Page 59 of No Longer Mine

“No,” He looked up and leveled me with an icy stare. “When he is gone, I plan on taking his place.”

I wished it were that simple. I wished I could tell him that he would be able to do that, but when I was done with him… There would be nothing left, if I got the FBI involved and if they were in on it… All of the Cristof fortune would be frozen—seized. I needed to come up with a plan.

“Can we get on with this?” Ivan said suddenly.

“I’m running for office to dismantle our father,” I began.

They collectively rolled their eyes. I guess it was that obvious.

“Alexei and I have been working together in the shadows as of late because Alexei has promised his bride-to-be that he won’t get his hands dirty.” I was sure we all collectively rolled our eyes to that one as well. “So I’ve been somewhat getting mine dirty on the sidelines. We found out that a certain Tony has been trying to move in on Cristof land. Not just our father’s but Alexei’s restaurants, bars, and strip clubs.”

Ace sat back, arms crossing as he let out a low chuckle. “So let me get this straight—you’ve been playing politician by day and vigilante by night?”

I dragged a hand down my face. “I wouldn’t call it that.”

“I would,” Alexei smirked.

Ivan exhaled sharply, his fingers drumming on the table. “Tony’s an idiot, but he wouldn’t be making moves this bold without someone backing him. If he’s stepping into Cristofterritory, that means Father either doesn’t know, or worse, he does know and doesn’t care.”

I spread my hands over the table. “That’s why I’ve called this meeting. Tony is dead, and I found out who was pulling all of the strings.”

Alexei watched me as he waited for me to drop the news.

“Father.”

Ace laughed then. It was deep and jarring and completely inappropriate for the news I’d just dropped. “Father? Sinclair Cristof hired a thug to do his dealings? He has everything at the tips of his fingers, and he would hire that loser? I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it.” I held my phone out with the video on it.

Ace recoiled from it. “What the fuck is that?”

“This is why Father is using a basic thug for his dealings. He is restarting on the backs of women. He is trafficking Russian women.”

Ace rubbed his jaw. “This can’t be leaked. We would lose everything.”

I gritted my teeth. “What would you like me to do?”

“Stop him from buying up land in the city? I don’t know. Whatever it is councilmen do.”

I rubbed my face. It was going to be a lot of work and even more paperwork. “I’ve thought about reintroducing zoning laws, but it would affect Alexei. He owns strip clubs and businesses in the same districts.”

Alexei leaned forward and steepled his fingers on the table in front of him. “I’ll sell them.”

“Every single one of them?” Ivan snickered. “Yeah, right.”

He wiped his hands. “Every single one of them.”

“I’m going to propose a late-night business restriction,” I opened my notebook and read off my notes. “Most of his businesses are in high crime areas. It won’t be hard to enforce.”

“The other councilmen aren’t going to want zoning changes like that in their districts.” Ace shook his head, already giving up on the notion.

“Benson already has dirt on more than half of the other councilmen, and I’m sure he can get dirt on the rest.”

Alexei grinned with all of his teeth. “Blackmail, I like it.”

“Dark cohesion more like it.”

I pulled out a color-coded map. Every single bar, strip club, and illegal gambling ring was highlighted in green. Every one of Alexei’s was highlighted in blue. My district was circled in yellow. “The plan is to introduce a curfew. I would frame it as a public safety operation. Reduce crime, protect workers, and curb illegal operations.”

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