Chapter 4

Mia thought she'd already won.

The next day, she sent people to headquarters to collect the safe house network keys, the offshore account keys, and the informant list, saying she'd keep them safe for me.

The butler didn't dare cross her, but behind her back, he quietly brought everything to me.

I barely glanced at them. "Give them to her."

The butler panicked. "Princess, these are family secrets."

I shook my head. "Give her the fake set. And make sure you tell her that if anything goes wrong, Oliver takes full responsibility."

The butler was taken aback for a second, then said, "Understood."

The fake set had been prepared in advance to protect the real secrets.

Now it was finally coming in handy.

That afternoon, Mia sent people to clear out my east-side villa. She said it got plenty of sun and would be perfect for the baby once she and Oliver had one.

I watched the servants carry box after box out of the villa. By then, I barely felt anything.

Their greed only made it easier for me to stand firm. I no longer had to worry about going soft on them.

That evening, Oliver knocked and came in with a contract in his hand.

"Sofia, I've been thinking. This stamping game we play every year is too much trouble."

He handed me the contract. The title at the top read:

"Lifetime Advisor"

"I'll go through the motions with you one last time this year. After that, let's stop. It's time you knew your place."

I glanced at him without arguing and said only one thing.

"We'll talk at the annual meeting."

Oliver thought I'd agreed and visibly relaxed.

After he left, Augie slipped in.

"I've told all the bosses. Most of them are already here, and the rest will be here before dawn at the latest."

I nodded. "Good. After all these years, it's time everyone saw who really calls the shots in the Norman family."

On the day of the annual meeting, before the sun was even up, both sides of the road outside headquarters were packed with people.

They chatted cheerfully about red wine, cigars, and how much the olive groves had made this year.

Oliver arrived a little late. He paused when he saw how many people there were, then smiled.

"Sofia did a good job this time, getting so many of the bosses here."

He walked in with Mia and took his usual seat to the left of the head of the table. Mia, though, sat right down at the head.

Augie stiffened and stepped forward to make her move, but I raised a hand to stop him.

I sat down to the right of the head of the table and discreetly scanned the room.

Mia smiled and spoke up.

"Sofia, come on. Sign the lifetime contract and the transfer agreement today, and nobody has to put up with your fussing every year anymore."

The room went quiet instantly. Not one of the managers said a word.

Oliver hesitated. He must have sensed something was off, but his greed won out.

Without wasting another second, he laid both contracts on the table.

"Let's begin."

He waved Augie over.

"Bring me this year's master ledger."

Augie didn't move.

Oliver scowled. "Didn't you hear me?"

Augie looked at me. When I gave a small nod, he picked up the ledger, walked over, and respectfully handed it to me.

"By the rules, no one else's orders count until you've reviewed the ledger and stamped it."

Oliver's smile froze.

Mia snapped at him. "You're just a servant. Who asked you?"

Augie ignored her. He stepped back half a pace and bowed.

All 70-plus managers in the hall bowed in unison.

Augie, at the front, was the first to speak.

"Princess, you have the final say in the family's affairs."

Oliver went pale and whipped his head around to look at me.

"Sofia, what is this supposed to mean?"

I didn't answer. I walked over to him and picked up the transfer agreement.

"Didn't you say stamping it every year was just playing along with me?

"Oliver, you're even more naive than I thought."

I looked at Oliver's face as the color drained from it. My voice wasn't loud, but it carried across the whole hall.

"For the past ten years, I've signed off on every major decision in this family.

"I signed off on laundering money through container shipments at the East Coast port. I stamped the paperwork when the dock union rioted. I approved the route for that shipment of weapons from the Balkans after their serial numbers were filed off. And every quarter, I approved which ledger the chip-laundering proceeds from the VIP room at the west-side underground casino went into.

"Our people inside the port authority, customs, and the police major crimes unit could not be paid, promoted, or made to disappear without my golden lion seal.

"Did you forget? The golden lion seal that stands for the whole Norman family has always been in my hands."

Mia jumped to her feet and shrieked.

"That's impossible! Oliver has run things for ten years!"

I looked at her, toying with the golden lion seal in my hand, and cut her off coldly. "Remember this. He runs things because I let him."

I tore up both contracts and turned to Oliver, who sat frozen in his seat.

"This is just a formality?"

I put the golden lion seal back in its box.

"Then this year, we're skipping the formality."