Page 103 of Fierce Hearts

I explained while Gray glared at me. "It will start out seeming like I'm just meeting with them both, but Julia will pretend to side with Ernesto, saying that I contacted her. But she will have Ernesto believe she has rallied the family behind her in support of him, and that I'm the one behind Marco's death."

My mother inhaled sharply, but I continued.

"Ernesto has been feeding her those lies already, and has offered her falsified documents to support it. He messed up in his haste, probably after your father brought up Marco's death, so it wasn't too difficult to prove they were falsified by Caterina. She will say she wants to be present when I come begging to be allowed to negotiate my marriage to Juan, with the family as well. My aunts will come in, and Julia will reveal the truth of Marco's death. Ernesto will think she's offering his falsified documents, but she will have ours." I swallowed hard. "Julia intends to kill Ernesto in front of the family and wants the Donatis on standby, ready to rush in and protect her if necessary. Some close male relatives are in the know and will protect her as well."

Leo's expression remained neutral, his mind clearly working through the logistics. "I'll need to know exactly who can be trusted, who can't, and who's unknown in terms of allegiance."

"I'll get all that sorted," I promised.

"This is insane," Gray muttered, his jaw clenched tight.

Leo tapped his fingers against his coffee cup. "We could orchestrate this to take place instead of the meeting we had planned. Give Gray a few days to recover and for us to get this organized."

"Thank you," I said, relief washing over me. At least someone understood what needed to be done.

"I don't like it either," Leo said to Gray when he went to argue, "but sometimes the best plays are the ones your opponent never sees coming."

Gray still looked unconvinced. "It's too dangerous."

"It's the least dangerous of all the options that will get everyone behind me. Sure, Julia could kill him in his own bed, but then the family could turn on her. A family meeting could be called without me present, but then it will look like I'm weak and not wanting to stand with my family when they need me, which isn't a good look for a leader," I explained.

Gray's jaw was set as he stared hard at me.

"Why do you have to be so goddamn stubborn and good-hearted?" he said with a heavy sigh.

"Would you want me any other way?" I shot back with a slight smile, causing his mouth to curl slightly.

"No, but doesn't mean I have to always love it."

* * *

An hour later,my phone buzzed with a call from the burner number Caterina had given me at lunch. I stepped into the hallway to take it.

"Sofia, Julia just found out Ernesto plans to flee with the family funds," Caterina said right off the bat. "He's discovered the Donatis have been investigating him and he's getting skittish. We need to move quickly."

Fuck.Of course that weasel was getting the jitters and wanting to run. He was a weak man when it came to it. "How soon?"

"The sooner we announce Gray's fake death and set this in motion, the better."

"I'll let Leo know," I said, ending the call.

When I returned to the room, I relayed the information to Leo, who immediately began making calls of his own, upping the timeline from the first round of calls he'd made earlier. Faking a death was rather easy with the right amount of money and connections. After I gave him all the details he needed, he left to start preparations. Meredith reluctantly departed as well, her restoration manager demanding to meet for a few things since she'd been MIA so much. Besides, there was little else she could do right now, and it would distract her.

I'd also asked to have some time alone with Gray, so that had given her the extra push to actually go.

My mother had gone to the cafeteria for food after overhearing me asking Meredith for some time with him, leaving Gray and me alone for the first time since I'd returned.

"As much as I hate all of this, I'm proud of you," Gray said softly, his eyes holding mine. "You're a strong woman, Sofia."

I smiled as I took his hand. "You're not going to try to stop me?"

He gave a small, pained laugh. "Would it work if I tried?"

"No."

"I know I can't stop you," he said, reaching for my hand. "But I will be there for you when the meeting goes down."

I shook my head. "It'll be soon, Gray. You're in no state to be leaving the hospital."

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