Chapter 1 - The First Resignation
The snow was still falling hard when my chief financial officer, Arthur Vance, stood in the doorway of my private office.
He looked completely disheveled, his expensive tie loosened and his forehead gleaming with nervous sweat.
I took a slow sip of espresso, refusing to show any reaction to his panic.
"Why did Eleanor resign?" Arthur demanded, stepping into the room and closing the heavy mahogany door behind him.
"From what?" I asked, keeping my voice perfectly calm.
Arthur stared at me as if I had lost my mind.
"From everything, Lucian," he said, his voice dropping to a frantic whisper.
"She sent a formal resignation letter to the board of directors at six o'clock this morning."
I set my espresso cup down on the leather desk blotter.
"She is taking maternity leave early," I lied smoothly. "It is a temporary measure."
Arthur shook his head violently.
"No, it isn't temporary."
He walked up to my desk and dropped a thick manila folder directly over my open calendar.
"She didn't just resign from the legitimate holdings," Arthur explained.
"She resigned as the primary trustee of the Moretti Family Foundation, she dissolved her partnership in the real estate acquisitions firm, and she formally removed her name from all offshore holding accounts."
My heart hammered against my ribs, but my face remained an emotionless mask.
I had spent years building a legitimate corporate structure to launder the millions generated by the syndicate's illegal operations.
Eleanor was a forensic accountant.
She was the architect of that structure.
"I will handle my wife," I told Arthur, projecting a confidence I suddenly did not feel.
"You handle the board. Tell them it's a domestic dispute and she will be back by Monday."
Arthur let out a harsh, bitter laugh.
"I can't tell the board anything, Lucian, because they are already panicking."
He pointed a shaking finger at the folder on my desk.
"When she removed her name from the offshore accounts, she triggered an automatic security protocol."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"What protocol?" I demanded softly.
"The one she designed to protect the legitimate companies from federal RICO investigations," Arthur whispered.
"The forty-million-dollar credit facility we need to finalize the waterfront casino project has been entirely suspended by the bank."
I stood up slowly, the true gravity of Eleanor's departure finally crashing down upon me.
Without that forty million, the casino deal would collapse, and the rival syndicates investing in it would demand my blood.
"Get her on the phone," I ordered Arthur.
"I tried," Arthur replied grimly. "Her phone is disconnected."
Before I could issue another command, my private cell phone vibrated in my pocket.
It was a secure line, a number known only to the brutal cartel bosses who backed my waterfront casino project.
I answered the call, bracing for threats.
May you like
Instead, a cold, unfamiliar voice spoke on the other end of the line.
"Mr. Moretti," the voice said smoothly. "We have intercepted your wife, and we possess the brass key she is carrying."
