On the previous chapter...
Valerio was dragging my memories out like a performance. Playing it back. Controlling it. Twisting it until I didn't know if I hated my own people or missed them or just wanted the noise to stop.
I thrashed in my restraints, screaming through gritted teeth. "STOP IT! STOP! PLEASE!"
But the voice just repeated:
"You lied".
"He's not coming".
"This is all you are".
I couldn't scream again. It felt like it was already happening, my body reacting to something it couldn't escape.
He wasn't here to hurt me physically. Not yet.
He was here to break something inside me.
To make sure, when the real pain started, I'd already be halfway gone.
And the worst part?
It was working.
ʚ FEDERICO'S POV ɞ
"Federico".
"Mauro". I leaned back in my chair, fingers tapping against the armrest. "Tell me".
"The banks in Kaliningrad folded faster than I expected. They're freezing accounts as we speak. Our Russian friends were motivated".
Mauro's voice was smooth as always, but I heard the edge under it not anxiety, not yet. Curiosity, calculated.
The man didn't waste breath unless there was something to gain.
His children learned from the best.
"And the shell companies?"
"Collapsed. No warning. Just gone. Valerio's financial spine is breaking in real time".
"Efficient". I nodded. "I told you. We'd make him regret every single choice he's made".
"You did". A small chuckle. "And the shipments?"
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my knees. "Your men in Marseille intercepted the last two. No word has leaked yet, his dealers still think it's a customs issue. By the time they realize otherwise, it'll be too late".
Another pause.
"It's going well, then".
"It's going exactly how I planned it".
I stood, walking slowly toward the window, watching the storm clouds curl over the skyline.
"But I want more than disruption. I want paralysis. Total immobility".
"Go on".
"We've started the rot at the top, but we need the decay to spread faster. I need someone inside his legal team, someone who can feed the authorities just enough to trigger audits. Quiet ones, at first".
"I can arrange that". Mauro's voice was already shifting into movement.
"Also..." I turned slightly. "We traced one of his new supply routes. He's trying to bypass Marseille through North Africa, Tangier. That needs to disappear. Quietly".
"Consider it done".
"I'll send you coordinates. Blow the dock and burn the cargo".
A soft grunt of acknowledgment.
"And his allies?" Mauro asked. "What about the Albanians?"
"Turning". I said simply. "Their loyalty depends on profit. Once they see Valerio bleeding, they'll step back. Or switch sides".
YOU ARE READING
Silent love
RomanceThere is only one way to make an alliance between the French and Italian mafia and that is by marriage. Yaqueline Aimeé Baudelaire has been hiding from the world her whole life, to protect her from the evil but she is the French mafia princess afte...
