Chapter 5 - The Betrayal Inside the Family
Simon gathered six trusted men around the dining table.
Natasha stood near the doorway.
Simon looked at her.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“You’ve said that before.”
“This is different.”
“Victor threatened me by name. I’m staying.”
Anthony glanced at Simon.
Simon sighed.
“Fine.”
He pointed toward a map.
“Victor plans to call a meeting tomorrow night. He believes enough captains will support him.”
“What does he want?” Natasha asked.
“My position.”
“And if they don’t support him?”
Anthony answered.
“He kills Simon.”
Natasha looked at Simon.
He seemed remarkably calm.
“That’s your plan?”
“No.”
“What’s your plan?”
“I attend.”
“That is the stupidest thing I’ve heard since meeting you.”
One of the men coughed to hide a laugh.
Simon looked at Natasha.
“If I don’t attend, Victor claims I’m weak.”
“You’re going to risk leaving your sons without a father because your cousin might call you weak?”
Silence.
Simon’s expression changed.
Natasha stepped closer.
“You told me you’re changing this organization because of your children.”
“I am.”
“Then act like a father before you act like a don.”
Anthony looked down at the table.
Simon stared at Natasha.
“What would you suggest?”
“Expose him.”
Simon frowned.
“He wants your people to believe you’re weak?”
“Yes.”
“Show them he’s a liar.”
Anthony leaned forward.
“We need proof.”
Natasha picked up the documents.
“What does Victor actually make money from?”
Nobody answered.
She looked around.
“Seriously? You people discuss murder more comfortably than accounting?”
Simon almost smiled.
Anthony cleared his throat.
“Victor controls several shipping companies.”
Natasha looked at the documents again.
“Then follow the money.”
Simon studied her.
“You were a music therapist.”
“I also know criminals lie.”
“That qualification came from?”
“Working in restaurants.”
For the next twelve hours, Simon’s people investigated.
By morning, they found it.
Victor had been stealing from the organization for four years.
Millions.
Worse, he had secretly continued drug operations Simon had ordered closed.
Simon stared at the evidence.
“He used my name.”
Anthony nodded.
“He told suppliers you authorized everything.”
Simon’s expression became stone.
Natasha knew that look now.
“Simon.”
“He sold poison under my name.”
“Then expose him.”
“He threatened my children.”
“Expose him.”
“He threatened you.”
Natasha held his gaze.
“Expose him.”
A long silence followed.
Finally, Simon nodded.
The meeting took place in an old private club in Manhattan.
Natasha remained at the penthouse with the twins.
At 10:17 p.m., her phone rang.
Simon.
She answered immediately.
“Are you alive?”
“Good evening to you too.”
She closed her eyes.
“You’re alive.”
“I am.”
“What happened?”
“Victor lost.”
“Meaning?”
“He’s finished.”
Natasha hesitated.
“Finished as in unemployed?”
Simon was silent.
“Simon.”
“He’s alive.”
She exhaled.
“For now.”
“Simon.”
“He’s being handed to federal authorities with enough evidence to keep him occupied for several decades.”
Natasha blinked.
“You called the police?”
“Technically, my attorney did.”
She smiled.
“I’m proud of you.”
Silence.
Then Simon said, “Don’t ever say that where Anthony can hear you.”
Behind him, Anthony’s voice came through the phone.
“I heard it.”
Natasha laughed.
Simon hung up.
Two hours later, he returned.
Natasha was waiting.
“You stayed awake.”
“I wanted to make sure you came home.”
Simon stopped.
Home.
Neither commented on the word.
He walked toward her.
“Victor confessed to arranging the surveillance and the attack.”
“So it’s over?”
“That part is.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m dismantling the rest.”
“The organization?”
“The criminal side of it.”
Natasha stared.
“You can do that?”
“Not overnight.”
“But?”
“But I can turn legitimate businesses legitimate in practice, not just on paper. Sell the rest. Shut down anything that can’t survive daylight.”
“Why now?”
Simon looked toward the nursery.
“Because you were right.”
Natasha smiled.
“Could you repeat that?”
“No.”
“I’d like it recorded.”
“Absolutely not.”
Then his expression became serious.
“You gave me something nobody else did.”
“What?”
“A picture of what my sons could have.”
He stepped closer.
“A normal life.”
Natasha’s heart beat faster.
“Simon…”
He looked at her lips.
Then at her eyes.
But before either moved, a baby began crying.
Natasha laughed softly.
“Saved by the heir.”
Simon sighed.
“I’m beginning to suspect they do this intentionally.”
They entered the nursery together.
Neither noticed the envelope waiting beneath Natasha’s bedroom door.
Inside was a single photograph.
Natasha.
Simon.
The twins.
And one sentence.
May you like
Victor wasn’t working alone.
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