Chapter 4 - The DA’s ShadowThree days later, I met Chloe at an upscale bistro in Soho.
She was sitting at an outdoor table under a heater, frantically typing on her phone. When I walked up, she quickly flipped her screen face down, offering me a tight, anxious smile.
"Myra! You're late," Chloe said, her voice strained.
"Traffic was awful," I said, sitting down and placing my leather handbag on the chair. "Are you okay, Chloe? You look stressed."
Chloe leaned forward over the marble table, checking over her shoulder before leaning in close. "Nico came to my apartment at three in the morning last night, Myra. He was furious. He said his father is trying to force him to put your name on the Brooklyn docks deed!"
I took a slow sip of ice water, watching her burn inside. "Yes. Mr. Casaro mentioned it at dinner. He wants us to be legally bound before the trust transfers."
"You can't accept it, Myra!" Chloe blurted out, her composure completely slipping. "It’s a trap! Leo Casaro is a ruthless mobster! He’s just using you to control Nico! You need to refuse to sign those papers!"
"Why would I refuse?" I asked innocently, tilting my head. "If Nico loves me, and we're getting married anyway... shouldn't we share everything?"
Chloe’s eyes flashed with pure, green-eyed jealousy. "Because you don't belong in that world, Myra! You're an art history major! You're soft! You don't know what Nico and I..."
She stopped herself mid-sentence, biting her lip so hard it almost bled.
"What you and Nico what?" I asked softly, leaning in.
Chloe swallowed hard, trying to regain her composure. "I just mean... my father is investigating the Casaro family, Myra! The DA is preparing indictments! If your name is on those dock deeds when the feds raid the office next month, you will go to prison along with Leo!"
My heart skipped a beat. So that was their real plan.
Nico and Chloe weren't just trying to win a ten-thousand-dollar bet. Chloe was feeding information to her father at the DA’s office. Nico wanted to use me as a financial shield—placing the dock deeds in my name so that when the illegal shipments were busted by the DA, I would take the federal fallout, leaving Nico clean with his mother’s cash!
"Is that true, Chloe?" I whispered, playing terrified. "The feds are raiding the docks?"
"Yes!" Chloe hissed, grabbing my hand across the table with fake urgency. "Nico told me everything! He’s trying to protect himself! He wants to throw you to the wolves, Myra! You have to leave him! Tonight!"
I looked at Chloe’s gripping hand. The snake was finally showing her fangs, trying to drive me away so she could take the spot beside Nico before the Gala.
"Thank you for telling me, Chloe," I said, squeezing her hand, letting a single fake tear fall down my cheek. "You really are my best friend. What would I do without you?"
"I know, sweetie," Chloe smiled, her arrogance returning instantly as she patted my hand. "That’s what friends are for. Just tell Nico tonight that you refuse to sign the trust papers. Leave the manor, go back to your dad’s apartment, and let me handle Nico."
"I will," I lied. "I'll handle everything tonight."
An hour later, I was back in Leo’s private study at the manor.
I laid out everything Chloe had said during lunch. Leo sat behind his desk, listening silently while his chief security officer, a dark-haired man named Dominic, stood near the window holding a tablet.
"She’s right about the DA’s wiretaps, Boss," Dominic said smoothly. "Chloe’s father, Investigator Vance, has been tapping Nico’s personal cell phone for three weeks. Nico has been feeding Vance information about our secondary warehouses in exchange for immunity when the RICO case lands."
Leo didn't look surprised. He took a slow drag from a dark cigar, letting the smoke curl slowly toward the ceiling.
"My son is not just a traitor," Leo said softly. "He is a fool who thinks he is playing three sides at once. He thinks he can sacrifice Myra to the DA, take his mother’s money, marry Chloe, and walk away clean."
Leo looked at me across the desk.
"You played her brilliantly today, Myra," Leo murmured, an approving gleam in his gray eyes. "She thinks you are running home to Brooklyn."
"I am not running anywhere," I said, standing tall. "What is our next move, Leo?"
Leo smiled—a dark, majestic, terrifying smile that made me realize why no one in New York dared cross his name.
"Dominic," Leo commanded. "Prepare the master deed for the entire Casaro Logistics holding company. Not fifty percent. One hundred percent."
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Dominic’s eyes widened slightly. "Boss? You're signing over the entire empire?"
"I am transferring ownership to a private trust managed exclusively by Myra Miller," Leo declared, his voice ringing with absolute authority. "And on Nico’s birthday... we are going to give Investigator Vance, Chloe, and my pathetic son the surprise of their lives."
