Chapter 16
Dez
Santorini was perfect. Three days of sun-soaked beaches, private villa luxury, and my wife in various states of undress.
We'd barely left the bedroom except to eat on the terrace overlooking the caldera, and even then we usually ended up fucking against the railing before the food got cold.
This was supposed to be two weeks of paradise.
I should have known it wouldn't last. I've never felt this good, been this content, or happy.
So I should've known evil was somewhere lurking.
Angelina's phone rang while we were lounging by the private pool. She was topless in just a bikini bottom, her skin glistening with sunscreen I'd spent twenty very enjoyable minutes applying.
She glanced at the screen and frowned. "It's Maya."
"Don't answer it," I said, trailing my hand up her thigh. "We're on our honeymoon."
"She wouldn't call unless it was important." She sat up and answered. "Hey, Maya. What's—" Her expression went from relaxed to furious in seconds. "He did what?"
I sat up, immediately alert.
"When? Tomorrow?" Angelina was on her feet now, pacing. "How did he… okay. Okay. Send me everything. Every document, every email, every piece of paper he filed. I want to see all of it."
She listened for another minute, her free hand clenched into a fist.
"No, don't do anything yet. Don't respond, don't engage. Just document everything and wait for me." Pause. "Because I'm coming back. Tonight if I can get a flight." Another pause. "I don't care, Maya. This is my company. I'm not letting him steal it while I'm on my honeymoon."
She hung up and stood there for a moment, breathing hard, staring at nothing.
"What happened?" I asked, already pulling out my own phone.
"Vincent called an emergency board meeting.
" Her voice was tight with rage. "For tomorrow afternoon.
He's claiming financial mismanagement on my part.
Says I've been embezzling funds, making unauthorized expenditures, engaging in insider trading.
He's fabricated documents, forged my signature, and somehow convinced three board members that I'm destroying the company. "
"The embezzlement is his."
"I know that. You know that. But he's turned it around on paper, made it look like I was the one skimming funds and he was just trying to protect the company.
" She started pacing faster. "He's calling for a vote to remove me as CEO and install himself as interim leader pending a full investigation. "
I stood and caught her arm, pulling her to face me. "How many board members does he need?"
"Simple majority. There are nine total. If he has five votes, I'm out."
"And how many does he have?"
"Maya thinks four including himself. But he's working on a fifth." She pulled away, heading inside toward our bedroom. "I need to get back there. I need to stop this before it gets out of hand!"
"Angelina." I followed her. "Stop. Breathe. Think."
"I am thinking. I'm thinking that my uncle is trying to steal my mother's company while I'm on the other side of the world and I need to get back there right now."
"Agreed. But we do this smart." I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my contacts. "Pack. I'll make some calls, get us on a flight tonight. But first, I need to handle something."
"Handle what?"
"Insurance." I found the number I wanted and hit dial. "Go pack. I'll explain in a minute."
She hesitated, then nodded and disappeared into the bedroom. The phone rang twice before a familiar voice answered.
"Dez Moretti. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Beniamino," I said. "We need to talk about your uncle."
There was a pause. Beniamino DeLuca ran the Florida operations for his family—technically making him my rival in some areas, but we'd always had an understanding.
Respect between professionals. Then there was the fact that I liked to kick his ass in anything he challenged me to.
We were competitive friends that way. And he was Vincent DeLuca's nephew.
His father's brother's son. Family, technically, though I knew there was no love lost there.
"What has Vincent done now?" Beni asked, his voice carefully neutral.
"He's attempting to stage a corporate coup against my wife. Fabricated evidence of embezzlement and mismanagement, called an emergency board meeting to have her removed as CEO of her own company." I kept my tone professional. "I wanted to give you a courtesy call before I deal with it."
"Deal with it how?"
"However necessary." I watched Angelina through the bedroom doorway, throwing clothes into a suitcase with furious efficiency. "Your uncle violated our treaty, Beni. He was warned that touching Angelina meant touching the Morettis. He chose to do it anyway."
"You're asking permission?"
"I'm informing you. There's a difference." I paused. "But I also want to know where you stand. If I handle Vincent, will the DeLucas consider it a breach?"
Beni was quiet for a long moment.
"Vincent DeLuca is a creepy fuck," he said finally. "Always has been. My father never trusted him. And me? I've spent years cleaning up his messes and covering for his mistakes because he's family."
"But?"
"But he crossed a line with your wife. And the treaty between our families is worth more than one ambitious middle-manager who can't accept that he lost." I heard the sound of a drink being poured.
