Chapter 3 - The Inside Information
Elena pushed the door gently against the security chain, sliding a thick manila envelope through the narrow gap before Mara could protest.
"What is this?" Mara asked, eyeing the envelope with suspicion.
"Evidence," Elena replied quietly from the hallway. "Not just about Chloe. About the entire structure of the inner circle. While you were packing your bags this morning, Dominic locked himself in his private study and ordered a full forensic audit of every subsidiary account linked to the European shipping logistics division. Chloe wasn't just a mistress, Mara. She was a plant."
Mara’s breath hitched. She unlocked the chain and pulled the door open wide, gesturing for the lawyer to step inside. The small apartment suddenly felt entirely too crowded as Elena strode in, brushing raindrops from her tailored wool coat.
"A plant?" Mara repeated, closing the door and locking it securely behind her. "What are you talking about? Whose plant?"
Elena tossed the manila envelope onto the floral sofa. Mara pulled out a stack of printed financial wire transfers, intercepted emails, and encrypted chat logs. Her eyes scanned the pages quickly, her heart pounding against her ribs. The messages detailed corporate espionage, skimming operations, and back-channel communications between Chloe and a rival syndicate faction based out of Boston—the Moretti family, Dominic’s fiercest competitors.
"For the past eight months, Chloe has been feeding the Moretti syndicate operational schedules, dock security codes, and tax evasion ledgers," Elena explained, pacing the small living room. "Dominic thought he was just engaging in a reckless, discreet affair to blow off steam. He had no idea she was using his pillow-talk queries to map out a hostile takeover of his entire enterprise."
Mara stared at the documents, a cold wave washing over her. "He didn't know?"
"He’s ruthless, Mara, but he’s not stupid," Elena said firmly. "The moment you walked out of that house this morning and stripped off your wedding ring, something snapped in him. He stopped caring about the syndicate, the board meetings, or the impending war with Boston. He spent three hours screaming at his capos, demanding to know how he let a traitor into our home right under his nose while his real wife—the woman who actually protected his blind spots—was suffering in silence."
Mara looked down at her bare hand. For a fleeting second, a pang of bitter vindication rippled through her chest. For months, she had tortured herself wondering why she wasn't enough, why he needed someone younger, shinier, and more compliant. Now she learned that while she had been crying herself to sleep in their massive master suite, Dominic had invited a viper into their bed—and the viper had nearly destroyed everything he owned.
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"Why are you telling me this, Elena?" Mara asked, looking up sharply. "If Dominic wants to save his empire, he needs to handle his own enemies. I am officially out."
"Because," Elena said, stopping to look Mara straight in the eye, "the Morettis don't just want the shipping routes anymore. Now that you've left Dominic and he’s publicly compromised, their next move isn't corporate espionage. It’s a targeted hit. And you are at the very top of their vulnerability list."
