Chapter 3

As I walked out of the office, I got a call from Matteo Moretti, the head of the Moretti Family.

"I hear the Cavinas just lost their best Donna."

"Word travels fast."

"There are no secrets at the port." Matteo chuckled. "Eight o'clock tonight. I'll be waiting for you at the club."

I didn't agree to join the Moretti Family right away.

Over the years, too many people had tried to get close to me because of the Medici name.

I had no interest in leaving one family that wanted to use me only to join another that would do the same thing.

That evening, Matteo slid a port expansion plan across the table. His family had put the project aside six months ago.

"The board says the risk is too high. What do you think?"

His chief advisor was the first to laugh.

"Of course Ms. Medici will say we can do it. With her family name, the banks and the port will always show her some respect."

I didn't argue with him. I just turned to the financing page.

It took me only ten minutes to find that the same cargo had been insured twice. I also found a warehousing permit that was about to expire.

"The other side insured the same cargo twice on purpose and hid the cost of renewing the permit under the construction costs. Sign this, and you'll pay at least four million dollars too much."

The advisor's face changed instantly.

I kept turning the pages.

"But you don't have to give up on the project. Remove the old warehousing zone from the agreement and take control of the two empty berths in the south section first. Then sign a joint training agreement with the union. The project can start making money within three months."

Matteo didn't praise me right away. Instead, he asked his lawyers to check the numbers.

Half an hour later, the lawyers came back with the same conclusion I had reached.

The smile disappeared from the advisor's face.

Matteo put the new figures on the screen and told the entire team that I was the one who had found the problems and come up with a solution.

He gave the credit to me. Not to the Medici name, and not to some favor he was doing for me.

Only then did he look at me again.

"What do you want?"

"The right to sign deals on my own, a council seat, and shares in every project I negotiate myself.

"I won't take risks for another family unless I have a say in its decisions."

Matteo picked up a pen and signed the new terms immediately.

"At Moretti, your name goes on every decision you make and every success you earn."

I took the pen.

Just before I could sign, I received a call from Jack.

"Emily, what's the password for the new customs declaration system?"

"It's on page 67 of the port files."

"Page 67 is full of codes. How am I supposed to know which one to use?"

"That's your job."

I hung up.

Less than a minute later, James called.

"The bank says the guarantee has expired, and they're checking all the accounts again. Call the manager and tell him to release the funds."

"The renewal checklist is in your files."

"I'm asking you to call him!"

"No."

I hung up again.

Then Bruno called.

The union was refusing to send workers to handle the North Sea cargo because he hadn't paid the agreed hazard pay.

"Those people used to listen to you. Go tell them that we will pay them every cent they're owed."

"You signed the agreement. You're the one who refused to pay them."

"Emily, are you really going to stand there and watch us fall apart?"

I laughed.

"Didn't you say anyone can negotiate?"

The phone finally went quiet.

I signed my name on the Moretti agreement.

The Medici name was what got me a meeting with Matteo.

But I had just saved him four million dollars. That was what convinced him to give me a council seat and real power.

Meanwhile, in the Cavina council, Vivian was deleting my risk warnings one page at a time.

"She made everything this complicated on purpose.

"Use last year's declaration codes. The bank can wait until tomorrow. And if the union workers refuse to come, we'll get workers from another dock."

Enzo looked at the ten-million-dollar profit shown on the screen and finally nodded.

"The ship leaves port tonight."