“We send it to the board, to the police, to the federal prosecutors.”

“The law is slow, Lauren,” Giovanni said, his voice dropping to a low rumble.

“Marcus is fast.”

“But the law is permanent,” I insisted.

“If you kill her, the police will look at you.”

“They will look at this estate, and they will take Luca away from us because his father is a monster.”

Giovanni winced slightly at the word, though he tried to hide it by turning his face toward the dark window.

The rain was picking up, splashing hard against the stone sill outside.

“I am trying to reform, Lauren,” he said quietly.

“But some things require a different touch.”

“No,” I said, grabbing his forearm.

“No more different touches.”

“We do this the right way.”

“We destroy her career, her life, her reputation, and we do it through the courts.”

“We make her a pariah, and we use her to get to Marcus.”

Giovanni looked back at the screen, his eyes scanning the lines of code and bank routing numbers.

“She is a weak link,” he admitted.