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Author: Crescent Star
Rosa tugged at my arm. I stayed where I was. Afraid to pull harder, she looked back at my father.

Lorenzo stepped in front of me, still smiling kindly. "Amalia, the Don wants you to go and rest."

He bent closer and lowered his voice. "You don't understand any of this, so stop making the Don look bad. Go on. Rosa will get you some hot chocolate."

I looked up at him.

His smile faltered.

I wasn't looking at him like an idiot who understood nothing. I was looking at him like a veteran negotiator who'd caught a subordinate lying.

Lorenzo flinched back half a step, then caught himself.

"Amalia. Leave," my father said firmly.

I stayed put.

He gripped the edge of the desk. "Stop making this harder for me."

Valeria went pale. Even my father seemed startled by what he'd said, but he didn't take it back.

Adrian hurried over. "Amalia, I'll go with you."

He was about to reach for me when Victor checked his watch.

"Four minutes left."

Victor stood and buttoned his jacket. "Of course you can refuse, Don Romano. At eleven, the Committee opens a formal hearing. We've put up North Harbor Warehouses as security for your family. Sign, and the Committee clears you tonight. Refuse, and the proceedings against your seat, casino, and foundation go ahead."

Only then did he look at me. "That includes the trust Donna Romano left Amalia. Once a formal hearing begins, the Committee can reconsider who manages her money. And who looks after her."

Adrian glared at him. "You're using her trust and guardianship to threaten us?"

"That's for the Committee to decide," Victor said calmly. "Not me."

Adrian started toward him again, but my father stopped him. "Adrian."

My brother had no choice but to stay where he was.

My father thought for a long time. Slowly, his grip on the desk loosened and his shoulders sagged.

"I'll sign."

Lorenzo pushed the agreement toward him almost at once and uncapped the pen. "Don, this is the safest option we have."

My father stared at the pen without taking it.

Valeria was close to tears. "Is there really no other way?"

Lorenzo lowered his head. "If there were, I wouldn't ask him to sign."

He turned to Victor. "Once the Don signs, the trust Donna Romano left Amalia stays untouched. That's the Romano family's bottom line."

My father said nothing. Neither did Adrian.

Lorenzo had already set their terms for them.

Victor smiled. "Agreed. The Ferrante family keeps its word."
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  • I Spoke Before Dad Signed Us Away   11

    After the Ferrante family withdrew, Adrian took over the casino partnership it had left behind. The Romano Foundation also received the first payment from our 30 percent share of North Harbor's revenue.With Old Harbor now part of the public logistics program, our 40-year operating concession was renewed without a hitch.A month earlier, we'd been waiting for someone else to decide whether we could stay on the Committee.Now, anyone who came to the estate on business asked one question before they even walked in. "Is Ms. Romano here?"That evening, my father hosted one of his usual dinners for several families.The Cattani and Moretti families sent representatives too.When I came downstairs, the seat to my father's right was still empty.Lorenzo had sat there once. So had our most important guests.My father saw me and pulled out the chair."Amalia, sit here."For a moment, the room went quiet.I walked over and sat down.Nobody asked why.The Cattani family's eldest son raised his gl

  • I Spoke Before Dad Signed Us Away   10

    Salvatore looked at my father first."You've raised quite a daughter, Marcello."My father didn't offer him a seat. "I know."Only then did Salvatore turn to me."You'd rather give up some of your management rights than let the Bellini family take control, Ms. Romano?""The operating rights are still ours." I met his gaze.He slowly removed one glove. "But you'll lose a great deal of money every year.""Cheaper than handing over the entire harbor."His smile faded.He didn't argue right away. Instead, he approached the desk and glanced at the stamped plan in front of my father."You think the board can protect your family forever?""No."I set a folder of documents on the desk."That's why I'm not counting on them."Salvatore didn't reach for it right away.I opened it for him.Inside were Matteo's accounts, the Ferrante takeover papers, the worthless North Harbor guarantee, and records of the two transfers Valeria had traced. That money had left Bellini-owned companies, passed through

  • I Spoke Before Dad Signed Us Away   9

    Three notices arrived at the study together.St. George Casino's two largest suppliers had both canceled their contracts. Seventh Bank demanded a new guarantee by four that afternoon. The port authority had returned our Old Harbor renewal application because it lacked the Committee's recommendation.Adrian spread the papers across the desk. "All in one morning."Valeria looked grim. "Matteo was only suspended last night."My father said a single name. "Bellini."They hadn't sent anyone to our door or offered another rigged agreement. Instead, they'd cut off our supplies, pressured our bank, and blocked our renewal, all at once.If we fixed the supply problem today, paid the bank tomorrow, and begged the Committee the day after, we'd never stop playing their game."Don't scramble to fix it," I said.Adrian looked at me. "The bank's deadline is four.""Meet this demand, and there'll be another tomorrow." I picked up the renewal application. "They don't care if the casino runs out of liqu

  • I Spoke Before Dad Signed Us Away   8

    Back at the estate, we focused on the important documents instead of digging through ten years of accounts.If Lorenzo had been working for outsiders, he would have targeted the things our survival depended on.The following evening, Adrian found the first lead.Matteo had also signed off on a casino guarantee three years earlier. Then Valeria found a consulting fee in the foundation's accounts. It had gone to a company owned by his nephew.She went through that company's accounts and soon found two payments that weren't business income at all. They'd come from two Bellini-owned companies.The payments weren't large, and the money had passed through several companies. On their own, they couldn't prove the Bellini family had helped plan the takeover. But they established a financial link to Matteo's nephew.The real breakthrough came from an old recording Lorenzo offered up.This wasn't the recording my father had made of the negotiation. Lorenzo had secretly made it while working for t

  • I Spoke Before Dad Signed Us Away   7

    We'd all managed to hold ourselves together in front of outsiders. Now that we were alone, nobody knew what to ask first.My father studied me for a long time. "Amalia, how long have you been able to speak?""A long time."Adrian sounded strained. "All these years, you understood what we were saying?""Yes."Valeria's eyes filled with tears. "Everything the doctors said, too?""Yes."She looked down, unable to speak. Adrian went quiet too.When I was eight, he taught me the chips over and over. When I was ten, Valeria took me from doctor to doctor. They thought I understood nothing, so they poured all their patience into someone who never responded.I knew they had a lot to ask. Tonight wasn't the time for answers."Don't cry yet."All three looked at me.I pushed Lorenzo's briefcase to the center of the desk. "He worked for Dad for ten years. I doubt tonight was the first time he sold us out."Adrian quickly pulled himself together. "You think he tampered with earlier documents too?"

  • I Spoke Before Dad Signed Us Away   6

    He turned, all pretense of warmth gone. "Are you planning to hold me here against my will, Ms. Romano?""There's the door. You're free to go."I laid the two attachments, the guarantee, and the recorder side by side on the desk."But the moment you leave, these go to the Committee, Seventh Bank, and the oversight tribunal. The Committee will see how you tried to steal our seat. The bank will learn you used an already mortgaged warehouse to trick us into signing. And the tribunal will find out why Lorenzo prepared two different attachments for you."I looked at him."Renegotiate now, or face three investigations tomorrow."Victor stared at me for a long time. Then he put his gloves back on the desk."What do you want?""First, withdraw every application to take our seat. You can't reapply under this agreement. Second, give us a real guarantee, verified by the bank. Third, pay the Romano Foundation 30 percent of North Harbor's revenue as compensation."Victor almost laughed. "Thirty perc

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