"One more thing. Vincent DeLuca. I want surveillance on him starting immediately. Where he goes, who he talks to, what he's planning. Everything."
"Consider it done."
I hung up and turned to Angelina.
"We have a flight in three hours. Private jet, direct to Seattle. We'll land around eight AM local time, which gives you most of the morning tomorrow to prepare before the board meeting."
"Thank you." She set down the suitcases and crossed to me. "What was the other call? The first one?"
I pulled her into my arms. "I called Beniamino DeLuca. He's Vincent's nephew."
Her eyes widened. "You called the his family?"
"I needed to know where they stood. If handling Vincent would cause problems. We're old friends and I don't want bad blood between us." I brushed hair back from her face. "Beni confirmed that Vincent's been a liability for years."
"So you can—" She stopped, and you could see her processing all of the information. "What exactly are you planning to do, Dez?"
"Whatever it takes to protect you and your company." I met her eyes steadily. "Vincent's had his warning. He chose to ignore it. Now he faces the consequences."
"Which are?"
"That depends on how tomorrow goes." I kissed her forehead. "But at minimum, he's done at Castellano & Co. At maximum," I shrugged. "Let's just say he won't be a problem anymore."
She was quiet for a long moment, then nodded. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I trust you." She looked up at me, her dark eyes fierce. "Do what you need to do. Just... make sure I get my company back."
"You will." I promised. "I'll make sure of it."
An hour later, we were in a car heading to the airport. Angelina was on her laptop, reviewing the documents Maya had sent. Her expression grew darker with each page.
"He's good," she muttered. "I'll give him that. These forgeries are almost perfect. If I didn't know better, I'd believe I signed these authorizations."
"But you can prove you didn't?"
"Maybe. The signatures are close but not exact. And the dates… some of these are supposedly from days I was with you, days I can prove I wasn't even in the office." She scrolled through more files. "But it might not matter. If he's already convinced enough board members, they might vote to remove me regardless of the evidence."
"Then we make sure they don't vote against you."
"How?"
I smiled. "Leave that to me."
On the plane, I made more calls. To my father first, getting his official blessing for what might need to happen. To Gianna, having her pull together information on every Castellano & Co. board member, their finances, their secrets, and their vulnerabilities.
To my lawyers, getting them ready to file criminal charges against Vincent. By the time we landed in Seattle, I had a complete dossier on every person who would be in that boardroom. And I had a plan.
"What are you thinking?" Angelina asked as we drove toward the city.
"I'm thinking your uncle made a mistake." I took her hand. "He thought you were alone. Vulnerable. Easy to push aside."
"And?"
"And he's too greedy to understand the harm he's doing. You have resources he can't match, protection he can't penetrate, and a husband who really, really doesn't like people threatening what's his."
She squeezed my hand. "I love you."
