Chapter 10
“Do you know what happened to Vincent?”
“I do not follow the news.”
“He suffered a massive, fatal heart attack several days ago while vacationing in Palermo. A real tragedy.”
Nicholas held her gaze. The meaning was clear. The traitor had been dealt with permanently.
“Before he died, he confessed to arranging the poisoning with a rival family, the Lombardi Syndicate. They thought I was becoming weak. They wanted control of the shipping ports.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Helena asked, crossing her arms.
“Because of what you gave me.”
During the chaos surrounding the surgery, Helena had done something that shocked the criminal underworld. She had not merely shot Vincent to save her own life.
Every modern operating room at Columbia was equipped with an operating-room black box, a system that recorded audio and video for surgical review and malpractice protection. Before Nicholas left the hospital, Helena had quietly given him a secure drive containing the isolated audio of Vincent’s confession immediately before the gunshot.
She had not given the recording to the police. She had given it to the head of the family.
By doing so, Helena had provided Nicholas with the precise evidence he needed to present to the Mafia Commission. It justified the execution of a high-ranking underboss without provoking a civil war within Nicholas’s own organization.
“You saved my mother’s life,” Nicholas said, moving closer to the desk. “You saved my life. Then you saved my empire. You understand the rules of power better than half the men in my syndicate.”
“I understand survival, Mr. Russo. Nothing more.”
Helena did not look away.
May you like
Nicholas smiled. It was a rare and genuine expression that altered the severity of his features. He reached into his coat again and placed a thick, sealed envelope beside the USB drive.
“As of this morning, a private holding company in Geneva has made an anonymous, unrestricted $50 million endowment to Columbia University Irving Medical Center.”
