Page 70 of Morally Corrupt

"You told me about what happened at dinner with Agosti and Gallagher. What if we used them to force Jimenez into the open?"

"Competition?" I ask, finally seeing where Marcel is going.

"I can assure you Agosti's family business is nothing remotely related to restaurants and hotels." He chuckles. "I'm sure you too know of a few clubs owned by them. Not to mention the many underground bordellos they operate, right in the heart of Manhattan. Now that they plan to expand the business, they'll need more suppliers."

"But that's the thing, we don't know Jimenez's suppliers."

"Yes, we don't. But I'm sure Agosti can find out. Just drop a few hints here and there about Jimenez, and how there might be a conflict of interests where they're concerned."

"That's a great idea. But are you sure they'll bite? What if they actually develop a partnership?"

"One thing you need to understand about the Famiglia is that they don't deal well with outsiders or with people encroaching their territory. The Gallaghers are an exception because they deal in different vices. There's no competition."

"I see. Then it might just work."

26

THEO

Here it is—the moment of truth.

What are you hiding, Bianca?

I'd been messaging back and forth with Rico all day to ensure I came here when she was at work. As Marcel's mentioned, the apartment is password operated. I'd made a list earlier of possible combinations, and with a sigh, I plug them in. I try her birthday, her mother's birthday, our anniversary, our wedding day, and none work. I'm almost scared this will get stuck if I keep trying the wrong combinations. I finally plug in my date of birth, and surprisingly, it opens.

I make my way inside almost hesitantly. It's like now that I'm here, I don't want to find out. But I have to, so I push through.

There's a hallway and what seems to be three bedrooms. Okay, nothing ominous so far. I start with the first door, and when I open it, I'm blown away.

Actually, blown away doesn't even cover it.

Inside is the biggest weapons collection I've ever seen outside military facilities. I take in the rifles and guns on display, and cases upon cases of what I can only presume is ammunition and more weapons. There are knives, traps, swords, weapons I don't think I've seen before, and other devices that I'm sure are just as deadly as the others. What the fuck is this?

Not understanding what I'm seeing, I video call Marcel.

"You there yet?" he asks and then frowns, possibly because my face exudes the shock I feel.

"You're not going to believe what I'm seeing."

"What?" He almost laughs, but as I switch to the rear camera, I can see his face drop.

"Holy shit!" he exclaims. "Theo, do you realize what those are?" he says in awe.

"Which ones?" I ask, considering there are too many.

"Those rifles on the wall. Man, that's military-grade equipment. You can't get those on the regular market. And those… wait, go to the right." I move the phone around to capture the entire room, and Marcel is almost fangirling at the sight of the knives.

"Those are Japanese daggers. I'm willing to believe they're extremely rare too," I grunt, mostly because I've never been interested in guns, and I don't know much about them.

"This is easily a couple million just in weapons." Marcel drops the bomb, and I feel my mouth gape open.

"What? A few million? Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm telling you, that's not cheap shit."

"It's like an entire arsenal…"

"An entire arsenal for an entire army. For one person?" He shakes his head, and I follow his logic. This is too much in the realm of superlatives for just one person.

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