Chapter 4
Marcello had been her father’s younger brother.
He was not at the wedding.
That suddenly mattered.
He had claimed illness that morning.
Giulietta called him.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Her hand remained steady.
Luca watched her.
“Giulietta…”
She looked at him.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“For how long?”
“Three weeks.”
Her eyes hardened.
“You gave him three weeks.”
Luca's shoulders fell.
“Yes.”
The betrayal sharpened.
Not one panicked decision.
Three weeks of silence.
Warren adjusted his cuff.
“I think we're finished here.”
Giulietta turned.
“No.”
Her voice was soft enough that every bodyguard listened harder.
“We’re finally beginning.”
She ordered the wedding venue sealed to guests only until transport could be arranged.
No one was to be detained unlawfully.
No threats.
No phones destroyed.
Her attorney arrived within fifteen minutes.
Warren smiled when he saw him.
“Calling lawyers now?”
Giulietta looked at Warren.
“My father called men with guns whenever paperwork scared him.”
A pause.
“I learned from his mistakes.”
Warren’s smile thinned.
The hidden camera was preserved.
So was the unedited local buffer.
That mattered.
The recording showed only Giulietta disarming Preston.
Exactly as intended.
But the device also stored audio.
The microphone had captured something before Giulietta entered the suite.
Preston’s voice.
Low.
Angry.
Warren’s voice answering him.
Giulietta’s attorney played the file.
Preston:
What if she doesn't swing back?
Warren:
Then make sure she thinks she has to.
Preston closed his eyes.
Giulietta did not look at him.
The file continued.
Preston:
And if she just calls her men?
Warren:
Marcello says pride will do the rest.
Giulietta’s head turned.
Marcello again.
Then another voice entered the recording.
Luca.
His breathing audible.
Luca:
No injuries.
Warren:
Nobody said anything about injuries.
Preston laughed.
The recording stopped.
Giulietta looked at Luca.
His face went gray.
He had not known about the golf club.
But he had known they planned to provoke her.
Luca whispered:
“I thought it would be shouting.”
Giulietta’s eyes filled.
Not tears.
Fury held too tightly.
“You thought humiliating me was acceptable if no bones broke.”
Luca could not answer.
Then her attorney approached with another problem.
The Marconi-Hale consolidation agreement had already been partially executed.
Three signatures remained.
Giulietta’s.
Preston’s.
And—
Marcello’s.
Giulietta frowned.
“Why does my uncle have a signature line?”
The attorney looked disturbed.
“He was added as contingency trustee yesterday.”
Giulietta stared at the page.
If she had been detained after attacking Preston—
Marcello would have gained temporary Marconi voting authority alongside Preston.
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The conspiracy was not Hale against Marconi.
Her uncle had been waiting to inherit the chaos.
