hundred million to remain operational through the end of the year. I offered Adelmo that amount, and an additional investment of one hundred and sixty million backed by Edward in Las Vegas if he simply signed over his American holdings. He wanted to discuss it with you, as he should.
“The next morning, I read of his death in the papers. They conveniently avoided the term, murder. I suppose that was your influence?” In the subtext of my speech was a threat. Don Conti, or someone in the family paid the police and witnesses to claim it was an auto accident. The death of his heir was unfortunate, but murdering his heir proved there was a hole in his protection. It meant his influence was weaker than anyone had imagined. In all things, Don Conti abhorred appearing weak.
“And you fled Chicago like the coward you are,” he growled.
“I met with Edward to arrange a meeting with you. He has not reached out?”
“You murdered my son, you fled the field, and you spurned my daughter.”
At the mention of her, I glanced up to read her expression. Her face was colder than her father’s. An icy mask rather than rage. She watched me with unwavering intensity.
“I didn’t know you cared for me in that way.” There was no kindness in my tone. She deserved none.
“Enough.” My grandfather rose to his feet. His guards tensed, their hands going to the weapons under their jackets. By doing so, they betrayed their dominant hands. I logged this information. “My grandson is married to another. We will leave now.”
“The woman he married was involved in the plot to murder my brother,” Dianora declared.
Don Conti pulled out another photo and laid it on top of the others.
In it, Ellie waited on tables. Her apron and tray provided all the visual confirmation I needed to know who it was without looking at the image more closely. Even so, my eyes scanned the flow of her hair from right to left. The softer arch of her brow and the curve of her nose confirmed her identity.
Another photo dropped beside it. Allie. She was on my arm in a sage green dress that flowed over her body like water. The gold ring on her finger prettily displayed for the world to see.
A final photo, this one blurry and taken from a great distance. The woman in it rode in a motorized gondola. On her right, Ringo sat in profile. His gaze monitored the surroundings for threats.
“This woman embedded herself at your side quickly, but spends time meeting with assassins who gladly accepted the job to kill you. Is she a snake you held to your bosom, or your accomplice?”
Don Conti barely paused before pointing at my grandfather. “Or is this part of his plot to destroy my legacy?”
The shift of Dianora’s gaze to her father’s outburst betrayed the hint of a smile tightening the corners of her eyes. She quickly remarked and pointed at me, but spoke to Don Manca. “Disavow this one and my father agrees to let you live in peace until your death.”
“Daughter, do not speak for me.”
