"They're running the Castillo supply chain," I say.
Alexandra nods. "And the second subsidiary is even more interesting. A tech consulting firm that builds security infrastructure. Network architecture. Surveillance systems. Encrypted communications." She pauses, letting that sink in. "The same firm that consulted on this compound's security upgrade eighteen months ago."
The room goes very quiet.
Vincent’s face has gone red. "You're saying they built backdoors into our own systems?"
"I'm saying they had access to design the infrastructure from the ground up. Every compromised terminal we've found has the same firmware-level vulnerability. It wasn't hacked from outside. It was built in from the beginning."
"Son of a bitch," Emilio mutters from behind me.
Alexandra continues, unfazed. "Whoever controls Apex Meridian has been watching both families in real time. Everything.”
Carmelo’s voice cuts through the murmur of reaction. "Who controls Apex Meridian?"
"That's where it gets complicated." Alexandra pulls a new document from the stack. "The trust that administers Apex Meridian is managed by a law firm in Manhattan. The law firm has one client on record. A holding company registered in Delaware with no physical address and no public officers. Another layer of insulation."
"More ghosts," Claudio says.
"Except ghosts leave traces if you know where to look." Alexandra's eyes find mine across the room, and that feeling passes between us. Pride. Or anticipation. "I found incorporation documents from fifteen years ago, before the shell game got sophisticated. There's a name on the original filing. A signature."
She pulls out a final page. A photocopy of an old legal document, yellowed with age, bearing a signature at the bottom.
"The name is Giovanni Russo."
Aurelio goes still. The color drains from his face, and the room goes silent, just for a moment, I see something I've never seen before. Fear.
"That's not possible," he says quietly.
"You know the name," Alexandra says. Not a question.
"Giovanni died twenty years ago." Aurelio's voice is flat. Controlled. But his hands are gripping the arms of his chair hard enough to whiten his knuckles. "I was there. I watched him die."
The room is silent. No one moves. No one breathes.
"Then someone is using a dead man's name," Alexandra says. "Or someone you thought was dead isn't as dead as you believed."
Aurelio stands abruptly. The chair scrapes against the floor, loud in the silence.
"This meeting is adjourned. Leone, Claudio, stay. Everyone else, out."
The captains file out, casting uncertain glances over their shoulders. The analysts gather their equipment and follow. Emilio hesitates, catches my eye, then leaves with the others.
Alexandra doesn't move.
"Miss Clark," Aurelio says. "I said everyone else."
"With respect," she says, and her voice doesn't waver, "I'm the one who found this. I'm the one who can trace it further. If this guy is connected to Apex Meridian, I need to know who he was and why you thought he was dead."
Aurelio stares at her. I watch him weigh the options, calculate the risks. He's never been a man who shares information freely, especially not with outsiders.
But Alexandra isn't an outsider anymore.
"Sit down," he says finally.
She sits.
Aurelio walks to the window, looking out at the courtyard. His back is to us, his shoulders tight beneath his suit jacket.
