Chapter 14

Gerald was reviewing numbers on his screen when Mako walked in without knocking. His second-in-command’s face was tighter than usual. He carried a tablet in one hand and closed the door behind him with the other.

“You need to see this,” Mako said.

Gerald leaned back in his chair. “What now?”

Mako placed the tablet on the desk and turned it to face him. “Cleo released this footage earlier today. She sent it to half the families in our circle and also put it online. It is spreading fast.”

Gerald’s eyes dropped to the screen. The first video started playing.

It was clearly from a club. Dim lights. Loud music. Lily was on the floor in a short, tight outfit, dancing between two men. Their hands were on her body without shame. One man gripped her ass and pulled her back against him. The other slid his hands up her waist and openly cupped her breasts over the thin fabric. Lily was smiling in the video, moving with them, used to the attention. The camera stayed on her long enough that there was no question who it was.

Gerald’s jaw tightened.

Mako swiped to the next file. “This one is worse. But it is blurry.”

The second video was darker and lower quality. Two men had a woman between them on a bed. One was under her, buried in her pussy. The other was behind her, fucking her ass. The woman’s body moved between them in a steady rhythm. Moans mixed with the sound of skin. The footage was grainy and poorly lit. The woman’s face stayed turned away and hidden by hair and shadows the entire time. Nothing clear enough to prove it was Lily, but the body shape, the hair, and the timing of the release made the message obvious.

Gerald stared at the screen until the video ended. The office went silent.  “She sent this to the families?” he asked, voice low.

“Yes. And it is online. Already being shared in private groups. People are talking. Some are laughing. Some are saying this proves Cleo was right all along. That Lily is just a paid whore you dressed up for one night.”

Gerald’s hand curled into a fist on the desk. The club video alone was enough to damage the image he had started building. The second video, even blurry, made it worse. He could already hear the comments. He could already see the looks Lily would get.

“Where is Cleo now?” he asked.

“At her father’s house, from what we can tell.”

Gerald nodded once, slow and cold. “She just made a mistake.”

Mako did not disagree. He pulled the tablet back and hesitated before speaking again.

“There is something else. While we were tracking how far the videos spread, one of our contacts came through with a small detail on your father’s case.”

Gerald looked up sharply. “Talk.”

“An old driver who used to work for one of the smaller crews back then finally spoke. He said that two days before your father was killed, he drove a man to a private meeting. The man he drove was one of Don Megalion’s enforcers. The meeting was not on any official record. After your father died, that same enforcer disappeared for a few months and then came back into Megalion’s ranks with a promotion.”

The room felt colder. Gerald’s eyes stayed fixed on Mako. “How reliable is the driver?”

“Scared enough to be telling the truth. He only talked because he needs protection now. It is not proof. But it is the first time a name from Megalion’s side has shown up this close to the murder.”

Gerald stood and walked to the window. The city stretched out below him. First Cleo tried to destroy Lily’s name in the most public way she could. Now a thin but real thread had appeared that pointed toward Don Megalion in his father’s death.

He turned back to Mako.

“Lock down everything we have on those videos. I want to know every person who received them and every group where they were shared. And put more pressure on that driver. I want everything he remembers.”

“And Cleo?” Mako asked.

Gerald’s voice was flat and final.

“She wants a war with me over this girl. She just got one.”