Page 58 of The Mafioso’s Bride

"Not now. I want dinner and the financial records."

"In that order."

She studies me. "Did you participate in deciding what happens to him?"

"Yes. He will give us information. Dario will kill him afterward."

"Thank you for answering."

I take the seat beside hers. "Eat. The reports can wait."

She eats half the pasta before she points toward my office. "Now I want the reports."

I move the second chair close to mine. Giada sits beside me and studies the columns on the monitor. Her finger traces a sequence of payments without touching the glass.

I turn the screen toward her.

"What else do you see?"

Epilogue: Giada

Three months later

The nine transfers form a pattern no one intended to create.

I move the last page beside the other eight and align their bottom edges. Every payment went to a different company. The amounts vary. The dates do not. Thirteen days separate each transfer, except the sixth, which arrived after twelve.

Mattia stands across the conference table with his palms braced against the dark wood. Dario occupies the chair beside him. He has not spoken since he entered the room.

"The sixth payment was early," I say.

Mattia looks at the page. "A day early."

"Yes."

"Is that important?" Mattia asks.

"I have not determined that yet. It is irregular."

Luca sits at my right. His charcoal suit fits him perfectly. The silver tardigrade pin rests on his lapel, eight short legs spread above his heart.

He wears it with every suit now. He wears it to every meeting. No one asks about it.

"The companies share no officers or addresses," Mattia says.

"Their registered agents share a client." I turn the ninth page toward him and point to the name near the bottom. "Vance Thorne."

Dario speaks at last. "The developer."

"His name has surfaced in property records tied to Lombardi," Luca says.

I place the pages in date order. "That may have no connection to these transfers. This name is the only supported connection I have."

"We'll examine it," Mattia says.

"You will give me the additional records when you receive them."

Mattia looks toward Luca. I keep my hand on the records.