Trapped in Luxury Chapter 25

The Price of Power

The official story held. Mateo, the loyal old soldier, overcome with shame for his betrayal, had taken his own life. A tragic end to a long service. Luca arranged for a generous payment to his non-existent distant relatives and a quiet, private funeral. The fortress mourned, a brief, performative sorrow that lasted less than a day. In our world, betrayal was the only true sin, and its punishment was death. Mateo had merely saved us the trouble.

But something had shifted between Luca and me in the aftermath. A new layer of understanding, dark and unbreakable, had been forged in the basement server room. He saw the lengths I would go to protect what was ours. He saw the cold, efficient killer that lived beneath the skin of the Donna. And instead of recoiling, he embraced it. He loved me more for it.

Our power was now absolute, but it demanded a constant, vigilant price. The euphoria of victory over Tanaka had faded, replaced by the grinding, daily reality of rule. There were always disputes to settle, ambitions to manage, threats to assess. The crown was heavy.

One evening, we were reviewing the plans for the new "entertainment complex"—a sprawling casino and hotel designed to be the new crown jewel of our legitimate empire. The councilman, Davis, had been true to his word; the variances were approved in record time.

"It's a masterpiece," Luca said, tracing the architectural drawings with a satisfied finger. "It will launder more money in a week than the entire shipping division does in a month. Clean, untouchable."

I nodded, but my mind was elsewhere. "We need to talk about Riccardo."

Luca's hand stilled. Riccardo, the old-school capo who had never accepted me, who had been skimming from the Family Trust. Luca had demoted him after I'd uncovered the theft, but had stopped short of more severe punishment, citing his years of service and his loyalty to Luca's father.

"What about him?" Luca's tone was guarded.

"He's a splinter," I said, my voice calm and analytical. "He's bitter. He's telling the old guard that you've gone soft. That you're letting a woman make you weak. That the Don who executed Marco in a warehouse would never have tolerated such an insult from a capo, let alone allowed him to live."

Luca's jaw tightened. "He's a dinosaur. His time is past."

"Dinosaurs can still cause a lot of damage when they thrash," I countered. "He represents a faction, Luca. A faction that believes in the old ways—brute force, blind loyalty, and women who are seen and not heard. As long as he breathes, he's a symbol of resistance to your new order. To our order."

I let the implication hang in the air. We had just eliminated a traitor for skimming a few thousand. Riccardo had attempted to steal millions and had openly challenged the Don's authority. The inconsistency was a weakness.

Luca was silent for a long time, staring at the blueprints without seeing them. I could see the war within him—the modern strategist versus the son bound by tradition and a twisted sense of loyalty.

"He was my father's best friend," he said, his voice low.

"And my father was a police officer," I replied, my tone gentle but firm. "We all have to bury the past to secure the future."

He finally looked at me, his gray eyes searching mine. He was looking for the agent, for a flicker of the morality she once possessed. He found only the Donna, her gaze steady, her resolve absolute.

"What would you have me do?" he asked, though I knew he already understood the answer.

"I'm not having you do anything," I said, standing up. "This is my responsibility. You showed mercy. It was a strength. But now, someone needs to show strength of a different kind. The kind he understands."

I walked to the door. "I'll handle it."

I didn't look back. I didn't need to see his face to know the expression there. It would be the same as after I'd dealt with Mateo. A complex mix of pride, possession, and a dark, thrilling fear.

The Queen was not just a partner in rule.

She was the keeper of its grim necessities. And tonight, it was time for another lesson.