Page 5 of Indigo Deception
I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding. That was him. The man I'm here to destroy. The golden prince of the Bellanti crime syndicate.
"Ms. Bennett?" A different voice breaks into my thoughts. "We're ready for you now."
I stand, smoothing my skirt. As I follow the young representative down the hallway, I can't help but feel the weight of this mission.
This man—this dangerous, brilliant, criminal man—runs an empire built on blood and suffering, all while maintaining a perfect veneer of legitimacy.
And I've just taken the first step toward destroying him.
3
Angelo
Moneyislikeblood.Both pump through systems that keep empires alive. Both leave stains when spilled. And both, when handled by someone who knows what they're doing, can create or destroy lives.
I know this because I've been handling the Bellanti family's blood money since I was twenty.
Nine years of transforming dirty cash into pristine investments. Nine years of becoming the man they call the Golden Prince—the financial wizard who legitimized the Bellanti name in boardrooms across Manhattan while my other siblings handle the other side of our businesses.
Matteo, the oldest brother, now Don of our family, oversees all the businesses and is to create alliances while trying to avoid wars from breaking out.
Isabella, the second child and my oldest sister, is in charge of some of our legitimate businesses, like the clubs we have all over the city.
Then we have my second older brother, Lorenzo. Our dearest enforcer, who takes care of the bloody part of businesses.
Finally, the fourth child, Olivia, my favorite older sister, but don't tell her that. As a lawyer, she used to be in charge of the legalities of our businesses, but after her marriage to her bodyguard turned husband, she started her own law firm.
And that leaves me—the prodigy behind the family finances. I handle whatever money problems we might have, but today, I'm handling something else entirely. A problem that isn't money- related.
I tap my Montblanc pen against the pristine surface of my desk as I wait for Veronica's recommended risk management consultant. The Singapore situation needs containment before it spreads. Usually, I'd handle this myself—trust no one but family, as my father taught us—but the Kovacs' moves in Hong Kong have me stretched thin.
Three sharp knocks on my door, and Elish, my assistant, enters.
"Ms. Bennett is here, Mr. Bellanti."
"Show her in."
I expect what I always get with consultants—an eager smile, an expensive presentation, and transparent ambition masquerading as competence. What walks through my door is something else entirely.
I remember looking through her file. Sarah Bennett, thirty-two. MBA from Northwestern. Risk management specialist with a focus on international finance. Unmarried. No children. Her parents died in an accident, and she currently lives alone in a high-rise apartment in Chicago.
She's all angles and sharp edges, from her severely pulled-back chestnut hair to the crease in her perfectly pressed charcoal gray pantsuit, a crisp white blouse underneath and pearl studs in her ears.
She carries a leather-bound notebook, and her brown eyes coolly assess my office before settling on me.
"Mr. Bellanti," she says, extending her hand. Her grip is firm. Professional. "Sarah Bennett."
I grip her hand and gesture to the chair across from my desk. "Please."
Instead of immediately sitting, her 5ft7ish athletic frame stands for precisely two seconds, eyes roaming the financial statements I've deliberately left visible on my desk. Only then does she take a seat, back straight, notebook placed at a perfect right angle to the edge of my desk.
I lean back, studying her. "Veronica speaks highly of your work."
"She should. I've saved three major firms from regulatory disasters in the past year alone." No smile. No false modesty. Just facts delivered.
"And how do you accomplish these miracles, Ms. Bennett?"
She ticks points off on her fingers as she speaks. "First, I identify every weakness in the system. Second, I determine which weaknesses could be exploited by regulators. Third, I implement solutions that make those weaknesses either disappear or become strengths. Fourth, I ensure the changes are permanent."
