Chapter One Hundred and Forty

Leo reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a folder, sliding it across the polished table toward Gen. She opened it slowly, feigning surprise as she scanned the pages, all while the others at the table exchanged cards with the dealer and pushed their chips forward with practiced ease. On the opposite side, Dina drummed her long, fiery red nails impatiently against the surface.

“Well?” Dina’s voice was sharp, her dwindling patience barely contained.

Gen looked up, meeting Dina’s gaze. “Hmm? Oh, yes. I have a report here compiled by my team on your operation. It’s… rather thin,” she said, holding the folder up and shaking it slightly for emphasis.

“You should have seen our operation two years ago,” Dina growled, her voice low and dangerous.

Jada let out a disgruntled noise that was anything but ladylike, and Gen shot her a warning glance.

“I assure you, we did our due diligence,” Gen replied evenly. “We took into account your businesses from two years ago. These projections show what would have happened if Dane had survived.” She tossed the folder toward Dina, who immediately passed it to their attorney.

The attorney, Jeff, scoffed loudly, and Gen caught the flicker of nervousness in his eyes. Sliding a few poker chips to the center of the table, she winked at Dina.

“These figures are ridiculous. They can’t be accurate,” Jeff said, his certainty tinged with unease.

“Is that so?” Gen responded, feigning shock.

Dina snatched the papers back from Jeff and began reading them herself. “This isn’t right.”

“I’m afraid it is,” Gen said with a resigned sigh. “Numbers don’t lie, and I’m quite good with them.”

“This says we were in the red.”

“Dane was bleeding your accounts dry,” Gen informed her bluntly.

“For what?” Dina asked skeptically.

“Women,” Jada answered before Gen could. “Girls at your clubs, drugs, horse betting, underground fights. He handed out money to anyone who’d take it.”

Gen looked pointedly at Jeff, noting the pale complexion and sweat beading on his forehead. “I’m guessing your attorney here was in his pocket, making sure you never noticed.”

Dina’s eyes narrowed as they slowly tracked toward Jeff, who squirmed under her intense gaze. “Leave,” she ordered coldly.

“Miss Russo, please—” Jeff began.

“I said leave. Get the hell out of my family’s affairs. You have two days before I come after you,” Dina warned.

Jeff stared at Dina for a moment longer before abruptly standing and heading for the door. The others in the room chuckled quietly, exchanging knowing looks. They all understood just how lucky he was to escape unscathed.

Dina threw the folder onto the table and folded her arms, her eyes locking onto Gen’s. She shook her head slowly. “You have my attention.”

“Good,” Gen said, pushing more chips forward as she received another card to complete her flush. “As you saw in the report, if we hadn’t stepped in, your son would have bankrupted your family within a few years.”

“You can’t know that. If Jada had married him, as promised, her father would have financed us and—”

“My father?” Jada burst out laughing, disbelief coloring her tone. “My father doesn’t give a damn what—”

“Jada,” Gen interrupted sharply. “We factored that in. Mr. Castellanos might have supported you for a while, but, woman to woman, have you ever known a man to change his nature? Dane was an addict, Miss Russo. An addict who refused help. Plain and simple. The only thing that could have stopped him from draining your funds was a bullet.”

“A bullet is what he got anyway,” Dina said quietly.

“True, but at least you kept your money,” Gen reasoned.

“Money for a son? Do you think I care so little for my own blood that I’d value money over his life?”

“Of course not. But it’s interesting that since we arrived, all you’ve talked about is the financial and territorial losses, the fact that Jada ruined your retirement plans… not a single word of regret for the man who died.”

Dina visibly bristled. “I loved my son.”

“I’m sure you did,” Gen said, bringing the sentiment into the present tense. “But what about power? What feeling does that stir in you?”

Dina tapped her nails thoughtfully and revealed her hidden cards, arching one brow. Gen couldn’t tell if it was a sign of a strong hand or a bluff.

“I lost my son,” Dina said quietly. “Now, I have to play the hand I’ve been dealt.”

Gen glanced at the two remaining Russo brothers sitting nearby. She felt a flicker of pity for them.

“Let me help you get more,” Gen offered. Leo nudged her arm, and when she looked his way, he nodded toward the door. Turning her chair, she smiled as Conor approached.

“I have a proposition I believe will benefit both parties,” she said.

“Sorry I’m late,” Conor apologized, gently nudging Jada aside to take the seat next to Gen.

“And who might this be?” Dina asked, her curiosity piqued.

“Conor Galante,” he introduced himself, extending a hand.

Dina’s eyebrows shot up, her carefully maintained mask slipping away.

“Galante, as in…?”

“My father is the man trying to take over Accardi’s operation,” Conor said plainly.

“Ah,” Dina said, adjusting her posture and intertwining her fingers beneath her chin. “Quite the empire you’re about to inherit. And you’re cute, too. Single, I assume?”

“No,” Conor replied bluntly, the sincerity in his eyes unmistakable.

“Hm, what a pity,” Dina said smoothly, brushing off the rejection. “If you’re not here with a proposal, then what exactly do you want?”

“A peaceful transfer of power through signed papers,” Conor explained.

