Chapter 3 - SHADOWS IN THE LEDGER
For three days, Cassidy lived on black coffee, adrenaline, and spreadsheets. Alessandro had given her a private office adjacent to his, locked down with biometric security. Giovanni stood guard outside her door, a silent sentinel who made sure she lacked nothing.
The scope of the Duca empire was staggering. Real estate, shipping, luxury imports, waste management. But Alessandro had been telling the truth—he was trying to go entirely legitimate. The vast majority of the books were pristine.
However, as Cassidy dug into the subsidiary accounts managed by Sterling Rock, the numbers began to whisper. Then, they screamed.
It was 2:00 a.m. on a Thursday when Alessandro walked into her office. He had discarded his suit jacket and tie, the sleeves of his crisp white shirt rolled up, revealing faint, dark tattoos on his forearms—remnants of a violent past he was trying to bury.
"You look like you haven't slept since Monday," he noted, sitting on the edge of her desk.
"Sleep is a luxury for people whose spreadsheets balance," Cassidy muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Look at this."
She spun the monitor around. "Sterling Rock has been managing the operational cash flow for your Brooklyn shipyards. On paper, it looks like standard overhead. But look at the vendor payments. Six different consulting firms, all incorporated in Delaware within the last eight months. All billing just under the threshold that requires your direct signature."
Alessandro leaned in, his proximity sending an unexpected shiver down her spine. He smelled of bergamot, expensive wool, and danger.
"They're shell companies," Alessandro said, his voice dropping an octave.
"Exactly. And I traced the routing numbers. The money is being funneled through a bank in the Caymans... the exact same bank Harrison Vane uses for his offshore holdings. Sterling isn't just a mole. He's been embezzling your money to help fund Vane's trap."
Alessandro's jaw tightened. The betrayal was a physical blow, but his expression remained a mask of cold granite. "How much?"
"Twelve million dollars."
Alessandro stood up, the air in the room suddenly turning freezing cold. "Giovanni," he called out.
The door opened instantly. "Yes, Boss."
"Find Sterling. Do not kill him. Bring him to the warehouse on 9th. Now."
Cassidy felt a spike of panic. "Wait. If you take him now, Vane will know we're onto him. You have to be smart about this. If Vane wanted you to buy a poisoned shipping fleet, he must have tipped off the feds to raid you the second the ink was dry. We need to use Sterling to feed Vane false information. We set a trap for the trapper."
May you like
Alessandro stared at her, the dark fury in his eyes slowly transforming into something else—respect. He moved closer to her, invading her space, looking down at her with a burning intensity.
"You are dangerous, Miss Miller," he whispered. "I like it."
