Chapter 16 - The Setup
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Emily sat in silence, the weight of the revelation crushing the breath from her lungs. Tommy wasn't a runaway. He wasn't a gambling addict who fled his debts. He was a hero who had tried to do the right thing, and he had been murdered for it.
“Why didn't you tell me when I started working here?” Emily asked, wiping the tears from her face, her voice thick with sorrow.
“Because I needed Victoria to feel overconfident,” Santino explained, leaning forward in his chair. “I needed her to think I was weak and distracted. You were the perfect distraction, Emily. You were the wild card she couldn't account for. She focused all her hatred on you, which made her sloppy. It forced her to accelerate her plans for the coup, and it forced her to make mistakes.”
“You used me as bait,” Emily realized, a flash of betrayal hitting her.
“I used you as a shield,” Santino corrected firmly. “And in return, I protected you. Rafe would have killed you the day he grabbed you in the billiards room if I hadn't intervened. Victoria would have poisoned your food if I hadn't assigned Enzo to watch your meals. You walked into a lion's den, Emily. I just made sure the lions couldn't bite you.”
Emily looked at the disabled mafia boss. He was a monster who orchestrated violence and controlled a dark, bloody world. But he was also a man who had systematically dismantled his own family to avenge a delivery driver he barely knew, simply because it was the honorable thing to do.
“What happens now?” Emily asked, feeling completely lost. Her mission was over. She had the truth.
Santino closed the folder and pushed it across the desk toward her.
“Now, you go home,” Santino said softly. “You take this file. It contains the exact location in the warehouse where Tommy is buried, along with enough evidence to anonymously tip off the FBI. Victoria will be arrested in Sicily and extradited for murder. You will have your justice.”
May you like
He reached into his drawer and pulled out a large, heavy envelope. It was identical to the one Victoria had tried to bribe her with on the first day.
“There is five million dollars in untraceable bonds in this envelope,” Santino said, placing it on top of the folder. “It is blood money. It will not bring your brother back, but it will ensure you never have to fold another person's laundry for the rest of your life. Take it, and disappear.”
