Page 125 of Fall Before Her Throne

“I’ve met her once or twice at charity galas,” I said. “But I don’t know her personally.”

“She’s next on our list,” Obi said, leaning back in his chair. “I wonder if we can buy her support…”

I took another sip. The liquor burned down my throat. “Probably not. She’s actually a politician who works for the people. She’s different from politicians we’ve had before. Normally, it’s easy for the mafia to control them.”

“Greco would be terrible for the people,” Obi grumbled. “He’ll demand protection fees and launder money for rich entrepreneurs who will take advantage of the working class.”

“She’ll see us as more of the same,” I said. “We’re mafia, too.”

Obi tapped his finger on his lips. “Leona can convince her of our differences. If we can get the two of them together.”

I slowly nodded. “Maybe. Leona differs from any of the other Heads of the Five Families. We could try. We’ll just need to figure out how to connect them.”

I was done with my tenure as Don. I led our Family the best I could—as my father had trained me to do—but my days as second-in-command and the Don were tainted by too much pain and heartbreak. The power I held was never because I wanted it. I felt I needed it to avenge my father. Leona had already proven she was a far better leader than I.

“Agreed.”

My eyes caught another name on his contact list. “What about this guy? Wilson St. Schuyler? He’s a District judge.”

Obi’s eyes flicked up to mine. “For RICO?”

I nodded. “If the case proceeds, it would be nice to have a judge on our side.”

“Those cases are randomly assigned,” Obi said. “We couldn’t guarantee that he’d hear the case against us.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Do you really think they’re random?”

His mouth pulled up at the corner. “All right, I see your point. If the mayor won’t bend under bribes, maybe the court circuits will. Let’s get in touch.”

I nodded, already thinking of who I knew in legal circles that could connect us. I’d run into a few judges over the last five years. Some were even on Luciano’s payroll. He had to have something in his boxes worth of records. But we’d need to get them from the Vero estate…

While I considered options, an email notification dinged across Obi’s laptop screen. I recognized the name almost immediately.

“Martin Vogel?” I asked. “The Chief of the Department of Corrections?”

His face closed off, and he pulled the laptop back to face him.

“Why are you emailing him?” I pressed. “Is he on your list of contacts?”

Obi gave a tight nod. “It’s only a contingency plan.”

“A contingency plan? You expect us to get arrested?” My question wasn’t accusing, only curious.

“It’s highly probable that we will,” he explained. “I’m simply preparing just in case.”

“But you think Vogel would let us out?”

His lips pressed together. He sat back in his chair and appraised me, like he were trying to decide if he could trust me or not.

That alone clued me in.

“No,” I murmured. “If our case went to trial, or if Greco got us arrested for some other reason, it would be too high profile for the Chief to get involved…Which means you need his help for something on the inside.”

He said nothing. So I continued.

“And if you want Vogel’s help for something on the inside, then that means you must also have a target on the inside…” I sat forward, forearm on the desk. “And if you have a target on the inside, it makes the most sense that it’s Greco. So you want the Chief to help you murder Greco.”

Obi’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “What a useful tool you’ll be after all, Max.”