"Thanks for taking care of Nico and the kids all these years," she said lightly, her tone dripping with mock politeness. "But it's time for you to go. It's time for our family to be whole again."
I looked at her, my expression calm, almost eerily so.
"Okay," I said.
But inside, everything shattered.
This woman, Giada Sorrentino, wasn't a stranger. She worked as a bookkeeper in one of the Family's front businesses. Smart, ambitious, always composed, always knowing exactly how to position herself to win. She had a reputation for being sharp, capable, and just a little too good at playing the game. She had access to the ledgers, the accounts, the supply chains. Everything that ran through the Valente organization's legitimate side passed through her hands at some point.
A total bitch in disguise.
And now I understood just how far her game had gone. She hadn't just been playing for a better position in the organization. She had been building a life behind my back, piece by piece, right under my nose.
My voice cut through the silence, sharp and trembling with disbelief.
"So, you've been screwing around with Giada this whole time?!"