Page 17 of Angelo

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Green eyes darted backand forth across the laptop screen.

The sheer amount of cocaine that Vincenzo Vitale had transported alongside the Colombian cartel astounded Elyse.

Line by line, she scanned over details about how Aberto De León and his father, Ignazio, worked with the American-Italian mafia in illegal arms dealing.

Elyse learned that Diego Berlusconi was Domenico and Cara's father. Their family's restaurants and bars were often used as a front for a human trafficking and prostitution ring.

Gregario Moretti had been Carlo's father. He lorded over loan sharks who oversaw various channels of underground gambling.

Matteo Svizzi had been Antonia's uncle, and he'd been heavily involved in protection racketeering schemes with local Sicilian businesses.

Leopold Trevisano had been Tara's cousin, and the man was involved in a bit of everything—smuggling, vote buying, bid rigging—often tipping the scales during elections in favor of politicians who might turn a blind eye to his family's crimes and questionable business practices.

Over the next hour, Elyse clicked through file after file at frantic speeds. The documents were written in Italian. At times, Elyse struggled to grasp the finer details, but she understood enough to conclude that nothing was particularly noteworthy. Malina had already relayed many of these stories to her, and most of these men were no longer alive. They weren't threats anymore. Just corpses rotting somewhere in the afterlife. Yet, she couldn't look away. What fascinated Elyse had nothing do with the data itself but rather the peculiar arrangement of it all.

The deeper she dove into the files, the more obvious it grew. Almost everything had been laid out like evidence for a criminal investigation. There wereclear-cut numbers, dates, names, and photographs. Sensitive, incriminating shit that no sanemafiosowould allow to see the light of day. Her mind revved into overdrive as she tried to fit the pieces of this puzzle into a cohesive picture.

Why would a seasoned criminal like her father-in-law assemble damning data of himself and his clan? Elyse frowned deeply. Using this shit to blackmail allies wouldonlybenefit Vincenzo if he'd excluded his own crimes. The crease between her brow furrowed more. This memory card's original owner seemed unlikely to be Vincenzo.

Elyse inched toward a new conclusion. These files were probably put together by someone with a grudge.Possibilities raced through her mind. Perhaps, an undercover law enforcement officer of sorts? A traitorous insider? But who the hell was ballsy enough to piss off the not one, not two, but all of the clans inCosa Nostra?

In a way, the attempt was kind of inspiring even though the person had obviously failed. The data was decades old. Elyse wondered how long this bombshell had been lurking inside the necklace, unknown and undetected byCosa Nostra, just waiting for the right person to unleash its secrets. And,Dios, what an apocalyptic domino effect it would've set off—if only fate had worked in its favor. The knowledge stored on the card was, indeed, still significant, but it had fallen into her hands too late. There seemed to be little to gain in turning it over to authorities at this point.

Vincenzo recently passed away.

Diego Berlusconi? Suffering from dementia and paralysis due to a stroke.

Ignazio De León? Dead.

Gregario Moretti? Dead.

Leopold Trevisano? Dead.

Matteo Svizzi? Dead.

Aberto De León was the only one who was still capable of leading his clan, and there was far more dirt on the card about his father than there was on him.

After backing up the data on another flash drive, Elyse removed the memory card from her laptop, slipped the small plastic rectangle back inside the medallion, snapped it shut, and shoved everything into the lockbox. She hid the flash drive beneath one of the bookshelves in their bedroom. Just in case something happened to the original.

Her heart pounded heavily as though she'd committed a crime. Elyse wanted to talk to Alessandro about this insane, new development, but she didn't evenknow where to begin. Nothing made sense. She hadn't been able to connect the dots yet. Elyse was determined, though, to use this information to their advantage. The next few hours dragged as she waited for her husband to return. While Elyse fretted and busied herself with other tasks, a text from Mariposa appeared on her phone. The two women went back and forth for a while, resorting to the safe albeit tired script that most people used whenever there was a death in the family.

Then, Mariposa chose to go off-script.

Green eyes flickered as she read this message.Damn, Alessandro was moving fast. Apparently, he'd already reached out to the De Leóns about Valentina and Gaspare's engagement. Elyse realized that she needed to work even faster. Wearing a slight grimace, she exchanged a few more texts with Mariposa.

As Elyse set her phone aside, through the walls, she heard the frontdoor of the palazzo open and shut. It was followed by a burst of male voices. Alessandro and his men were home. She rushed out of the bedroom to greet him in the foyer. "You and I need to talk."

Alessandro's dark eyebrows rose. "Do we?"

With knowing expressions, Monte, Luca, and the other men excused themselves and slipped away.

She reached for his hand and led him back to their room. "I have something to show you."

He grinned. "Something I will enjoy, I hope?"

Arching an eyebrow, Elyse corrected him, "Something you might hate, actually."

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