Chapter 8 - The Deal with the DevilThe federal penitentiary smelled of bleach, rusted iron, and despair.
I sat in the sterile, heavily guarded visitation room. I did not wear a hoodie or jeans like the girl who used to shrink away from the world. I wore a tailored white trench coat, diamond studs in my ears, and a posture of absolute, unyielding authority.
The heavy steel door clanked open.
Marco Vitale walked in, wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands shackled to a waist chain. He looked thinner, his face gaunt. But when he saw me sitting across the glass, his old arrogance flared to life.
He sat down and picked up the heavy black telephone receiver. I picked up mine.
"Well, well," Marco sneered, leaning closer to the glass. "The Queen of Brooklyn comes to visit the peasants. You look nervous, Serena. Are the headlines getting to you?"
"I’m not nervous, Marco," I said smoothly. "I’m here to give you a chance to survive."
Marco laughed bitterly. "Survive? Dante Romano has power. He promised me two million dollars in an offshore account if I testify that you and Lucian forced me to forge your deeds. In forty-eight hours, your little charity is going to be rubble."
"You always were remarkably stupid, Marco," I said, not raising my voice.
Marco’s smile faltered.
I opened a sleek leather folder and pressed a document flat against the reinforced glass.
"Look at the name on that transfer order, Marco."
Marco squinted. It was a prison logistics document.
"Dante Romano isn't protecting you," I stated coldly. "He filed the paperwork this morning to transfer you to a general population facility controlled by a rival syndicate. He’s silencing you. Once you testify at the council hearing, you are a liability. He’s going to have you killed before you even see a dime of that two million dollars."
"You’re lying," Marco choked out, his hands shaking against the receiver. "He needs me!"
"He needs you on Friday. He doesn't need you on Saturday."
I lowered the document. I looked at the man who had betrayed Lucian, the man who had almost cost me my family. I felt absolutely nothing for him.
"Lucian, on the other hand," I said, "has the resources to protect you. If Lucian gives the word, you will serve your time in absolute peace. Nobody will touch you."
Marco swallowed hard, sweat beading on his forehead. "What do you want?"
"I want the audio recordings," I demanded. "I know you secretly recorded your meetings with Dante as an insurance policy. I want the tapes where he instructs you to commit perjury."
"If I give you those tapes, Dante will ruin me!"
"Dante is going to kill you!" I snapped, my voice finally cracking like a whip through the receiver. "I am offering you your life, Marco. Choose."
Trembling, Marco leaned forward and whispered a locker number and a combination into the phone.
May you like
I memorized it instantly. I stood up, buttoned my coat, and hung up the receiver without saying goodbye. I walked out of the prison, stepping into the bright sunlight where Lucian was waiting by the armored car.
I looked at him and smiled. "We have him."
