Chapter 12 - The Standoff
Don Moretti immediately stopped smoking, his dark, calculating eyes locking intensely onto the small plastic device in my trembling hand.
He slowly walked out of the dark shadows, surrounded by at least twenty heavily armed enforcers who all had their deadly weapons pointed directly at me.
“You expect me to believe that a pathetic, scrubbing maid has the one digital file that could destroy my entire empire?” he growled suspiciously.
“My late husband was a fool who played both sides, but he was brilliant with computers and encryption,” I lied smoothly, keeping my chin held high.
“This drive contains every single offshore bank account, bribed judge, and corrupt politician currently keeping your fragile family out of federal prison.”
Camilla scoffed loudly, stepping closer to the aging mob boss with a wicked, dismissive smirk on her painted face.
“She is obviously lying to save her pathetic lover, Don Moretti, so you should just let my men shoot her right now!” she demanded shrilly.
I took a bold step forward, tightly gripping the flash drive as if it were the most precious diamond in the entire world.
“If I do not enter a specific, highly complicated password within the next ten minutes, the drive’s internal security protocol will permanently delete every file,” I warned them.
Moretti narrowed his eyes dangerously, deeply calculating the immense risk of losing the one thing that could expose his entire criminal syndicate to the government.
He knew that if Lorenzo's loyalists had already sent a copy to the authorities, this master ledger was his only leverage to negotiate a plea deal.
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“Let me see it right now, you stupid girl,” Moretti demanded, aggressively holding out his thick, ring-covered hand toward me.
“You will unconditionally release Lorenzo from those heavy chains first, and then I will gladly give you the drive,” I countered with absolute defiance.
