Chapter 7 - THE GHOST RETURNS
The dead man’s burner phone rang ten minutes later. It sat on the mahogany desk, buzzing against the wood like an angry hornet. Alessandro and I stared at it. We both knew who was on the other end.
Alessandro nodded. I picked it up with a trembling hand and pressed accept.
“Hello, Katie.”
The voice was smooth, confident, and entirely devoid of the warmth I once thought I knew. It was David. The man I had mourned. The man I had starved for. Hearing him speak felt like a physical blow to the stomach.
“You’re a monster,” I choked out, tears of rage spilling down my cheeks.
“I’m a pragmatist,” David corrected effortlessly, sipping what sounded like a drink on ice. “I left you in a tough spot, I know. But it was necessary. I couldn't have you or the kid weighing me down while I set up the new accounts. Honestly, I didn't expect you to survive this long. And I certainly didn't expect you to end up in bed with the man I framed.”
“What do you want, David?” I snarled, gripping the phone tight enough to crack the casing.
“I want my ledger,” he said, his voice dropping its casual tone, replacing it with something cold and metallic. “Romano has the physical book. I need it to unlock the Swiss trust. Here is the deal, Katie. You are going to bring me that ledger. In exchange, I will let you and Logan walk away with a million dollars. You can start over. A clean slate.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then I give the Moretti family the exact coordinates of Romano’s estate. They have an army waiting. They will burn the place to the ground, slaughter Romano, and take their time flaying you alive. But don't worry, I'll make sure they spare Logan. I could use a prodigy.”
He was threatening to let the mafia torture me to death, and he sounded like he was ordering a coffee. My husband was a sociopath.
“Where and when?” I asked, my voice terrifyingly calm.
“Pier 44. Baltimore Harbor. Tomorrow at midnight. Come alone with the ledger, or I burn your new boyfriend’s empire to ashes.” The line went dead.
I looked at Alessandro. He had heard every word on speakerphone.
May you like
“We have a problem,” I said, wiping my tears, replacing my sorrow with a cold, hardened resolve.
“No,” Alessandro said softly, walking around the desk and cupping my cheek with a warm, calloused hand. “We have an opportunity. He thinks you are a terrified housewife. He thinks I am betrayed and broken. Tomorrow night, we show your dead husband exactly what happens when you wake the ghosts.”