"Do what you need to do, Dez. Handle your business.
The DeLucas won't retaliate. I can talk to the Vitales for you.
I know he's been making trouble for them, too. "
Relief flooded through me. "You're sure?"
"Positive. Years ago, my father gave me authorization to cut Vincent loose if he became a liability. This qualifies." Beni took a drink. "Besides, he was warned. You made it clear what would happen if he came after her. He made his choice. Consider him cut off."
"Appreciated, Beni."
"Just do me one favor, keep my name put of it and stay the fuck out of Florida. I don't need complications down here."
"It'll be handled properly."
"Good." Another pause. "And Dez? Congratulations on the wedding. I heard it was beautiful. My wife went into labor, so I couldn't make it. We did send a gift."
"It was. Thank you. We didn't make it through all the gifts yet, but I'll let you know when we do. Trust me, she tried to conquer that mountain, but plenty of people were very generous."
"Take care of your wife. She sounds like she's worth the trouble."
"She is." I watched Angelina emerge from the bedroom with our packed bags. "More than worth it."
I hung up and immediately made another call, this one to my head of security.
"Sir?" Matvey answered on the first ring.
"We're coming back early. Tonight. I need a flight out of Santorini within three hours if possible." I rattled off details while Angelina listened. "And I need a full security detail ready to go when we land. We're going straight to Castellano & Co. for a board meeting tomorrow afternoon."
"Understood. I'll have everything ready."
"One more thing. Vincent DeLuca. I want surveillance on him starting immediately. Where he goes, who he talks to, what he's planning. Everything."
"Consider it done."
I hung up and turned to Angelina.
"We have a flight in three hours. Private jet, direct to Seattle. We'll land around eight AM local time, which gives you most of the morning tomorrow to prepare before the board meeting."
"Thank you." She set down the suitcases and crossed to me. "What was the other call? The first one?"
I pulled her into my arms. "I called Beniamino DeLuca. He's Vincent's nephew."
Her eyes widened. "You called the his family?"
"I needed to know where they stood. If handling Vincent would cause problems. We're old friends and I don't want bad blood between us." I brushed hair back from her face. "Beni confirmed that Vincent's been a liability for years."
"So you can—" She stopped, and you could see her processing all of the information. "What exactly are you planning to do, Dez?"
"Whatever it takes to protect you and your company." I met her eyes steadily. "Vincent's had his warning. He chose to ignore it. Now he faces the consequences."
"Which are?"
"That depends on how tomorrow goes." I kissed her forehead. "But at minimum, he's done at Castellano & Co. At maximum," I shrugged. "Let's just say he won't be a problem anymore."
She was quiet for a long moment, then nodded. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I trust you." She looked up at me, her dark eyes fierce. "Do what you need to do. Just... make sure I get my company back."
"You will." I promised. "I'll make sure of it."
An hour later, we were in a car heading to the airport. Angelina was on her laptop, reviewing the documents Maya had sent. Her expression grew darker with each page.
"He's good," she muttered. "I'll give him that. These forgeries are almost perfect. If I didn't know better, I'd believe I signed these authorizations."
"But you can prove you didn't?"
"Maybe. The signatures are close but not exact.
And the dates… some of these are supposedly from days I was with you, days I can prove I wasn't even in the office.
" She scrolled through more files. "But it might not matter.
If he's already convinced enough board members, they might vote to remove me regardless of the evidence. "
"Then we make sure they don't vote against you."
"How?"
I smiled. "Leave that to me."
On the plane, I made more calls. To my father first, getting his official blessing for what might need to happen. To Gianna, having her pull together information on every Castellano & Co. board member, their finances, their secrets, and their vulnerabilities.
To my lawyers, getting them ready to file criminal charges against Vincent. By the time we landed in Seattle, I had a complete dossier on every person who would be in that boardroom. And I had a plan.
"What are you thinking?" Angelina asked as we drove toward the city.
"I'm thinking your uncle made a mistake." I took her hand. "He thought you were alone. Vulnerable. Easy to push aside."
"And?"
"And he's too greedy to understand the harm he's doing. You have resources he can't match, protection he can't penetrate, and a husband who really, really doesn't like people threatening what's his."
She squeezed my hand. "I love you."
"I love you too." I kissed her knuckles. "Now let's go remind your uncle exactly who he's fucking with."
Angelina smiled wickedly, and damnit if that didn't make her the most beautiful woman in the world, I don't know what did.