These men we'd fallen for had become our primary concern before anything else.
"How's Julian?" Matteo asked.
"Terrified but safe. Hidden where they won't find him."
"Good. Because if David Reeves gets his hands on Winston's son, he'll use that as leverage to rebuild the entire case."
The thought made cold rage flood through me. "That's not happening."
"No. It's not." Matteo's expression was grim. "But Elio? This raid isn't random. The moles tipped them off about this morning's meeting. They knew we were onto them. They moved fast to preserve whatever case they could build before we cleaned house."
"Then we make sure they find nothing."
Diana Martinez arrived twelve minutes after Patterson gave me his deadline.
She swept through Inferno's entrance like she owned it—five-foot-six of concentrated legal expertise in a designer suit, carrying a leather briefcase that probably cost more than the warrant she was about to dismantle.
"Elio." She nodded at me. "Where's the warrant?"
I handed it to her. She read it standing right there in the middle of the main floor, with federal agents watching and employees being questioned and chaos swirling around her.
After three minutes, she looked up.
"They're fishing. The scope is overly broad and the probable cause is thin. But it's technically legitimate." She looked around at the agents searching. "Who's in charge?"
"Special Agent Tom Patterson."
"Get him. Now."
I gestured to Patterson. He approached with obvious reluctance.
"Special Agent Patterson, I'm Diana Martinez, legal counsel for Inferno and its ownership. I've reviewed your warrant. The scope of your search authorization needs clarification."
"It's perfectly clear—"
"Section three allows you to search for 'evidence of ongoing criminal enterprise.' That's vague to the point of being unconstitutional. What specific criminal activity are you investigating?"
"That's confidential—"
"It's required to be specified in the warrant, which it's not. You're authorized to search for financial records, communications, and electronic devices. But the parameters of what constitutes relevant evidence need to be clearly defined or you're conducting an illegal fishing expedition." Diana's voice was sharp. Professional. "I'm putting you on notice, Agent Patterson. Any evidence seized outside the clearly defined scope of this warrant will be challenged in court and likely deemed inadmissible. Do you understand?"
Patterson's face flushed. "Ms. Martinez, we have every legal right—"
"To search within the bounds of your warrant. Not to conduct a blanket seizure of everything you find interesting. I'll be observing your search and documenting every item removed. If any of it falls outside proper scope, I'll file suppressionmotions immediately." She smiled. Cold. Sharp. "Shall we proceed?"
Patterson looked like he wanted to argue. Instead he just nodded and walked away.
Diana turned to me. "They can search. They can seize items specifically related to financial crimes or communications relevant to organized crime operations. But I'll be watching every move. If they overstep, we'll bury them in legal challenges."
"Thank you."
"Thank Sandro for keeping me on retainer. This is exactly why you need good legal counsel." She pulled out a tablet. "Now show me what they're searching. I need to track everything."
***
The next three hours were controlled chaos.
Agents searched every office. Every storage room. Every private space in the building. They were thorough. Systematic. Professional.
