Page 99 of Devil's Tulip

He gulps. “I can’t, I’ll–”

I pull the trigger, and his body crumples to the floor.

The last man doesn’t even wait for me to speak. He drops to his knees, sobbing. “It’s Carlo! It was all Carlo’s idea.” Thewords tumble out between sobs. “Please don’t kill me, I was only following my don’s orders—I swear!”

“Tell me everything,” I command.

And he does. He spills it all. Every last detail pours out of him.

When he’s done, I look him straight in the eyes. “Thank you.” Then I shoot him point-blank.

“Get rid of the bodies,” I tell my men as I holster my weapon, already walking out with Lorenzo.

As we leave the club behind, I pull out my phone and shoot a text to the group I have with my brothers.

Emergency meeting. Finish up whatever the fuck you’re doing and join me at Harare in three hours.

“Carlo Armani,” Maximo mutters, shaking his head slowly. “Didn’t think the old man had the balls. Is this his way of retaliating for you marrying his fiancée?”

“They were already diluting our shit before Michael married Gianna,” Romero points out, rolling his tumbler of whiskey in his palm. “Michael had to get rid of some vermin a few weeks ago, remember?”

Those bastards had been working the corners, buying up our cheap meds under fake names and fake sob stories, depriving the people whoactuallyneeded them—only to dilute them and resell at ridiculous prices, using our name.

I inhale my Cohiba deeply, leaning back in my seat, trying to think through the red haze of my rage. “It’s not just Carlo,” Iremind them, exhaling a perfect smoke ring that hovers in the air between us. “He’s working with Aldo.”

“Aldo’s been on our side for years,” Maximo starts, frowning. “He was one of the first older dons to swear fealty to us. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to risk that. He knows very well what we’re capable of.”

“The man lost his son. Maybe he’s lost his mind too,” Romero muses, taking a sip of his drink.

I watch him carefully. He’s taking this a hell of a lot better than I expected, considering he’s basically the one who got us all into this medication distribution in the first place. Why isn’t he pissed?

Rafael sighs, leaning back. “He’s been at it before he lost his son, so he doesn’t even have that as an excuse. What the hell is he thinking?”

“I don’t give a shit what Aldo is thinking, but I trust Michael will get to the bottom of it. As for me, I have my wife to get to.” Maximo gets to his feet, adjusting his cufflinks. “Good night, assholes.”

I blow a smoke ring at him in response, and he rolls his eyes as he walks away.

Romero downs the rest of his drink and gets up. “Well, I have to go too. No wife waiting for me at home, but I’ve got a pile of work on my desk… and a pretty thing at the bar who’s been eying me all night. Can’t deprive her of all this goodness.” He pats his chest before heading out.

That leaves just Rafael and me at the table now.

He studies me for a beat, then asks casually, “And how’s married life treating you?”

“I assume the same way engaged life was treating you,” I reply just as casually, and his steel eyes frost over. I smirk, enjoying his reaction. “I still have the search running for Emilia,but nothing’s coming up. You know which organization she’s working with and exactly where she is, don’t you?”

He stands abruptly. “Would you look at the time? I have to go… water my plant.” And with that pathetic excuse, he’s gone as well, leaving me alone at the booth, chuckling to myself.

“Well, I have a wife waiting for me at home too,” I say to myself, taking one last, deep drag from my cigar before stubbing it out in the ashtray.

But I’m not going to her.

Not yet.

Tonight’s discoveries have stirred up fresh suspicions about Gianna’s parents’ deaths. I’ve always thought something was off about how the case was handled, but now, with Aldo’s betrayal confirmed, those suspicions have sharpened into something more concrete.

I make my way back to the office and spend hours combing through every lead, every document, every buried report.

Whoever covered their tracks thought they were smart. But I’m smarter and a stubborn fucker. All I need is one loose thread.

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