Chapter 2 - The Audit of the Floral EmpireBy 2:30 AM, the grand private library on the second floor of the Romano estate was bathed in the warm glow of a roaring fireplace and two brass banker's lamps.
I sat in a high-backed leather armchair, having dried my midnight-blue dress, wrapped in a plush cashmere throw provided by Massimo's grandmother, Nonna Rosa.
Across the broad walnut desk sat Massimo Romano. He had dressed in a simple dark turtleneck and trousers, his broad frame relaxed, though his sharp eyes never stopped scanning the digital tablets laid out before him.
Beside his desk stood Marcus Vance, chief of private security, alongside Bridget Colton, senior matrimonial and corporate litigator for Romano Global Logistics.
"Read the business registry, Bridget," Massimo commanded flatly.
Bridget opened three leather binders bound in red seals, sliding a set of high-definition corporate ledgers flat onto the desk toward me.
"Sophie, my dear," Bridget spoke gently, her sharp eyes holding profound professional respect. "Your struggling floral business—Miller Botanic & Design—did not end up on the Romano estate vendor list by accident."
I blinked, setting my teacup down. "What do you mean? I submitted a standard proposal three weeks ago!"
"Your proposal was intercepted and flagged by Elena—the housekeeper paid by the Vitali family," Bridget revealed, tapping the ledger. "Furthermore, your late father, Thomas Miller, was not just an independent nursery owner in South Chicago. Thirty years ago, he owned a twenty-five percent equity stake in the South River Pier Facility—the exact pier the Vitali syndicate illegally seized six years ago."
I sat frozen in my chair, my breath catching in my throat. "My father owned a pier...?"
"Yes," Bridget confirmed. "When your father passed away five years ago, the Vitali legal team forged a land-relinquishment deed, claiming he died in debt, while secretly using your father's equity to run off-ledger smuggling operations."
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Massimo leaned back in his leather chair, a slow, razor-sharp smile touching his severe, handsome features.
"Which means, Sophie," Massimo declared, his deep voice carrying a terrifying, sovereign authority, "you aren't just a florist who walked into the wrong bedroom. You are the legitimate primary owner of the South River Pier Facility. And tomorrow night... we use your father's equity to crush the Vitali family once and for all."
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