The Crown I Stole

was cool against her skin, but it might as well have been burning hot. Her

s from each other at a metal table. One was her father, Antonio Ricci, his face gaunt but his eyes still sharp despite the prison uniform.

office. The moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows cast long sh

h like aged whiskey. He stood by the window, his silhouette outlined b

expect me to believe you've been visiting my father in pri

ign that her words had affected him. "My fa

lood,"

ching his desk with languid confidence. "Your father is alive be

his desk, careful not to let their fingers touch. "Why

te replied, settling into his leather ch

lo couldn't discover on his own?" Alessia asked, her voice drip

s looked almost black, bottomless pools that threatened to drown her. "He knows

beneath her. Seven years of certainty-of knowing exa

d, but the conviction i

My father is dying. Cancer. He has maybe six months left. When he dies, I take control of everythin

s of the mansion. Reports that didn't quite match up, money flowing in dire

lips. "I knew you were good, but

get you what you

er hasn't been acting alone. Someone has been pulling strings from the shadows for years

the folder. "And what

th me, not against me. Help me uncover who's been manipulating

s what,

ers. "Revenge. Justice. Th

I'm supposed to trust you? The son

seen with your own eyes since you've been here." He gestured to the watch she'd placed on the d

aved surface. Her father had once told her that sometimes the devil

heard before. "But know this-my father returns in three weeks. Once he's b

al mission, but perhaps enough to discover if Dante was telling the truth. If her father had indeed be

hink," she s

with the desk between them. "But remember, Miss Ricci-we're

atch felt heavy in her coat pocket, a physical reminder of the choice she now faced. Her mind replayed the con

hat if everything she th

ng, checking for surveillance or followers-a habit ingrain

ing in darkness until she flipped on the ligh

he said by wa

arefully to hide her trembling hands.

narrowed. "Wh

. But Marco had been more than her mentor for the past seven years

rew the pocket watch

the silver as reverently as she had. When he opened it and saw the photo ins

this?" His voice wa

at the city lights. "He says he's been protecting my father in pri

The disbelief in Marc

ce him. "He's offering an alliance, Marco. He wants my h

ap. "This is a trap. He's trying to us

nged. "What if my father is alive beca

The Castellos destroyed everything you had. Everything your fathe

before. It unsettled her. "My father is ali

. Dante Castello is as dangerous as his father, perhaps more so because he hides it better. If yo

uld want," she said quietly. "You

ined you, kept you safe when no one else could. I did it because I loved your father like a brother,

pushed against it-a certainty that there was more to th

ormation. If Dante is lying, I'll have more evidence to use against hi

e me you won't agree to anything without consulting me first. Pro

to her voice. "I'm the daughter of the Ghost King. And I will

s justice you find, not damnation." He moved toward the door. "I need to

that had once belonged to her family. Her reflection stared back at her

t and withdrew her phone,

out. No promise

onds later, as if

on. My office

nto the spider's web willingly now, but with her eyes open. If Dante Castello

r behind bars and Dante Castello sitting across from him like an old friend. She dress

ed with a mess

in Blackgate. No confirmation on v

sources were good, but they wouldn't have access to the kind of high-leve

loor of the Castello corporate headquarters. His assistant, a seve

Miss Bianchi. Or shou

only a moment. "Does everyone

remained neutral as she opened Dante's office doo

he door. Unlike the previous night, the office was now flooded with sunlight, maki

u'd come," he sai

ing appointments," Alessia rep

from head to toe. "No, I imagine you're quite

" she countered. "Y

his lips. "Per

leather sofa and armchairs arranged around a low table. Already laid

ked, moving towar

that gave her the clearest path to the door. Old habi

t you showed me last night is real. That my father

r a tablet on the table, tapped a few commands, and

s once-powerful frame. Across from him sat Dante, speaking in low tones. The video had no audio, but she could see her f

sound?" she ask

eople." He leaned forward. "But if you want verification of his condition, call the number I've saved in y

s rose. "You've b

n New York, Alessia. It's what I do." His expression turned serious. "Just as you've been ex

d him with a steely gaze. "Alright. My father is alive, and you

our father trusts you. Because you have skills I need. And because when my father returns

your side," Alessi

handed it to her. "This is what I've discovered so far about the inconsistencies in our organizati

one's siphoning funds from your more legitimate businesses and funneling them int

ept I'm not the one doing it

n you b

out the hit on your family." He produced another file. "Men who supposedly worked for my father but

her training with Marco-a shadowy group that supposedly controlled crime across multiple state

" she said, but her vo

to piece together over the past three years. Bank records, communications, surveillance photos. All pointi

substantial, too detailed to be fabricated easily. If true, it meant that

er say about this?

wed him more evidence, he began to corroborate with details from his own experience. Meeting

d the file, fixing him with a hard stare. "Beyond inf

war. Someone with the skills to help me bring down the real enemy." He leaned forward, his

he forced herself to resist. "And once we find this 'real e

is lips. "We'll cross that

rco had taught her, everything she'd believed for seven years. But refusing meant pote

she said again, r

ing to try. "Of course. But remember, the clock is

noted. "What exactly are you

ind the polished exterior. "Kill anyone who threatens his

spine. "I'll let you know my decision by

ering my offer, remember that your continued access to this building-to me-depends on you

refused to show fear. "Is that s

ther of us can afford to return to our previous positions.

when she returned, his agitat

the moment she wal

e suggesting someone called 'The Council' manipulated both families. That

step, his face d

Alessia observed, watchi

on hardening. "Rumors, ghost stories

s initial reaction. "Yo

Castello is playing you, Alessia! He's trying to drive a wedg

pulling out her phone and showing h

sibly. "This proves nothing except that Dante has acce

ble with Dante. Why would that be, Marco? Why would my father be on seemingl

ing hair. "Because your father is a practical man.

here's more to the story than you've told me.

Marco insisted, turning back to f

"If they exist, if they were behind wh

tion pulling strings, the Castellos are still the ones who carried out the hits. Salvatore Castello still gave the order

t why," Alessia argued. "And it

You can't seriously be

ons," she replied evenly. "J

trap," Marco snapped. "This h

night before. "Maybe," she conceded. "But it also offers answers I

now, defeated. "Your allegiance to you

he truth, Marco. To justice for my family. If working with Dante C

hatever information you give him to dest

essia said simply. "Just as

g moment, then nodded slowly. "Y

rs. "But I need you with me on this, Marco. I need y

d her hands. "You never have to do anything alone, Alessia. I promised you

ne sent a sliver of unease through her. Before she could analy

ing with his hand on the doorknob. "Dante Castello

Alessia assured him. "I wo

ng she'd learned. The Council. The financial discrepancies. Her father's apparent c

h a text, she wasn't surp

you de

omorrow as she'd planned, but what was

. I'

came imm

a friend of mine who has information about The Council

for the n

his is over. Not even those

s. What did Dante know about Marco that she didn't? Or was this jus

The devil's bargain was struck. Now she would see what hell

her and Dante. There was something in her father's expression she hadn't noticed before-a weariness beyond prison, b

g me, Papa?" she whispe

ick of time moving forward, carrying her toward

e was only beginning to understand. But one thing was certain-her path now lay alongside