Chapter 13 - THE AUCTION TRAP
Janevra did exactly what Daario demanded.
At least, that was what she wanted him to believe.
The ballroom glittered with diamonds, champagne, television cameras, and two hundred guests who had no idea they were standing inside a trap.
Lucia's restored painting hung behind bullet-resistant glass.
Elio remained out of sight.
Daario appeared ten minutes before bidding began.
Perfect tuxedo.
Calm smile.
As though half of Chicago weren't searching for him.
He approached Janevra.
"Beautiful evening."
"For some of us."
"Still angry about your mother?"
Janevra forced herself not to react.
"Should I be?"
His smile changed.
That was all she needed.
Vanity.
Lucia had been right.
Janevra stepped closer.
"I know you didn't kill her."
Daario's expression tightened.
"You couldn't have."
"Why not?"
"Because according to my father, you were in New York."
Daario laughed softly.
"Your father never understood anything."
Janevra waited.
He leaned toward her.
"I didn't need to be in Chicago."
The words were captured by three hidden microphones.
Janevra's pulse raced.
"Who did it?"
Daario's smile disappeared.
Then he saw Elio approaching through the crowd.
Realization hit him.
"You set me up."
"No," Janevra said.
"My mother did."
Security closed in.
Daario grabbed Janevra's arm.
Elio moved instantly.
But Janevra twisted free before Daario could pull her backward.
Bruno and two officers restrained him.
For the first time, Daario looked afraid.
Investigators recovered the ledger.
Financial accounts were frozen.
The Santoro alliance fractured before sunrise.
It should have been over.
It wasn't.
During interrogation, Daario asked for Janevra.
He offered one final secret in exchange for speaking only to her.
Janevra refused.
Then the investigator told her what Daario claimed.
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There was another explosive device inside the Vieira estate.
And it had been placed in Janevra's east wing.
