Page 116 of Made for Sinners

“It’s Rocco.”

There was a pause. “Your cousin?”

“Yes.”

Another pause. “Tell me everything.”

I gave her the rundown—Emilia’s discovery, the photo, the album, the connection to her father’s office. She listened without interrupting, but I could hear the gears turning in her head through the silence.

When I finished, she exhaled softly. “I suspected Aleksander Romanov was involved. This confirms it.”

“How?” Rafe asked, leaning forward.

“Because Rocco’s been quietly moving assets through shell companies tied to Romanov’s banking network,” Valentina said. “I didn’t have a name before. Now I do.”

“Can you trace it?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “But it’s buried deep. I’ll need time.”

“You don’t have time,” I snapped. “I’m not executing blood without proof.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then: “Understood.”

“Find me the trail, Valentina,” I said. “I want names. I want dates. I want the fucking wire transfers.”

“You’ll have them,” she said. “But Dante?”

“What?”

“If Romanov’s involved, this isn’t just about money. It’s about power. And Rocco didn’t do this alone.”

I clenched my jaw. “I know.”

“We’ll talk soon,” she said. “And Dante?”

“What?”

“Don’t kill him yet.”

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone for a long moment, then set it down on the table.

The silence in the room was thick.

Rafe was the first to speak. “So what’s the play?”

“We wait for Valentina to bring us proof,” I said. “And then we decide how to handle it.”

“Public or private?” Luca asked.

I didn’t answer right away.

Because that was the question, wasn’t it?

A public execution would send a message. A warning to anyone else thinking about betrayal. But it would also fracture the family. Blood killing blood didn’t go unnoticed.

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