Chapter 4 - Shadows Over the Syndicate
The news hit the room like a physical blow.
Victor Romano was the head of the Romano crime family—the old-money mafia empire that controlled the eastern docks and half the corrupt judges in the state. For five years, Andrew and Romano had maintained a cold, uneasy truce, dividing the city’s smuggling corridors with precision.
Targeting Cindy meant Romano was ready for war.
"Romano knew she was my assistant," Andrew said, his voice dropping into an octave that made the glass panels in the room vibrate faintly. "He thought if he squeezed her, she'd break and hand over the key to my legitimate fronts."
"David broke into her apartment looking for the drive," Lucas explained. "When Cindy caught him searching her desk, she tried to run. That’s when he lost his mind and attacked her."
Andrew crossed his arms, staring out at the rain-soaked city. "Where is the drive now?"
"Safe," a quiet voice spoke from the bedroom doorway.
Andrew turned instantly.
Cindy stood leaning against the doorframe, wearing a soft grey cashmere sweater and sweatpants provided by the house staff. A neat white bandage was taped over her left temple. She looked pale, but the terror in her eyes had been replaced by a quiet, burning resolve.
Dr. Aris stepped out behind her. "She’s stitched up. Three stitches. No fracture, but she needs rest—"
"I'm not going to bed, Doctor," Cindy interrupted gently, walking slowly toward the center of the study. She looked at Andrew, pulling a small silver locket from beneath her sweater.
She unclasped the chain and popped open the small oval frame, revealing a tiny, ultra-thin micro-SD card hidden beneath a photograph of her younger sister.
"I never kept the ledgers on a flash drive in my apartment," Cindy said calmly. "I know how dangerous your business is, Andrew. I backed up the encrypted ledgers onto this micro-card two months ago and kept it on my neck. The drive in my desk was a decoy filled with corrupted tax files."
Lucas stared at her in utter astonishment.
Andrew simply stared, his heart swelling with a fierce, dizzying pride that nearly took his breath away.
"You outsmarted Romano's men before they even stepped foot in your room," Andrew murmured, walking over to her.
"I work for you, Andrew," Cindy said, looking up at him with unflinching loyalty. "I learned from the best."
Andrew reached out, gently cupping the back of her head, drawing her against his chest. He felt her sigh against his throat, her hands rising to grip the front of his dress shirt.
"Lucas," Andrew commanded over her head, his eyes locked on the wall behind her. "Call the captains. Tell them we are shutting down every Romano shipping lane from Brooklyn to the Jersey shore. By midnight tomorrow, Victor Romano won't have enough money left to pay his own bodyguards."
"And what about David?" Lucas asked coldly.
Cindy tensed slightly against Andrew's chest.
Andrew smoothed his hand down her hair, his tone absolute. "Hand him over to the district attorney with full video evidence of his break-in, assault, and drug debts. Let him spend the next twenty years in a maximum-security cell thinking about the mistake he made."
"Understood," Lucas bowed his head and exited the room, leaving them alone in the vast, warm study.
Andrew pulled back slightly, looking down into Cindy's dark eyes. "You don't have to protect my secrets, Cindy. You could have handed them that decoy drive and walked away."
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"I would never betray you, Andrew," she whispered, her fingers tightening on his shirt. "Never."
Andrew leaned down, his forehead resting against hers. "Then you stay here with me. From this second on, you don't step outside without my hand in yours."
