Chapter 56
The warehouse was dark and quiet, its corners cloaked in shadow. Carmen stood near a stack of crates, her arms crossed and her expression sharp as she waited. The faint sound of footsteps echoed through the space, drawing closer.
Giovanni Russo stepped into the dim light, his shoulders tense and his eyes narrowed. “Mrs. Venetti,” he said, his voice flat. “This is a surprise.”
Carmen didn’t move, her gaze fixed on him. “I thought we needed to talk. Privately.”
Giovanni tilted his head, a faint smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. “About what?”
Carmen took a step closer, her voice calm but edged with steel. “About your choices, Giovanni. About the funds you’ve been siphoning, the information you’ve been leaking, and the guards you sent to their deaths at that safehouse.”
The smirk vanished from Giovanni’s face, replaced by a cold glare. “Careful with your accusations, Carmen. That’s a dangerous game to play.”
Carmen’s expression didn’t waver. “The game was dangerous the moment you betrayed this family.”
Giovanni chuckled darkly, his hands resting on his hips. “Betrayed? Is that what you think? I’ve been loyal to Marco for years. Longer than you’ve even been here. And yet, he listens to you more than he listens to me. Do you have any idea what that feels like?”
“Your ego doesn’t excuse treason,” Carmen said sharply. “You’ve endangered everyone—Marco, the family, our child.”
Giovanni’s eyes flickered at the mention of the child, but his sneer returned quickly. “You think you can just walk in here and lecture me? You don’t belong in this world, Carmen. You never did.”
“And yet, I’ve earned the respect of men who doubted me. Unlike you,” Carmen shot back.
Giovanni’s face darkened, and he took a step closer, lowering his voice. “You have no idea how fragile your position is. I could destroy you with a few words. I could tell Marco about your little secret meetings, your alliances with Montini. Do you think he’d still stand by you then?”
Carmen’s heart raced, but her expression remained calm. “You think threats will scare me? If you had anything solid, you wouldn’t be standing here talking to me. You’d be trying to save yourself.”
Giovanni’s jaw tightened. “You don’t understand how this works. Men like Marco, they don’t forgive betrayal. When this all comes out, you’ll be the one they turn on. Not me.”
Carmen took another step closer, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “Let me make something clear. If you continue down this path, you won’t have to worry about Marco. I’ll make sure you’re finished before you even get the chance to open your mouth.”
Giovanni stared at her, the tension crackling between them. Finally, he let out a humorless laugh. “You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. But you’re in over your head.”
Carmen didn’t respond. She turned and walked away, her heels clicking softly against the floor.
“Enjoy your victory while it lasts,” Giovanni called after her.
Carmen didn’t stop or look back. She didn’t need to.
***
Back at the estate, Carmen paced the study, her mind racing. Luca sat in a chair nearby, watching her carefully.
“What did he say?” Luca asked.
“He denied everything, of course,” Carmen replied, her tone clipped. “But he knows we’re onto him. He’s cornered, which makes him dangerous.”
Luca leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “So what’s the plan?”
Carmen stopped pacing, turning to face him. “We set a trap. Feed him false information and see if he takes the bait.”
“And if he does?”
“Then we have all the proof we need,” Carmen said firmly.
Luca nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I like it. What’s the bait?”
Carmen moved to the desk, pulling out a file she had prepared earlier. “We leak details about a shipment of weapons supposedly moving through the northern docks tomorrow night. If Giovanni’s working with Arianna’s loyalists, he won’t be able to resist passing it on.”
Luca took the file, scanning it quickly. “This is solid. If he takes the bait, we’ll know by morning.”
Carmen nodded, her resolve hardening. “Make it happen.”
***
The next morning, Luca burst into Carmen’s study, a triumphant smile on his face.
“He took it,” Luca said, tossing a folder onto the desk.
Carmen opened it, her heart pounding as she read the intercepted message. It was from Giovanni, detailing the fake shipment and its supposed route.
“We’ve got him,” Luca said, his voice filled with satisfaction.
Carmen exhaled, a mix of relief and anger coursing through her. “It’s over.”
“Not yet,” Luca said, his tone serious. “Now we have to decide what to do with him.”
Carmen looked up at him, her gaze steady. “Leave that to me.”
Luca nodded, his respect for her evident. “Understood.”
As he left the room, Carmen sat back in her chair, the weight of the situation settling over her. Giovanni had crossed the line, and now he would face the consequences.
But this wasn’t just about punishment. It was about sending a message to everyone who doubted her.
Carmen wasn’t just Marco’s wife.
She was a Venetti.
And no one betrayed her family and lived to tell the tale.
