A Mafia Boss Ignored Every Beautiful Woman At His Gala — Then Chose The Woman Who Had Enough Evidence To Send Him To Prison.
PART 6
Damian’s gaze sharpened.
“What do you propose?”
“We preserve every transaction exactly as it occurred. Then we attach the ownership records, authorization codes, access logs, and security footage. We show who moved the money, who approved it, and who benefited.”
“That exposes my companies.”
“Yes.”
“And me.”
“Yes.”
Mateo looked at Damian. “Boss, we should discuss this privately.”
“No,” Emma said. “This is the point where men like you usually decide the truth is too expensive.”
Damian looked at her for a long moment.
“What happens if I cooperate?”
“You lose parts of your empire.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Victor takes all of it after you’re arrested or killed.”
Damian walked toward the windows overlooking the lake.
Morning light spread across the water.
“My father used to tell me that a Moretti survives by never surrendering what belongs to him.”
Emma joined him.
“Maybe the criminal empire never belonged to you. Maybe it belonged to the fear everyone inherited.”
He turned toward her.
“You think I can simply walk away?”
“No. I think you will pay for what you’ve done.”
The honesty landed between them.
Emma continued before courage failed her.
“But you can decide whether the payment ends the cycle or purchases another generation of it.”
Damian watched the lake.
“My sister has a fourteen-year-old son,” he said. “No one knows where they live. I send money through six different trusts so my enemies cannot find them.”
“Do you want your nephew to inherit this?”
“No.”
“Then stop protecting an empire that will eventually bury him.”
Damian closed his eyes.
When he opened them, something had changed.
“Prepare the evidence,” he said. “All of it.”
Mateo stepped forward. “Damian—”
“All of it,” Damian repeated. “Financial records, names, warehouses, officials we paid. Everything Emma needs.”
“You could go to prison.”
“I know.”
Emma searched his face.
“Why are you trusting me?”
“Because everyone in my life has told me what I wanted to hear. You are the first person who looked at me while your home was burning and told me I deserved consequences.”
“That is a terrible basis for romance.”
His eyes lowered to her mouth.
“Is romance part of the agreement now?”
“No.”
“Pity.”
He began to turn away.
“Damian.”
He stopped.
Emma stepped closer.
“This does not mean I forgive everything you’ve done.”
“I know.”
“And it does not mean I trust you completely.”
“I know that too.”
“But you protected me when the shooting started. You respected my conditions. And you are choosing something difficult when violence would be easier.”
She placed one hand against his chest.
“So this is not part of the agreement.”
Then she kissed him.
For one stunned second, Damian did not move.
Afterward, his hand rose to her cheek, but he paused.
Emma nodded.
Only then did he pull her closer.
The kiss was not gentle, but it was controlled. It contained every question neither of them knew how to ask and every answer they were not yet ready to give.
When they separated, Damian rested his forehead against hers.
“You are extremely dangerous, Emma Hayes.”
“I’ve been trying to explain that.”
Mateo cleared his throat from the doorway.
Damian looked over Emma’s shoulder with visible irritation.
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
“How unusual.”
Mateo held up a tablet.
A live video filled the screen.
Victor Moretti sat in Damian’s office in downtown Chicago. Behind him stood Paul Mercer and Elias Ward.
Victor smiled into the camera.
“Good morning, nephew.”
Damian went still.
Victor lifted a document.
“By noon, the federal government will receive an audit identifying you as the sole architect of a forty-million-dollar laundering operation. By sunset, every captain loyal to you will know you are finished.”
His smile widened.
“And if Miss Hayes attempts to correct the report, her mother will not live long enough to serve another cup of coffee.”
Emma’s blood turned cold.
The video ended.
She grabbed her phone and called her mother.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Damian was already issuing orders.
“Mateo, lock down every road into Rockford. Send teams to the diner and her house.”
Emma called a third time.
A man answered.
“Emma?” Victor said pleasantly. “I was hoping you would call.”
“Where is my mother?”
“Safe for the moment.”
Damian reached for the phone, but Emma stepped back.
“What do you want?”
“The drive in your purse, the access codes to the audit system, and my nephew at the old foundation warehouse on Halsted Street.”
“Why Damian?”
“Because an empire requires a public coronation.”
Victor’s voice grew colder.
“Come before noon, or your mother becomes the final expense listed in your audit.”
The call ended.
Emma looked at the clock.
They had two hours.
The old Sterling Foundation warehouse stood beside the Chicago River, surrounded by abandoned factories and rusted railroad tracks. The building had once stored hospital beds and donated equipment. Now the shelves were empty, and gray light entered through dusty windows near the ceiling.
Damian wanted Emma to remain in the armored SUV.
She ignored him and opened the door.
“My mother is inside.”
“That is exactly why you stay here.”
“The access codes Victor wants are in my head.”