It puts memoreon edge.
Whoever is behind this did not simply give up after the casino.
No one puts that much effort into a coordinated threat, tests routes, maps routines, clones badges, stages a fight in the middle of a gaming floor, sends armed people after Caterina, and then walks away because the first serious attempt failed.
Failure teaches.
It does not always deter.
They are waiting. Adjusting.
Watching the family relax again.
That is what I would do.
It helps a lot that Caterina knows it.
She has been working her own angle since the morning after we stayed at Luca’s.
At first, I thought she was trying to keep busy to stay ahead of the fear. Then I actually saw the notes. The shell companies, the old property records, the vendor connections. The names that did not line up until she made them line up by staying awake too late and staring at filings until her eyes went red.
She thinks she is close.
She has said those exact words three times in the past week.
Every time, I believe her.
Every time, I hate it.
Because close means she is approaching something, and if she can see it, there is a chance it can see her too.
The structure she is tracking is ugly. Shell company inside shell company. Development groups with clean public images and dirty old ties. Vendor accounts that changed hands multiple times in five years. Insurance inquiries that look ordinary until they sit beside board pressure and press leaks. Names tied to other names tied to old Conti history.
Each one takes time.
Caterina doesn’t have enough time.
She still has a casino to run. A board to manage. A staff to reassure. Investors to keep from panicking.
And tonight, because apparently, she has decided sleep is optional, she is having a dinner party. At her house. For her siblings.
That fact annoys me enough that I can feel it in my jaw.
This, she’s planning on her own because even though she has her incredibly efficient admin sitting across from her, no one outside the family can know it’s happening.
Hell, no one outside the family can know the don’s eldest daughter, Lucia, is going to be in town.
Oliver, seated across from her, nods along while she moves through the day’s schedule at a pace that would make a lesser assistant cry.
He is young, efficient. Nervous around me, though he tries not to show it. Smart enough to anticipate most of what Caterina needs before she asks, which means he is useful. He is also one of the few people outside the family who currently has access to her schedule, communications, and preferences, which means I have already vetted him personally.
I also have him being run regularly by my company. In case something changes at some point or new information crops up.
Caterina knows. She rolled her eyes when she found out, but… she did not tell me to stop.
I call that progress.
“Move the vendor review to Thursday,” Caterina says, scanning the tablet in front of her. “Push the investor call by thirty minutes, but do not make it sound like we are pushing it. Tell them I wanted a longer block to discuss their concerns.”
