Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
“You?” Vincent pales.
Smiling smugly, I give him a clap. “Well done, Mr. Isle Ciccula. Well done.”
Now that’s how you condescend someone, you wrinkled old cunt.
Vincent’s hands curl into fists on the desk.
The temperature in the room plummets.
Beside me, Massimo’s shoulders stiffen as he braces himself for what’s about to unfold. Across the room, Alberto unwinds his crossed leg and sits forward, ready to interject.
Hell, you could cut the tension in this room with a blunt knife.
“And now, I’m calling in that loan.”
Vincent’s eyes narrow. “You can’t do that. There’s a contract.”
Leaning down, I place two palms on his desk and look him square in the eyes as I deliver the fatal blow.
“Oh, I assure you I can, and I am doing that. You see, you were too desperate to secure the money and too certain that the Lexington deal would make you a filthy rich old man that you failed to fully understand what you were getting into. Specifically, the clause in the contract that says the financial institution has the discretion to pull the loan at any time.” I straighten. “Well, old man, that time is here. I’m pulling the loan.”
“This will never hold up,” Vincent seethes. “My lawyer is the best in this goddamn town. There’s no way he missed some clause.”
I smile, but it’s cold. “It’s amazing what five million dollars will buy you these days.”
Vincent’s head almost explodes off his shoulders. “He’s a part of this?”
“Five million dollars is a lot of money, Vincent.” I see the shared look between Vincent and Alberto. He doesn’t believe me. But when he visits his lawyer’s swanky office on the Upper East Side, he’ll find it empty. “Don’t bother looking for him. He knows I’m here. He’s probably halfway to his new life on an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Under the protection of the De Kysa, of course.”
Vincent looks like he’s about to blow a gasket. He mutters something inaudible in Italian under his breath.
“It was a sure deal,” he growls, and by the way he looks away, I’m pretty sure he’s wondering how it all went so wrong.
“No, it was never a sure deal,” I say, and his eyes dart to mine. “You know what they say; if something is too good to be true, it probably is.”
I give him a shit-eating grin to drive the stake in deeper to his pride, and that’s when he realizes that the bomb blowing up in his face has been a setup from the start.
Vincent stands and pounds the desk in front of him. “You little fuck.”
My two men take a step forward, ready to raise weapons, but I shake my head. Bullets aren’t going to slay Vincent Isle Ciccula today. Financial ruin is going to do the honors. I’m going to take everything except his life from him, beginning with his fortune.
And after I wipe out his kingdom, I’m taking his daughter too.
“You set me up,” he fumes.
“Yes.”
“You created a phony business opportunity to try to ruin me?”
“Oh, I’m not trying to ruin you, Vincent. I am ruining you.” Venom drips off every word. “And, yes, I dangled the Lexington deal in front of your greedy little eyes, and you took the bait like a rabid dog.”
I started planning this the moment I found out what really happened the night my mother died. I decided Vincent Isle Ciccula needed to learn what it felt like to lose everything. So I formulated a plan to ruin him by forcing him into so much debt he would be forced into bankruptcy and lose the lifestyle he’d spent his life building.
It was never about taking Bella from him. But now that I need a wife, I’m taking her too, and well, that’s just the goddamn cherry on top.
“This will get you thrown in prison. The FBI doesn’t take kindly to this kind of bullshit.”
I scoff. “Don’t you worry about me, old man. It’s not about who you know. It’s about how much you’re willing to pay them off.”
Did he really think I didn’t come prepared for this fight? That I don’t have government officials eating candy out of my palm?
He sneers. “You have some balls on you.”
“And you have twenty-four hours to come up with the full two hundred million or face financial ruin.”
Vincent realizes I have him over a barrel. His eyes blaze with hatred as he slowly sits in his chair. He waits a moment before he speaks. When he does, his voice is gravelly. “What do you want?”
I smile, and it’s smug. “You’re going to give me Bella.”
A fresh wave of hostility rolls off him. “Her name even slips from your lips again, young cub, and I will cut them off and shove them up your fucking ass.”
My chuckle is cold and void of humor. I have to hand it to the old man. He’s creative with the threats.