Location: Safehouse – Downtown Brooklyn
The lights were low. The room was tense. The flash drive Allegra tossed them sat between Isabella and Nico like a loaded gun.
Gianna plugged it into a secured laptop.
Lines of code spilled across the screen—ledgers, supply lines, bribes. But then: names.
High-ranking officials. Judges. Undercover feds. Paid in blood and silence.
"Ricci's empire wasn't just built on violence," Gianna said, eyes wide. "It's built on insurance."
Nico leaned closer. "These aren't just allies. These are shields."
Isabella's eyes locked on one name glowing on the screen.
Domenico Romano.
She froze.
"My uncle," she whispered.
---
Flashback – Isabella, Age 12
Matteo's voice echoed in her memory:
"Never trust blood without proof. Even family bleeds you when you're not watching."
---
Location: Ricci Estate – Costanzo's Office
Costanzo paced.
"She has the drive."
Ricci didn't blink. "Then it's time we turn her family into a weapon."
---
Location: Staten Island – Romano Estate
Isabella stood on the stone path of her uncle's manor. Nico by her side. This wasn't a negotiation—it was a reckoning.
Uncle Domenico greeted them at the door, warm, charming. But his eyes twitched when Isabella handed him the ledger printout.
"You sold out Matteo," she said coldly.
His smile cracked.
"You don't understand the weight of what we carry, Isabella."
She raised her gun. "No. I understand it too well."
But Nico gently lowered her hand.
"Not here. Not yet."
They left Domenico standing alone, watched by shadows.
---
Later – Nico's Apartment
"I wanted to pull the trigger," Isabella said, her voice low.
Nico looked at her. "But you didn't. That's what separates you from them."
She stared at him, something tightening in her chest.
"I don't know who to be anymore," she admitted. "Daughter. Killer. Queen."
Nico stepped closer.
"Then be you. And I'll burn the rest down for you."
---
Final Scene – Ricci's Private Airstrip
A black SUV pulled up beside a private jet.
Out stepped Costanzo, phone pressed to his ear.
"Pull the pin," he said. "Start the fire."
On the tarmac, explosives were wheeled into place—labeled with the name of Isabella's last untouched warehouse.
A timer blinked to life.
00:59… 00:58…