a

left the casino. I simply got into my

dy rhythm against my ribs. I told myself I was going to the Plaza Hotel not to confirm a suspicion, for the em

and the river, biting at my cheeks. Slipping through the revolving glass doors of the hotel, I found a

for fiv

l staff cast me glances of mounting suspicion. I ignor

the elevator doors at l

ers, their hands resting near their holstered weapons. B

ixed upon the woman

a Mar

iately; a cold knot of nausea formed low in my belly. I had pointed it out

to shed its hardness. He smiled at her. It was the exact same soft, ungua

eir bodies swaying in an unnerving, matched rhythm. Every time the silk of her skirt brushed against his trousers, it churned a

I did not cry. I turned, the bones in my knee grinding softly,

far more dangerous. The way his Soldiers had scanned the lobby, the way Serena wa

egic alliance al

and dark. After securing the deadbolt on my office doo

Marchesi Family archives. A woman about to enter a Falcone marriage alliance would not hav

sun began to rise. At six in the morning,

cument fille

rchesi Family had supplied the heavy weaponry and the men Julian had needed to win the war-a war that had

was Julian's hand in marriage

date at the bo

ed this thr

ashing the blood of his dying mother off my hands, signing medical waivers that could have sent me to prison for manslaughter if she had died. Three years

ng to me every

paper, still warm from the printer, felt a

one holding, every shell company, every offshore account I had built with my own hands. And attached to it: a detailed forensic accounting report documenting

otten that I was the one who had built

better than anyone, a

the Falcone Headquarters. The guards at the wrought-iron g

dangerous stillness in my demeanor. The brass handle left a cold, circular impression in my palm as I reach

ng a ledger. He looked up, his dark eye

low rumble. "I told you I

and slammed the printed blood

a muscle working in his cheek, but he did

y, not bothering to deny it. "It is temporar

white-hot it blurred the edges of my vision. "You made me mentor her. You t

reached out to grab my hand, but I recoiled, pulling

ng obedience. "I do what is necessary for the Family.

spect in his words severed th

and slapped him

tside the door shifted, the sound of boots scraping against the marble floor, but Julian

automatic death sent

py. The real documents-the account numbers, the structural vulnerabilities, the complete forensic map of every illegal dollar I ever cleane

went still. "Y

just went into lockdown. Ask your lawyer why he received an anonymous tip about an impending federa

ia

im, my gaze fixed on the red mark blooming on his cheek

t dangerous man in the city

nd a heavy crystal tumbler, the water within trembling, before he hurle

oorknob, I heard him pick up h

ren

, my hand was already moving, pulling out my burner phone. I typed out a highly encrypted message t

trategy to dismantle Julian's empire piece by piece. I need protection. You need a lawyer who knows where all the bo

as the elevato

efore I reached

One hour.

he first time