Her Ex Brought His Mistress to Humiliate Her — Then the Mafia Boss Kissed Her and Revealed He Had Been Watching Her Rise for Years.
PART 3
The sedan turned into the private garage of Vane Tower. Priya did not move when the driver opened the door.
“You want me to attack Marcus’s firm.”
“I want you to audit it.”
“Those are not the same thing.”
“They will be when you see his books.”
Silas led her through a private elevator to the forty-second floor. His office looked nothing like the dark criminal den she expected. It was all glass, steel, polished concrete, and disciplined silence. A scale model of the East Harbor district occupied one wall. Warehouses, rail lines, apartment blocks, and docks spread beneath tiny white lights.
Silas stood beside the model. “Marcus’s investment coalition wants to turn the harbor into luxury condominiums,” he said. “They’ll remove the freight yards, close three union warehouses, and displace nearly eight hundred families.”
“And you want the property for shipping terminals.”
“A modern freight terminal, two warehouses, a training center, and mixed-income housing. My plan keeps the union jobs.”
Priya studied the model. She had heard Marcus brag about the East Harbor project during dinner parties. He had described the residents as people who should be grateful for relocation checks.
Silas opened a folder and pushed it toward her. Inside were public records, zoning decisions, lender filings, and a map of shell companies.
“Marcus is using environmental lawsuits to delay my permits,” Silas said. “At the same time, he is buying surrounding land through companies that conceal his ownership.”
“None of that is automatically illegal.”
“No. But borrowing against the same properties through multiple undisclosed entities is.”
Priya looked up. “That is bank fraud.”
“I believe so. I need you to determine whether I’m right.”
“You already have lawyers.”
“I have cautious lawyers. I need an honest one.”
“Honest attorneys do not weaponize confidential information obtained during romantic relationships.”
“I’m not asking you to reveal confidences. I’m asking you to examine public records and documents obtained through lawful discovery.”
“And if I refuse?”
“My driver takes you home. The photographs from tonight still protect you from Marcus’s social campaign, and we never speak again.”
No threat. No pressure. Just a choice.
Priya looked at the map. Then she remembered Marcus laughing when she warned him that his financing structure sounded unstable. *You worry too much,* he had told her. *Men take risks. Lawyers clean them up.*
Perhaps he had been confessing without realizing it.
“My conditions,” Priya said. “No violence. No stolen documents. No intimidation of witnesses. I control the legal strategy. If I discover criminal conduct, I decide how it is reported.”
Silas nodded. “Agreed.”
“And you never kiss me again without asking.”
Something changed in his eyes. “Agreed.”
Priya closed the folder. “Send me the proposed retainer by eight tomorrow morning.”
Silas extended his hand. She shook it. His grip was warm and firm.
“Welcome to the war, Miss Osei.”
Priya released him. “This is not a war.”
“What is it?”
She looked down at Marcus’s network of companies. “A restructuring.”