Chapter 8 - A DEAD MAN’S AUDIT
The safe house was a converted warehouse near the docks.
It smelled of oil and salt water,
a far cry from the luxury of the Gold Coast.
But it was secure.
Lorenzo’s men were stationed at every entrance,
armed with more than just towels and soup.
I sat at a metal table,
the laptop glowing in front of me.
The hard drive was a treasure trove of betrayal.
Vanessa hadn't just been poisoning me.
She had been selling our routes to the Outfit in New York.
She was liquidating the Moretti assets to buy herself a seat at the high table.
She had planned my death down to the minute.
2:17 a.m.
The time when the shift change happened at the mansion.
The time when the doctors were most likely to be drowsy.
The time when no one would notice a woman slipping a new bag onto an IV pole.
"She's cold,"
Lorenzo said,
looking over my shoulder at the files.
"Cold doesn't describe it,"
I said.
"She's efficient."
I looked at the bank accounts.
She had moved nearly fifty million in three weeks.
But she had made one mistake.
She had used a routing number that I had flagged years ago.
A ghost account I kept to track internal theft.
"I can lock her out,"
I said,
my fingers flying over the keys.
"I can freeze every cent she has."
"Do it,"
Lorenzo urged.
"Make her beg."
"No,"
I said,
a cold smile forming on my face.
"I want her to think she still has it."
"I want her to show up at the cathedral tomorrow."
"I want her to be standing at the altar in her white dress."
"And then,"
"I want to show her what a real Moretti wedding looks like."
Elena walked over,
carrying a cup of coffee.
Real coffee.
"You're going back there?"
she asked,
her voice trembling.
"I have to,
Elena."
"If I don't stop her now,"
"she'll never stop hunting you."
"She sees you as a loose end."
"And I don't leave my family behind."
Elena looked at me,
really looked at me,
for the first time in ten years.
"You called us family,"
she whispered.
"I was a fool for ten years,"
I said.
"I won't be a fool for another day."
Lily walked over,
climbing onto the chair beside me.
"Can I help?"
she asked.
"You've already done enough,
Lily,"
I said.
"But if you want,"
"you can choose the music for the wedding."
She grinned.
"Something loud?"
May you like
"The loudest you can find,"
I promised.
