Page 141 of His Eternal Claim

For the first time all day, I laugh. “The Founding Families can choke.”

Kyle’s mouth twitches. “You want the ledgers released?”

“Everything.” I want the entire rotten foundation ripped apart. “Make it public.”

Kyle whistles softly.

“That’s a declaration of war.”

“No.”

I look toward the garden again. Toward the woman staring at nothing.

“It’s a necessary measure.”

Kyle looks at me for a long beat.

He tosses his silver lighter onto the desk, where it skims across the manila folder containing our ruin.

“Well,” Kyle murmurs, crossing his arms and leaning back. “It’s a good thing I never planned on retiring with a corporate pension anyway. Bureaucrats are exceptionally tedious, but they do excel at cage-building. If we hand them the coordinates, they’ll lock up what’s left of Vane’s Syndicate out of greed for a promotion.” He glances toward the window, catching Selene beneath the olive tree. His smirk drops.

“You’re making the entire government fight your war, free of charge.”

“They want a clean script to sell to the press,” I say. “I am giving them the evidence. In exchange, they will construct a fortress around this territory that no scattered mafia captain will dare breach. If anyone so much as breathes in Selene’s direction, they will be stepping into a federal hornet’s nest.”

“And the money?” Kyle asks, flipping through the folder.

I glance at him before looking back through the glass. “Move it through Edinburgh.”

Kyle nods once. “The offshore network?”

“The entire thing.”

A page turns. “After that?”

“Convert everything.”

His eyes lift. “Everything?”

“Every cent.”

Kyle exhales through his teeth. “You’re really doing it. You’re crazier than Judas.”

I shrug. “The throne’s dead anyway.”

The words don’t hurt anymore. Maybe they should. Maybe five years ago they would have. Now? Now I can’t bring myself to care.

“The other families are going to lose their minds.”

“They’re welcome to.”

“They’ll think you’ve gone soft.” That earns him a look.

Kyle grins. “There he is.”

I shake my head. “Turn it into legitimate holdings. Real estate. Trusts. Investment portfolios. Things governments can’t touch.”

Kyle closes the folder. “And why exactly are we suddenly becoming respectable citizens?”