“Diersi is not the counterfeiter. I know her too well to believe her capable of such a thing. So if the lockbox has fakes, someone set her up. Which means someone is setting Family Ferrini up to take the blame.”
“And since you are in charge of the banks, it means someone is targeting you specifically.”
“Exactly. It’s not just an economic disaster in the making, it is political. Somebody is using my position against me, setting me up to look like a failure at best and a criminal at worst. They are probably waiting for the right moment, for some rumor of the counterfeiting to leak, before they accuse me and point out a trail of breadcrumbs that leads right back to my Family. To me.”
Reyn’s fingers tightened where she gripped his arm. “We don’t know for certain that the Ferrini money is compromised. This is all wild speculation at this point. Things may not be so dire.”
Velario wanted to accept the glimmer of hope Reyn offered him, but he knew better. When they reached the bank and unlocked the box, he knew exactly what Reyn would find. This had been an attack on him from the beginning. He had simply been too slow to recognize the real threat.
Reyn must have sensed his certainty. “How will you find the person setting you up?”
“I’ll talk with Diersi again, for starters. If this is a plot against me, against the Family, I’ll have to warn Uncle Petro, too.” Velario groaned. “He is going to be so mad when he discovers I kept this from him.”
“And me?”
“He won’t be mad at you.”
“No, I meant what is my role going forward? Does this mean our ruse is over?”
Velario stopped himself from snapping out an instant denial. He mulled it over, making sure he wasn’t letting his emotions—or body—decide for him. “No. I doubt I’ll learn anything more from Diersi than I discovered today with my round-about questions. I’ll still need you to help me track down how the money got to the warehouse. If you’re still willing to help, of course.”
“Of course. I’m hardly going to back out now.”
Her voice was tart, and her expression didn’t change, so Velario wasn’t sure, but he thought she was happy to still be included.
