Page 69 of Venomous Throne

You see this destruction?I wanted to shout.You see what you’ve done to the people you want to rule?

The engine revved as if in response to my inner monologue.

Then the car tore off. The would-be don didn’t have the courtesy to stop and interact with the homeless. I shook my head in disgust. It wasn’t about who ruled better. It was about doing the right thing. And this wasn’t it.

I rubbed my jaw, only then realizing that my hand was blackened by some soot I must have touched at one point.

“Bring a food truck to the church. Have them prepare soup and bread. It’s open to the families who need it. But if any strays wander by,” I added as an afterthought, “feed them too.”

“Yes, donna.” Joseph pulled out his phone. He barked orders in Italian. Pulling the device down, he paused to look at me. “The funds for the truck?”

Annoyance ticked through me. I didn’t have access to the Moretti wealth. Not yet.

“Use the dealership. We’ll make it an official charity donation tomorrow, but if the food truck company needs payment tonight, give them access to that credit card,” I snapped.

Joseph nodded and continued his work.

I wandered down the street, a mental list forming in my mind. This was a problem that needed our immediate attention. These families had lost everything, but I would make it right.

“Donna, wait,” Joseph panted as he jogged after me. “You can’t just be wandering about out here.”

Why? Because it wasn’t safe?

I pursed my lips. “How soon can the insurance adjuster be out here?”

Joseph looked to the eastern horizon. It was still deep blue, not a tendril of daylight.

“Donna, these families didn’t have insurance,” he said quietly.

Well, screw that! Anger boiled fiercely inside me.

“Then tomorrow, we fix that,” I bit out, then shook my head. “This morning, I mean. First thing.”

A dark plan formed in my mind. We were the mob after all. No business was safe from our reach, not even the insurance companies. Tomorrow, the big corporation was going to bend to my wishes. I wouldn’t rest until they complied.

“Would you like to go home and sleep?” he pressed gently.

I knew he was only being kind, but it grated. “No. I’m going to the church. I need to be there. To help, in any way that I can.”

Reluctantly, my capo followed, knowing better than to question me.

Chapter 28 – Isabella

I did not feel good about this.

The fire that blazed in my veins last night as I stood over the charred remains and vowed justice had fizzled out. The weary, starved souls who mingled around the food truck before tucking themselves into church pews for a few hours’ sleep, sucked the very fight from my veins.

I went home to change and do a fast cleanup, and then it was a race to drive downtown with several soldiers and Franky in the morning rush hour.

Now, sitting in the insurance agent’s office, guilt coagulated on my soul. While I didn’t mind fraudulently conning a corporation and bending it to my will, the insurance adjuster was the unfortunate middleman.

“There’s nothing I can do, Mrs. Moretti.” Mr. Fergus folded his hands behind his desk.

Oh, dio, don’t make me do it.

But I’d come this far. My stomach might fail me, but my resolve had to stay iron.

Giving the insurance agent a cool, lingering look, I said smoothly, “You misplaced the policy for the five homes I’ve listed.”