Chapter 5

I pressed the switch inside the ring.

Camilla's laugh filled the church speakers.

Damian froze for less than a second, then laughed.

The laugh came too fast and too loud.

"That is all you have?"

"A recording someone cut together?"

He turned to the Five Families.

"Serena hid inside a coffin to fool you with this?"

Camilla's voice came from the speakers.

"Can she hear us?"

Damian answered without hesitation.

"It does not matter if she can. In an hour, she and her car will be at the bottom of the reservoir."

The smile stayed on Damian's face, but his jaw tightened.

"This is bad editing."

Damian's most trusted underboss, Alexander Costa, sat in the front row.

Alexander controlled every armed crew in the Russo family. For ten years, he had never hesitated when Damian gave an order.

Damian turned toward him.

"Alexander, shut off the sound. Take Serena and Nico into custody."

No one moved.

Damian waited two seconds.

"I said turn it off."

The recording continued.

Everyone heard Damian and Camilla discuss the forged ledger. They heard the plan to send twelve men into an ambush and put the leak and the missing widow payments on me.

The speakers also carried the sound of the bed, their breathing, and clothes being pulled away.

Alexander did not come toward me.

The other Russo gunmen stayed where they were.

Damian's smile began to harden.

"Did you hear my order?"

Alexander answered quietly.

"I heard you."

"Then follow my order."

"Until I know whether the recording is real, I will not point a gun at the rightful Donna."

Damian stopped smiling.

I connected my ring to the family archive.

The screen showed the time the audio had been cached, the location inside the Russo bedroom, and the original voice authentication.

Then I opened the forged ledger.

It had been created the morning after my car went into the reservoir.

The account used to create it belonged to Camilla.

"How did a dead woman create evidence against herself after she died?"

Damian still refused to give in.

"Those systems belong to the Vitale family."

"You can change anything you want."

"That is why I brought more than a recording."

I opened the highest level of the Vitale trust.

Three ports stopped handling Russo shipments.

The settlement accounts for twelve casinos were frozen.

The Vitale family withdrew its loan guarantees.

Five votes on the East Coast Commission were removed from Damian's support.

Damian pulled a black card from his jacket and threw it at the Russo finance director.

"Move fifty million from the reserve account and reopen the casinos."

The finance director inserted the card into the terminal.

A red notice appeared.

Access revoked by Serena Vitale.

Damian grabbed the card and tried again.

The result did not change.

His fingers shook around the card.

I walked over and took it from him.

"This is a Vitale account."

"Every dollar you spent during the past ten years was money I allowed you to use."

Damian stared at me. Then his voice softened.

"Serena, you are doing this because you still love me."

He stepped closer and used the same gentle tone he had always used when he wanted me to give in.

"Camilla can leave. I do not have to claim the baby."

"If you want my love, I can give it to you."

"I will only come to our bedroom. I will only touch you. I will recognize only you as my wife."

He closed his hand around my injured wrist.

"You have always loved me."

"Give back the ports, the casinos, and the Commission votes."

"I will treat you well. We can have our old life again."

I finally understood why he did not believe he had done anything wrong.

He had traded my love for power once.

Now that the power was gone, he wanted to trade his love to get it back.

"Damian, even your regret is another business offer."

I pulled his hand from my wrist.

"Your love has no value anymore."