Page 141 of His Eternal Claim
For the first time all day, I laugh. “The Founding Families can choke.”
Kyle’s mouth twitches. “You want the ledgers released?”
“Everything.” I want the entire rotten foundation ripped apart. “Make it public.”
Kyle whistles softly.
“That’s a declaration of war.”
“No.”
I look toward the garden again. Toward the woman staring at nothing.
“It’s a necessary measure.”
Kyle looks at me for a long beat.
He tosses his silver lighter onto the desk, where it skims across the manila folder containing our ruin.
“Well,” Kyle murmurs, crossing his arms and leaning back. “It’s a good thing I never planned on retiring with a corporate pension anyway. Bureaucrats are exceptionally tedious, but they do excel at cage-building. If we hand them the coordinates, they’ll lock up what’s left of Vane’s Syndicate out of greed for a promotion.” He glances toward the window, catching Selene beneath the olive tree. His smirk drops.
“You’re making the entire government fight your war, free of charge.”
“They want a clean script to sell to the press,” I say. “I am giving them the evidence. In exchange, they will construct a fortress around this territory that no scattered mafia captain will dare breach. If anyone so much as breathes in Selene’s direction, they will be stepping into a federal hornet’s nest.”
“And the money?” Kyle asks, flipping through the folder.
I glance at him before looking back through the glass. “Move it through Edinburgh.”
Kyle nods once. “The offshore network?”
“The entire thing.”
A page turns. “After that?”
“Convert everything.”
His eyes lift. “Everything?”
“Every cent.”
Kyle exhales through his teeth. “You’re really doing it. You’re crazier than Judas.”
I shrug. “The throne’s dead anyway.”
The words don’t hurt anymore. Maybe they should. Maybe five years ago they would have. Now? Now I can’t bring myself to care.
“The other families are going to lose their minds.”
“They’re welcome to.”
“They’ll think you’ve gone soft.” That earns him a look.
Kyle grins. “There he is.”
I shake my head. “Turn it into legitimate holdings. Real estate. Trusts. Investment portfolios. Things governments can’t touch.”
Kyle closes the folder. “And why exactly are we suddenly becoming respectable citizens?”
