Chapter 2

The internal memo went out twenty minutes later.

The subject line was neat, legal, and vicious: "Notice Regarding Attendance and Expense Irregularities by Senior Operating Partner Alia Moore."

It said I had failed to clock in properly, used high-end members-only venues and black car services without authorization, and caused reputational risk to the company. It said my authority was suspended pending review. It said major client relationships would be transferred to Clara West, temporary project lead.

By the time I reached my office, the company Slack channels were already on fire.

"So that is why she is never at her desk. Must be nice to do business over lobster and martinis."

"No wonder she got promoted so fast. She hoarded the good clients."

"One hundred eighty-six thousand dollars? That is half our department's travel budget."

"Clara has guts. Finally someone called out the old guard."

I read every message and felt nothing hot enough to be called anger. Real disappointment is quiet. It settles in the bones and makes the room feel colder.

The door opened without a knock. Clara walked in wearing a white blazer she had not owned yesterday and a temporary badge clipped to her lapel. She moved with the stiff little confidence of a girl who had just been handed a paper crown.

"Alia, Mr. Kane sent me to collect the materials."

I looked up. "Which materials?"

"Landon Capital, Fernandez Properties, St. James Fund, and all the family-office clients you used to manage." She put a handover checklist on my desk. "Also, there is a closed dinner at the Raven Club next Wednesday. Mr. Landon will be there. Since the card has been returned to the company, I will represent us going forward."

I glanced at the list. She was not asking for materials. She was asking for the network I had built over five years with late-night calls, dirty martinis, crisis contracts, hospital visits, handwritten condolences, and all the fires Julian had been too weak to put out himself.

"Clara," I said, "what is Victor Landon's assistant's name?"

She blinked, then recovered. "It will be in the files."

"What can he not eat?"

"That can be checked."

"Why does he refuse to discuss new deals every October?"

Her face tightened.

I slid the checklist back toward her. "Clients are not names in a spreadsheet. Not in New York."

That got under her skin. "You do not need to lecture me in that rich-girl tone. Mr. Kane said you turned the company into your private kingdom because you know a few people."

She leaned over my desk, lowering her voice as if she were finally saying the part she had rehearsed in the mirror. "The world has moved on, Alia. This is not the age of family names and private clubs controlling access anymore. People like you should have been cleared out a long time ago."

I looked at her young, hungry face and understood her better than she would have liked. Jealousy was the surface. Underneath it was the shortcut. If she crushed me, she could claim the title, the clients, the media story, and the shiny image of a brave young woman taking on entrenched privilege. She didn’t even need to know how the work was done. She only needed to make me the villain first.

"Are you sure you want to take this over?" I asked.

"Absolutely." Clara lifted her chin. "I am not an intern anymore. Mr. Kane just appointed me operations lead."

I signed the handover form. "Congratulations."

Her smile flashed with victory. "One more thing. Mr. Kane wants your personal items removed from this office as soon as possible. I will be using it next week, and we cannot have clients walking in to find someone under review still sitting in a partner's office. Bad optics."

I smiled back. "You are in a hurry."

"Opportunities do not wait."

"No," I said, looking past her at the Midtown skyline. "They certainly do not wait for fools."

Her mouth tightened. She grabbed the file and slammed the door on her way out.

The second it closed, I took out my phone and called a number I knew by heart.

He picked up on the second ring. "Alessia?"

Dominic Salvi was the Moretti family's lead attorney, though my father still called him our adviser. In old mafia movies, men like him were called consiglieri. In modern Manhattan, Dominic had three law firms, two merger teams, and a business card that could make a judge arrive ten minutes early.

"Uncle Dominic, I need a few things handled."

"Who was dumb enough to irritate you?"

"Someone stole my membership card, tried to take over my clients, and seems to think my office building is free housing."

He was silent for one beat. Then he laughed softly. "Your father always said Julian Kane didn’t deserve the building you gave him."

"I agree now."

"Do you have evidence?"

"Every bill, email, meeting record, wire transfer, property document, and a recording of today's meeting."

"Good girl." Dominic's voice cooled into business. "First we freeze the card. Then we close the doors one by one."

I looked at the penalty notice on my desk. One hundred eighty-six thousand dollars.

They wanted to count. Fine. We would count.

I would not stop at one hundred eighty-six thousand. I would make them cough up the building, the client network, the club access, and every Wall Street road they had been using under my name.