Chapter 4 - The Fierro Empire
Giovanni leaned back against the dark leather headrest, his dark eyes fixing onto mine as the SUV cut through the neon-lit streets of downtown Chicago.
"I am the head of the Fierro Syndicate," he said flatly, without a hint of hesitation or drama. "My family controls the shipping ports, the transit networks, and the private security infrastructure across five states."
My heart dropped into my stomach. "You're... mob?"
"I am a businessman who operates in a world where laws are suggestions for weaker men," he corrected smoothly. "Three hours ago, my uncle tried to force me into an arranged marriage with the daughter of a rival boss from Detroit—Lucia Moretti. If I married Lucia, her father would gain forty percent of my shipping ports."
"So you used me as a shield," I realized, anger flaring in my chest. "You walked into my sister's wedding, saw a woman being humiliated, and used my misery to dodge a mob marriage!"
"I saw an opportunity for mutual survival, Jessica," Giovanni countered, his voice steady. "Tyler Vance wasn't just insulting you tonight. He was planning to take Lily."
I froze. "What?"
Giovanni pulled a black tablet from the leather pocket in front of him and handed it to me.
On the screen was a draft of a custody petition filed four days ago by Tyler’s lawyers. It claimed I was an unfit mother living in poverty, working unsafe hours, and requested full custody of Lily to raise her in the wealthy Vance estate.
Tears of pure rage and horror sprang into my eyes. "He... he tried to steal my daughter?!"
"He wanted Lily so he could claim the remaining trust fund your late mother left for her," Giovanni explained. "Tyler is bankrupt, Jessica. He needed your daughter's inheritance to cover his gambling debts to the Moretti family."
My hands shook so hard I nearly dropped the tablet. I looked down at Lily, who was happily eating a truffle, completely unaware of the monsters surrounding her life.
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"He won't take her," I whispered, my voice trembling with fierce maternal fury. "I'll kill him myself before I let him touch my baby."
"You don't have to kill him," Giovanni said, leaning closer, his shadow enveloping me. "You just have to stay married to me."
