"These are communications between someone with the handle 'Shadowking' and Viktor Kozlov. Dating back six months."
Six months. Before the wedding. Before everything.
"'Shadowking' has been feeding Viktor information: your security protocols, your meeting schedules, details about your operations, shipment routes."
My jaw clenched. A spy. Inside my organization. For six months.
"That could be anyone," Paola said, voicing what I was thinking. "Why do you think it's Piero?"
Rocco clicked to another document. "Because of this."
A wire transfer record. Money moving from one of Viktor's shell companies to an account in the Cayman Islands.
The account holder: P. Monti.
My blood turned to ice.
"No." My voice came out flat. Absolute. "Piero wouldn't. There has to be another explanation."
"Boss—" Rocco started.
"He's my brother. He's stood by me for six years. He's risked his life for this family."
"I know. But the evidence—"
"Could be fabricated. Bianca forged documents about Paola, remember? Why not forge these too?"
Paola spoke up. "Cesare's right. We need to verify the account. When was it opened?"
Rocco checked. "Three years ago. March twelfth."
Paola looked at me. "Where was Piero three years ago on March twelfth?"
I pulled out my phone, checked old calendars. Three years ago... March...
My blood ran cold for a different reason. "He was in the hospital. Car accident. Broken leg, concussion. He was unconscious for two days."
Understanding dawned on Paola's face. "So how did he sign paperwork in the Cayman Islands while unconscious in a Boston hospital?"
Rocco swore. "The signature's forged. Someone set up this account in Piero's name."
My mind raced, re-evaluating everything through this new lens.
"But the emails. The details only our inner circle would know—"
Paola asked, "Who else has been in your inner circle for years? Who would know Piero's schedule well enough to time these communications when Piero had alibis?"
Rocco was already pulling up more documents, cross-referencing. "Let me check something. The emails... if I cross-reference with Piero's known locations during each communication..."
He worked furiously. Minutes passed in tense silence. I stood behind him, watching data scroll across the screen, patterns emerging.
Then: "Boss. Every single Shadowking communication happened when Piero was either in meetings with you, in public places with witnesses, or otherwise accounted for."
"So someone is framing him," I said slowly. "Using his name, his signature, his access—but it's not actually him."
Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by rage. Someone was trying to turn me against my brother.
"But who?" Paola asked. "Who has that kind of access?"
