Cassia’s hand tightens on mine.
“It’s handled.” Quiet. Certain. “Everything is handled. Just rest.”
Handled.
That means Renzo. Means blood. Means the kind of justice that happens in basements.
Good.
I let the darkness take me.
The last thing I feel is her hand in mine. Small. Warm. Not letting go.
The last thing I hear is her voice against the beeping of machines.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
I sleep.
27
DANTE
Hours later. Stronger now. The fog has lifted. My body still aches, but my mind is sharp. Sharp enough to need answers.
They file in one by one. Renzo first, face unreadable. Gia next, exhaustion carved into every line. Nico follows, subdued, none of his usual charm. Marco last, hovering near the door like he’s not sure he should be here.
Cassia hasn’t left her chair. Her hand is still in mine.
My family. All of them. Here.
“Talk,” I say.
Gia goes first. Clinical. Precise.
“Tetrodotoxin base mixed with a secondary compound. Slow-acting. Designed to mimic cardiac arrest.” She doesn’t look at her notes. “You were twenty minutes from death when we identified it. Maybe less.”
Twenty minutes.Cristo.
“What did Romano give up?”
Renzo steps forward. “Names. Stefano Benedetti is running their expansion into our territory. His uncle Flavio handles their finances. They’ve got a lawyer, Robert Fontaine, washing payments through a real estate firm in Metairie.”
“How long?”
“Years. Romano said they approached him two years ago. Started small. Information about our operations, shipping schedules, which soldiers were unhappy.” A muscle ticks in Renzo’s cheek. “He gave them everything. Every vulnerability. Every weakness. He was supposed to accelerate the timeline after Papa died, but then Cassia started finding discrepancies. He panicked.”
Cazzo.
Seven years of skimming on his own. Then the Benedettis found a man who was already betraying us and gave him a bigger purpose.
Thirty-two years at our table. Thirty-two years of my father’s trust.
I look at Nico. He’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed. The muscle beneath his ear jumping. His eyes red at the rims.
“You got Dr.Biagi here.”
He blinks. Surprised I’m addressing him.
