Caleb’s POV
The past week had completely drained my energy. Finn still couldn’t arrange a eting with his uncle, the family doctor, who remained trapped at so dical conference in Austin until next week.
Saturday arrived with our scheduled investigation eting. Scott had promised he had news. Nearly everyone had gathered at my penthouse, including Ivy, though we were still waiting on Scott and Heidi. Besides Ivy and myself, Xavier and Jude were present, along with the information specialist Felix Hayes and two additional investigators from Scott’s team.
"Ivy, I appreciate you being here." I moved toward her as she settled onto the leather couch. She wore a stunning floral maxi dress that flowed around her like water, but sothing seed off. "I know you’ve been following the investigation updates, but with everything coming to a head, we needed you present."
"Of course, Caleb. I want to see these backstabbing rats finally exposed and eliminated." Her smile held no warmth, only determination tinged with sothing that looked like pain.
"Ivy, what’s wrong? You look terrible." The words ca out harsher than I intended, but genuine concern drove them. Whatever was bothering her went beyond the stress of our family situation. This looked physical.
"My stomach is killing . I think I ate sothing that didn’t agree with earlier." She pressed a hand to her abdon, her face tightening with discomfort that made my chest clench with worry.
"Walter can prepare you so tea." I called out, and Walter appeared almost instantly, disappearing into the kitchen before returning with an elegant tray holding a delicate cup and matching teapot.
"Miss, this blend works wonders for stomach troubles," Walter said as he poured the steaming liquid. "You young people survive on street food and never slow down. No wonder your bodies rebel."
"Walter, you’re absolutely right." Ivy managed a genuine smile for the first ti since arriving. "Thank you for taking care of ."
"My pleasure, miss." Walter retreated just as the doorbell chid.
Heidi and Scott entered together, their fingers intertwined in a way that made every conversation in the room halt. The grins on both their faces could have powered the entire building.
"What’s the matter? Do I really look that good?" Scott’s joke broke the silence.
"Scott, when Heidi’s with you, you definitely command attention," Xavier observed with mock seriousness. "Maybe she should be your permanent companion."
"That’s exactly the plan, kid. Exactly the plan." Scott’s response carried weight that suggested this wasn’t casual banter.
After the usual round of greetings, curiosity got the better of .
"Are you two going to announce what’s obviously happening here?"
"Caleb, mind your own business!" Ivy’s elbow found my ribs, though her tone held more amusent than real irritation.
"He’s just asking what we’re all dying to know, Ivy, including you!" Jude jumped to my defense imdiately.
"Who says I don’t already know?" Ivy’s smile held secrets that made her eyes sparkle despite her earlier discomfort.
"Now you both need to start talking. What does she know that we don’t?" I pressed, shifting my attention between Heidi and Scott.
"They know because they helped prepare yesterday and gave advice," Heidi explained with obvious affection.
"They? The entire inner circle knows?" Xavier’s voice carried mock betrayal. "And here you claim to think of us as your soldiers, Caleb!"
"Stop being such a child, Xavier!" Heidi’s scolding held maternal warmth. "Scott and I had dinner last night and decided to stop wasting ti. Yes, we’re officially together now."
Applause and whistles erupted throughout the room. We all stood to offer congratulations, embracing them both. Scott had carried a torch for Heidi for decades, but in their youth, his marriage to a woman who made Rossi look reasonable had trapped him. The woman had refused divorce on principle. Christ, I was walking the exact sa path.
"Alright, now that the ladies have finished their romantic gossiping, can we actually accomplish sothing?" Scott rubbed his palms together, his teasing tone making everyone laugh.
When the eting officially began, Scott unveiled the week’s discoveries. They had identified five lieutenants participating in the systematic skimming operation, including Rossi and that snake Neil from the money laundering division. The operations lieutenant, enforcent lieutenant, and territory lieutenant were all involved. These positions represented the family’s strategic core, held by soldiers with decades of service. Beyond the lieutenants, each crew had three or four additional mbers taking cuts of the diverted funds. One had made a critical error, giving us our opening. We would approach him as our weak link, offering a deal that kept him breathing in exchange for cooperation.
The amount of money Scott’s team had uncovered being stolen from our operations staggered . It represented a genuine fortune. Scott also provided a comprehensive list of businesses being manipulated into switching their protection paynts to another organization. This competing operation was registered under fake nas that Scott had traced back to Rossi. He was still waiting for evidence from his hired investigators, but they had already confird these fake identities reported directly to Rossi.
We spent the next stretch of ti dissecting the report, clarifying details, and strategizing our next moves to secure everything we needed.
"Fortunately, they ceased operations recently," Scott inford . "I still can’t determine why they stopped, but they did. Nothing is currently being skimd. No suspicious operations are occurring."
"Thank Christ for that! At least sothing’s going our way," I said, exhaustion making drag both hands down my face.
"That concludes our investigation discussion, but now I need to address your parents’ murder," Scott said, his tone shifting to sothing darker that made look up sharply.
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