Chapter 17 - THE FILE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
The envelope contained financial transfers.
Chemical purchase orders.
Shipping records.
And one photograph.
Lena stared at it.
It showed Clara's father meeting with a senior Romano lieutenant four years earlier.
Victor recognized the man immediately.
His face became cold.
“Marco Bellini.”
“Who is he?”
“One of my father's most trusted advisers.”
Lena looked at him.
“Was he involved?”
Victor didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because Marco had died three years earlier.
A supposed heart attack.
But the records told a different story.
Marco had received large payments from Whitmore-controlled accounts.
Victor sat down.
“My family was compromised from inside.”
Lena looked at him.
“So your organization helped destroy my father because someone inside your family helped create the lie.”
Victor nodded.
“I believe so.”
She looked away.
For the first time, anger entered her voice.
“You want me to trust you?”
“No.”
Victor looked directly at her.
“I want you to have enough evidence to decide whether I deserve your trust.”
Lena was silent.
That answer changed something.
He wasn't demanding forgiveness.
May you like
He was giving her the right to judge him.
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