No Secretary Survived a Week With the Sicilian Mafia Boss Until the Clumsy Girl He Hired by Mistake Found the Secret That Could Destroy Him

The ping from Chloe’s computer sounded louder than a gunshot.

She slammed her hand onto the desk in triumph. “He clicked it! Costa’s accountant just downloaded the malware.”

Lines of code scrolled rapidly across her right monitor. Chloe’s fingers flew over the keyboard, her eyes reflecting the glowing green text. “I’m in. I’m bypassing their firewall. These people have terrible cybersecurity. Their password was literally CostaBoss1.”

Matteo snorted. “Criminals aren’t as smart as they used to be.”

“Downloading the routing histories now,” Chloe said, her breath hitching. “It’s huge. Decades of racketeering, all funneled through..."

Suddenly, her screen flashed red.

ACCESS DENIED. TRACE INITIATED.

“Uh oh,” Chloe whispered.

“What does 'uh oh' mean?” Lorenzo demanded, his voice tight.

“They have a physical kill-switch. Someone at their office noticed the breach and severed the server connection manually. I only got thirty percent of the files.”

“Is it enough?”

Chloe shook her head. “No. I have the destination accounts, but I need the origin points to prove the money is dirty. Without the origin points, it just looks like aggressive corporate raiding.”

Lorenzo straightened, his mind shifting from CEO back to Sicilian boss. He buttoned his suit jacket. “Where is this field office?”

“West Loop,” Matteo said. “It’s heavily guarded. Four men on the door, more inside.”

“Get the cars,” Lorenzo commanded.

Chloe jumped up. “You can’t go over there! You’re legitimate now. If you assault his office, you prove him right. You’ll go to prison.”

“If I don’t get those files, Costa takes the city, and then he comes for you,” Lorenzo said, his voice dangerously soft. “I will not let him near you.”

“Lorenzo, wait!” Chloe grabbed his arm. “There is another way. We don't have to break in.”