The Billionaire Mafia Boss Heard My Darkest Secret on Thanksgiving—Then Left a Black Card and Took Me Away

Mateo slammed his open palms onto the table, standing up so violently that his heavy chair tipped backward onto the marble floor with a resounding crash.

""You dare insult me in front of the commission?"" Mateo spat, his face purple with fury. ""You think you're untouchable because you control the port terminals, Vale? This girl isn't your weakness, she's your death warrant! Do you really think she's just a random server from Logan Square?""

Roman’s posture didn't change, but Emma felt the sudden, electric tension radiating from his frame.

""Explain yourself, Mateo,"" Roman said, his voice dropping into dangerous, lethal quiet. ""Carefully.""

Mateo sneered, gesturing toward his lawyer, who quickly snapped open the leather briefcase and slid a yellowed, faded folder across the table toward Roman.

""Her father didn't vanish, Roman,"" Mateo sneered, pointing a trembling finger at Emma. ""Her father was Arthur Callahan. The original founder of the North Side Syndicate. The man who owned Harbor & Ash thirty years ago before your father murdered him in cold blood and took over the entire Chicago territory!""

Emma felt the room spin. The air turned to ash in her lungs. She looked down at the file. Spilled across the mahogany table were black-and-white crime scene photos, birth certificates, and newspaper clippings from 2002.

SYNDICATE BOSS ARTHUR CALLAHAN EXECUTED IN RIVER NORTH.

And pinned to the corner of the police report was a photograph of a baby girl, held in the arms of a woman with her mother’s exact smile. Rebecca.

""No..."" Emma gasped, stumbling back from the table, knocking her chair aside. ""No! My mother worked cleaning jobs! My father left us before I was born! She told me—""

""She lied to you to save your life, girl!"" Mateo yelled triumphantly. ""When Roman’s father killed Arthur Callahan, Rebecca took the child, changed her identity, and hid in plain sight as a scrub woman! You are the sole legal heir to the Callahan syndicate charter! Under the old blood laws, every dock, every building, and every dollar Roman Vale controls belongs to you by birthright!""

Emma turned her gaze toward Roman, her eyes wide with horror, betrayal, and blinding agony. ""Did you know?"" she choked out. ""Did you know who I was when you sat at table twelve for eight months?""

Roman didn't look at Mateo. He didn't look at the armed guards who were slowly drawing their weapons. He slowly turned his head to look at Emma, his dark eyes hollow, stripped of all arrogance.

""I found out three weeks ago,"" Roman said softly.

""You knew my father was murdered by your family?"" Emma's voice cracked into a shattered whisper. ""And you sat there... you let me talk about her... you fed me turkey on Thanksgiving like a stray dog...""

""Emma, listen to me—"" Roman began, taking a step toward her.