Page 217 of Fall Before Her Throne

At one point, when I was desperate for power and control, yes. But no longer. I had my family, and we were enough.

“Do you remember the day when you played chess with me in the garden of your estate?” I asked.

He blinked, trying to recall the memory. It didn’t seem burned into his subconscious as it was in mine. “No.”

“I used to play underneath the fig trees. By then, I had already decided I wanted to destroy you, but I used to think about how while I played chess there. One day, I was observing your men when you walked over. You asked if you could play.”

He pressed his lips together. “I remember now. I beat you within a few moves. Your strategy was sloppy. Far too aggressive. It was easy to lure you into a trap and take out your king.”

I nodded while I pulled my skinning knife from its place at my lower back. It had been waiting for me in this cell. The final favor the Chief owed me. Greco’s eyes widened, and he shuffled backward until his back hit the metal door.

“I latched onto that,” I said. “When you won, you stood from the board and you smirked. You told me to ‘think ahead.’ I’ve been thinking ahead for eleven years.”

“Bah! You cannot kill me!” Greco sputtered. “I am Piero Greco! My entire bloodline will come after you!”

“They won’t,” I said. A warmth spread through my chest at Leona and Ciel’s ideas to set up Lucia as Greco’s successor. It was a far better plan than mine. “Your granddaughter has already taken care of that problem for us.”

Ciel had signaled that she had been successful. All of Greco’s heirs lay dead in his estate. Lucia could do what she pleased with what remained of the Camorra.

I had everything I wanted here.

His jaw dropped open. “That girl? No.”

“Yes,” I said. “This has been a long time coming, Greco.”

“Non ci credo!” He pounded on the door. “Let me out of here!”

“No one will come for you.”

My parents had been waiting for this. My siblings.

Finally, I’d be able to tell them they were safe. That our home would no longer be under constant threat. That Leona and my brothers and my children would grow up without the fear or pain of losing someone they loved.

His nails scratched at the doorframe. “Aiuto! Aiutami!”

I had sought power for this moment.

It all led me here.

“Turn around and face your death like a man.”

Greco snarled over his shoulder. “Basta! What do you want? I’ll give you money, power, anything you ask. I have limitless resources.”

“I know,” I said. “And still the only thing I want is your death.”

His cold laugh pinged around the cell walls. “You’re no better than me. We’re men. Power belongs to us.” He spat at my feet. “You’ll kill me and then take my place.”

I shook my head slowly. “No, I won’t. Lucia killed all your heirs because she will take your place.”

He scoffed in disbelief. “My men would never support a woman in my place, let alone that one. Assolutamente no! She is a quiet, mousy thing with her computers. She does her job, and she does it very well, but that is all she’ll ever do.”

“No. When she takes your place,” I continued, “she’s going to dismantle your empire.”

“What?” he breathed, eyes wide. He choked back a raw, guttural sound. “There’s no way.”

“She is,” I said. “She’s going to break it apart so that your greedy fingers cannot hurt any more innocent people, like my parents.”

Lucia would control Italy. We would control Africa and the United States. The rest of the world would be left up to them—the Mob, the Bratva, the cartels, the Chinese, the Yakuza, whoever else could fight for a piece while we maintained our territory and kept our families safe.