The Don Was Only a Smoke Screen

The next day, as I walked into Zappa Finance with a lunchbox, I overheard two Soldati whispering to each other.

"Anna messed up the order slip for the smuggled shipment and angered Don Zappa so much that he chased away all the Soldati on his floor, saying that he was going to interrogate her alone!

"Who'd ever dare to go up there now and risk getting into trouble with him?"

Yet, I went up to the top floor without any hindrance from anyone.

I approached the door that was left slightly ajar, seeing Carlos comfort Anna in his arms and wiping away the tears on her face with a handkerchief.

"You don't have to be afraid. It's not a huge loss for the Famiglia regarding this smuggled-in shipment. I'll take care of everything."

I watched the jarring scene and dug my nails into my palm as I struggled to contain my anger. Then I waited until they finally separated before knocking on the door.

Carlos instinctively shoved Anna off and looked at me with a hint of panic in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Anna swayed unsteadily on her feet after suddenly losing her support.

When she looked at me, I could see that her face was deathly pale and white. Yet, when her eyes swept across the wedding ring on my finger, a hint of indignation and jealousy immediately showed in them.

I took in their expressions, suppressed my anger, and made sure the smile on my face was gentler than ever.

"Hey, darling. I've brought you lunch."

I held up the lunchbox in my hands and continued, "But it seems like I've come at the wrong time. I'm not interrupting any serious business between you both, am I?"

As Carlos picked up the lunch box, I naturally walked to the bookshelf behind him, picked up the globe I'd given to him a while back, and pretended to dust it off.

With a flick of my finger, a miniature camera was installed in the gap at the base of the globe.

This camera position allowed me to see the entire desk area.

As I turned to leave, I could see Anna organizing some documents with her head hung low, tear tracks still obvious on her face.

She was such a dedicated actress after all.

I went back to my car after that and connected my tablet to the newly-installed miniature camera in Carlos' office.

I watched as Carlos impatiently swept everything from the desk to the floor, including the lunchbox I'd prepared for him, straight to the floor as soon as I was gone. He then hastily threw Anna onto the table and began tearing her clothes off.

Anna covered Carlos' mouth with a huff. "You were so gentle with Sofia just now that it got me so jealous."

She then asked in a probing manner, "You've fallen in love with Sofia Carozza, haven't you?"

"In love? With her?"

Carlos looked impatient and frustrated. "Don't say such ridiculous things. What's so special about a stupid woman like her? What should I even love about her?"

Anna then clung to him like a leech, wrapping herself around his body as she asked coquettishly, "Then when are you going to divorce her? I don't want to continue staying as your secretary anymore."

Carlos grabbed her chin and grinned sinisterly.

"What's the rush? It's not time yet. You know that Zappa Finance is registered under Sofia's name, and 80% of the Famiglia guns go through this company. She's the one who has to sign off on all of the documents."

He continued in a low voice, saying, "The dirty money and drug deals from Sorrombia need to go through Sofia's accounts first. Once the money has been laundered, or if anything goes wrong in the meantime…"

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Then, Sofia would be the perfect scapegoat. The police would only arrest her. It wouldn't have anything to do with me at all, right?"

With Carlos' assurance, Anna immediately spread her legs wide for him. He couldn't hold himself back anymore and violently thrust into her.

I looked at the two pale bodies on the screen as a cruel smile played on my lips.

"You'll soon find out who the real prey is after all, Carlos Zappa."

I, the Principessa of the Carozza Famiglia, was never a weak lamb to the slaughter.

I calmly backed up the video to Leo's encrypted cloud server. Then, I texted him.

"Investigate all of the recent funding flow from Zappa Financial, especially the ones to Sorrombia."

Leo replied at once.

"Yes, Principessa. Should I act now?"

I glanced at the screen, which showed the two of them still going hard at it, and replied, "There's no rush. Let them gloat for a few more days."

I then turned off the tablet and started the car.

The game had only just begun. But this time, I was going to show them what true despair really meant.