Page 251 of Merciless Daddy

Gianni went still.

I did too.

Donatella held up the equipment case.

“The token finished authentication before you destroyed the terminal. The transfer went through.”

It was a lie.

I had seen the screen.

No signature. No facial declaration. No transfer.

Gianni could not know what I knew.

Greed moved through him.

“What?”

“You won,” Donatella said. “The proxy is registered. The trust cancellation is pending server confirmation.”

“Show me.”

“I can’t. You destroyed the terminal.”

His injured fingers flexed against my shoulder.

Donatella took one step closer.

“If you kill Yelena, her death invalidates the live authorization. The court freezes everything.”

Gianni’s head turned.

Only a little.

Enough to look at her.

Breathe.

Sal’s voice lived inside me.

Observe.

Gianni’s right hand held the gun. Donatella had crushed it inside the case. His grip trembled. His balance leaned backward to keep me against him. The suppressant hid the floor.

Choose.

I drove my heel into his injured hand.

He screamed.

The pistol shifted from my jaw. I dropped my full weight. Not forward, straight down.

His arm slid across my face. The gun fired.

The shot tore into the ceiling. Dust and insulation rained over us.

I twisted hard and fell to my knees.