Chapter 28 - The Queen’s Gambit
"You should have stayed in Bonifacio, Helena," Julian said, his voice flat, emotionless, and colder than the Arctic ice.
Helena glared up at him, spitting blood from her split lip onto Julian’s polished leather shoes. "Go ahead, Julian! Shoot me! Shoot the mother of your wife! See how she looks at you when you murder her own flesh and blood!"
"She won't have to," I said, stepping up beside Julian.
I knelt down in front of Helena, meeting the frantic, venomous eyes of the woman who had abandoned me twenty years ago.
"You thought those offshore documents were your leverage, Mamma?" I pulled my personal smartphone from my pocket, turning the screen toward her.
On the display was a live video feed of an office in Lower Manhattan. Sitting across from federal prosecutors was Marcus, Julian's chief of security, flanked by three senior partners from New York’s top white-collar defense firms.
"Thirty minutes ago, while I was walking onto this pier, Julian voluntarily surrendered all records of Operation Circe to the United States Attorney’s Office," I revealed, watching the color drain from Helena’s face until she was as white as a corpse.
"What?" Helena choked out. "He... he confessed?"
"He provided absolute, irrefutable evidence of a twenty-year extortion racket run by the Milanese syndicate and Carter," I continued, my voice steady and sharp as a scalpel. "Including the signed transfer where you accepted two hundred million dollars to traffic me into the custody of Alessandro’s father. Julian didn't kidnap you, Helena. He placed you under state-approved witness protection abroad using a sealed federal warrant that expired yesterday."
"No... no, that's impossible!" Carter screamed from the floor, struggling against the flex-cuffs binding his wrists. "That would mean—"
"It means Julian is completely immune from prosecution," I said, looking Carter dead in the eye. "And you, Carter, along with my beloved mother, are officially indicted for interstate conspiracy, attempted extortion, and grand larceny."
The heavy blare of police sirens suddenly cut through the night, echoing from the street outside Pier 54. Flashing red and blue lights illuminated the broken windows of the warehouse.
Helena looked at me, pure, unadulterated hatred burning in her eyes. "You ungrateful little whore! I gave you life! Everything you have is because of Rossi blood!"
"My father gave me his name," I said softly, standing up and taking Julian’s hand, lacing my fingers through his. "And Julian gave me the strength to survive you. You are not my mother, Helena. You are just a ghost who overstayed her welcome."
Four FBI agents burst into the warehouse, badges drawn, moving immediately to take custody of Helena and Carter.
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As the agents hauled Helena to her feet and snapped steel cuffs around her wrists, she thrashed violently, screaming venom at the top of her lungs: "You think you won, Isabella? You think Julian is your savior? Ask him about the fire! Ask him who lit the match in Florence twenty-five years ago!"
The heavy steel doors slammed shut behind her, cutting off her screams.
