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 5
Silas rarely spoke about his family. That afternoon, standing beside the gray water of Lake Michigan, he finally told her why.
His father had controlled businesses through bribes and threats. When Silas was twenty-two, a warehouse fire killed two workers because the building had failed inspection. Silas’s father paid officials to suppress the report. Silas had turned the records over to federal prosecutors. His father died before the case reached trial, but the Vane family never forgave Silas for choosing strangers over blood.
“You inherited the empire anyway,” Priya said.
“I inherited the parts no one else could operate.”
“And the rumors?”
“Some are true. Most are old. None are useful to you.”
Priya stopped walking. “I need to know whether my client is committing crimes.”
Silas faced her. “You need to know whether I am asking you to commit one. I am not.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“No.” His expression hardened. “It was a request for confession.”
For the first time since their agreement, anger rose between them. Priya stepped closer.
“You hired me because I don’t look away. You do not get to admire that quality only when I’m looking at Marcus.”
Silas’s jaw tightened. Then, slowly, he nodded. “You’re right.”
The admission startled her more than anger would have. He handed her his phone. “Call my chief compliance officer. Ask for every internal audit from the last ten years. You’ll have full access by morning.”
“You would let me investigate you?”
“I already gave you permission to walk away. I would rather lose you because you found the truth than keep you because I hid it.”
Priya looked at him across the cold harbor wind. “Lose me as an attorney?”
Silas’s eyes held hers. “No.”
Before she could answer, her phone rang. Marcus. She declined the call. It rang again. Then a message appeared. *We need to talk before Vane gets you hurt.*
Priya blocked the number.
That evening, someone leaked photographs from the gala to a gossip website. The headline described Priya as a “heartbroken attorney seeking protection from Chicago’s most feared businessman.” Marcus gave an anonymous quote claiming Priya had become unstable after the breakup.
Silas entered her office carrying a tablet. “I can have the article removed.”
“No.”
“It is defamatory.”
“I know.”
“My people can identify the source.”
“So can mine.”
Priya filed a defamation suit the next morning. The lawsuit gave her legal access to Marcus’s communications with the website. His own attempt to shame her opened a path to discovery.
—
Three days later, Sable appeared in Priya’s office. She wore jeans, a gray coat, and no makeup. Without the polished dress and practiced smile, she looked younger than twenty-four.
Wren stood in the doorway. “Should I call security?”
Sable’s eyes filled with panic. “No,” Priya said. “Close the door.”
Sable placed a flash drive on the desk. “Marcus used my name for companies I don’t understand.”
Priya did not touch it. “Do you have an attorney?”
“No.”
“Then you should not speak to me.”
“Please.” Sable’s voice cracked. “He said the papers were for tax purposes. I signed because he told me it would prove I trusted him.”
Priya remembered signing documents for Marcus during their engagement. Wedding insurance. Property agreements. Investment disclosures. She had read every line. Sable had probably read none.
“What changed?” Priya asked.
“He told me last night that if anything went wrong, I needed to say I created the companies. He said no one would believe me over him.”
Priya felt no satisfaction. Only recognition. Marcus had not chosen Sable because she was better than Priya. He had chosen someone easier to control.
“Did you know about me when the affair began?” Priya asked.
Sable looked down. “Yes.”
The answer hurt, but not as sharply as it once would have.
“And the gala?”
“He said you’d caused problems with investors. He told me we needed to show everyone you were obsessed with him.”
“Were those your words about my anxiety?”
Sable began crying. “He told me to say them.”
Priya let the silence sit between them. Then she slid a box of tissues across the desk.
“What you did was cruel,” she said. “Being manipulated does not erase that.”
“I know.”
“But Marcus may have used you to commit crimes. You need independent counsel, and you need to preserve every message, document, and account he gave you.”
“Will Silas hurt him?”
Priya’s expression cooled. “Silas does not control this investigation. I do.”
Sable stared at her as if that answer frightened her more.
Priya arranged an attorney for Sable and turned the flash drive over through a documented legal process. The records showed Marcus ordering Sable to sign false declarations, hide lender notices, and destroy emails. They also revealed something worse. Marcus had bribed a city planning official to delay Vane Holdings’ permits. The payment trail was clear.