Dina exchanged a glance with Gen, intrigued.

“What does that mean exactly, Mr. Galante?” she asked, a skeptical smile playing on her lips. “Be specific.”

Conor leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and closing the distance between them, causing Dina to flush slightly. He looked down, biting his lip, then met her gaze again. Dina’s pupils dilated, and Gen was stunned by the transformation—this was the man Conor must have been before heartbreak consumed him.

“You get the men who wish to follow you, the clients, the supply chains, the storage facilities, the suppliers.”

“All of it? You can’t be serious.”

“Not all,” Conor said, shaking his head as if she’d said something improper. “I keep the business offshoots—the security company, restaurants, a couple of clubs, real estate.”

Dina snapped out of her trance and met Gen’s curious stare. Raising a brow, she asked, “And what do you get out of this?”

“Evidence. Solid evidence, Dina.” Gen pushed Conor back gently and leaned over the table herself, her tone firm. “I want Noah Bennett buried somewhere close enough that I could spit on his grave every day. But first, I want him taken down publicly, reduced to nothing, then erased from this world. And I want you to help me get there—and then stay the hell out of my way.”

“Feisty,” one of the Russo brothers remarked with a smirk.

Gen’s eyes flicked to the man. He was broad-shouldered with a prominent forehead and a large nose that dominated his face. She’d noticed his calculating gaze the moment she approached the table. Since then, he’d been trying to figure out Matteo’s potential prison sentence and how long a woman like her would wait before moving on. Even if she was a cheater, this man would have to work hard to get her into bed.

“Feisty?” Gen repeated, glancing at Dina, who stared at the ceiling as if one more word from her son might push her to the brink. Turning back to the Russo brother, Gen stood, placing her palms firmly on the table.

“I am a Donna. Married to one of the highest-ranking bosses in this city. That title wasn’t handed to me—I earned it. I turned your family’s finances upside down in minutes. Minutes! I survived kidnappings, guns to my head, and I love a man who would literally disembowel you if you dared look at me like that.”

Gen shifted her attention back to Dina. “Want your future back?” she asked, gesturing toward the two boys. “These are your options… or you can sign some papers and place your trust in something more certain.”

“How can I be sure you’ll keep your word?”

“It’ll be in the contract,” Conor said firmly. “I won’t come after what’s mine.”

“I need something more binding. Something that ties the Accardis in,” Dina said, tapping her nails thoughtfully.

“What do you suggest?” Gen asked, eager to negotiate.

Dina nodded toward Jada. “Her.”

“Her?” Jada repeated, looking around the table in disbelief.

“If Conor tries to return to the business, I get to kill Jada, and you stay out of my way,” Dina proposed coldly.

Gen scoffed. “No way. I won’t—”

“Deal,” Conor interrupted.

“What?” Gen hissed.

“Yeah, what?” Jada echoed.

Conor’s expression remained unreadable as he stared directly at Dina, making it clear he wasn’t bluffing. “Mira wanted me out. I promised her I’d leave. I’m done. You can have it. You can use Jada as leverage. I’m never coming back to this life. Fuck it.”

Dina pursed her lips, clearly impressed. “Well?”

Gen met Jada’s eyes. Louis gripped her shoulder tightly, warning her silently. Jada nodded and exhaled deeply. This would be her penance, her sacrifice for peace.

“Jada,” Louis whispered in frustration.

Jada stood abruptly. “I’m sorry, Dina.” Without another word, she turned and fled, leaving her cards and chips abandoned on the table. Louis hurried after her.

“We have a deal,” Gen said, pushing down the turmoil churning in her stomach and the disgust she felt toward herself. “I want the evidence before we sign. Today. That’s more than fair, considering what you’re getting out of this.”

Dina leaned forward and flipped Gen’s cards over, revealing a Royal Flush. She smirked and shook her head. “You weren’t bluffing.”

“Apparently not,” Gen replied with a small smile.

Dina returned the smile. “It’s fine. You can have these chips. I’ll be drowning in more soon enough.” Rising, she gave her sons a sharp smack on the back of their heads. “Let’s go. Get Bennett’s files, or do I need to do that myself?”

Dina and her sons walked away, already boasting about their new future. Gen turned to Conor as he stood.

“You better not screw this up, Conor,” she growled.

“Don’t plan to,” he shot back, heading for the door.

“That’s my sister,” Gen added.

Conor spun around, anger flashing in his eyes. “I lost my world! I’ve spent weeks trying to feel anything. All she wanted was to escape this life. That’s it. She didn’t care what I did. I could have been a janitor feeding her ramen noodles from a shared spoon, and she would have loved me. I just came from a meeting where I agreed never to seek her out again. I’ve destroyed my life twice now. I don’t give a damn about my father’s life. And that’s all this is, Gen,” he said, gesturing around at the watching crowd. “His life. Not ours. Not mine. Just his.”

Gen watched him walk away, the weight of his words hanging heavy in the air. Leo stepped beside her.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

“Let’s go,” Gen replied firmly. “Less than twenty-four hours until I have to kill someone—and we have a lot to do before then.”