The Evidence Seith
Isabella's POV
My hands were shaking as I printed the fake documents.
Tony stood behind me, watching the papers come out of Marcus's printer one by one. Each page was a lie designed to save my father's life.
"This has to work," I whispered, stacking the papers carefully. "If Sarah figures out these aren't real..."
"She won't," Tony said, but his voice sounded unsure. "Marcus made them look perfect."
I wanted to believe him, but my heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode. Everything we loved depended on fooling Sarah Chen with these fake files.
"What if she has experts check them?" I asked.
"Then we'll deal with that when it happens," Tony said. He put his hand on my shoulder. "Isabella, we can't think about everything that might go wrong. We just have to trust our plan."
Our plan. Give Sarah fake evidence while Marcus used the real files to expose Vincent Senior to the other crime families. It sounded simple, but I knew nothing about our lives was ever simple.
The older woman from the resistance, who told us to call her Elena, walked over to us.
"The files look good," she said, checking the fake documents. "Sarah's people won't be able to tell they're not real just by looking at them."
"What about the digital copies?" I asked. "Sarah will want those too."
Marcus held up a flash drive. "All fake. But they'll look real for at least a few hours."
A few hours. That's all we needed to get our families back and expose Vincent Senior's network.
I picked up the folder of fake evidence and held it tight against my chest. These papers were my father's lifeline. Tony's mother's hope. Sofia's chance to live.
"Are you ready?" Elena asked.
I nodded, even though I felt sick to my stomach. "Let's call Sarah."
Tony dialed the number Sarah had given us. She answered on the first ring.
"I was wondering when you'd call," Sarah's voice was cold through the speakerphone. "Have you made your decision?"
"We have your evidence," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
"All of it?"
"Everything. Documents, recordings, photographs, digital files. Everything I collected about Morrison and Vincent Senior."
"Smart choice," Sarah said. "Meet me at the old pier in one hour. Come alone."
"Both of us are coming," Tony said firmly.
"Fine. But no tricks, no backup, no weapons. Just you two and the evidence."
"What about our families?" I asked.
"When I have the evidence and confirm it's real, I'll tell you where they are," Sarah said.
The call ended, and I felt my stomach drop. Something about Sarah's voice bothered me. She sounded too confident. Too happy.
"She's planning something," I said.
"Of course she is," Elena replied. "But so are we."
Marcus closed his laptop and packed it in a bag. "I'll take the real evidence to the family meeting. By tomorrow morning, every crime boss in the city will know what Vincent Senior has been doing."
"What if something goes wrong at the pier?" Tony asked.
"Then you run," Elena said simply. "Your lives are more important than catching Vincent Senior."
I wanted to argue, but I knew she was right. Still, the thought of Vincent Senior escaping justice made me angry.
We left the cathedral and drove toward the pier. The sun was setting, making the sky look red and orange. It should have been beautiful, but all I could think about was my father somewhere in pain.
"Tony," I said as we drove. "If this goes bad tonight..."
"It won't go bad," he said quickly.
"But if it does," I continued, "I want you to know that meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me."
Tony pulled the car over and stopped. He turned to look at me with serious eyes.
"Isabella, we're both going home tonight. With our families. This isn't goodbye."
I wanted to believe him, but I had a terrible feeling that something was about to go very wrong.
When we reached the pier, it was almost dark. The water looked black and scary, and I could hear waves crashing against the wooden posts.
"I don't see Sarah," Tony said, looking around.
"She's here," I said. "I can feel it."
We walked to the end of the pier, carrying the folder of fake evidence. The wind was cold and made me shiver.
That's when I saw them.
Car headlights turned on all around us. At least six vehicles had surrounded the pier while we were walking. We were trapped.
Sarah Chen stepped out of one of the cars, wearing her FBI jacket. But she wasn't alone. A dozen agents came with her, all pointing guns at us.
"You're early," I said, trying to sound brave.
"I'm prepared," Sarah replied. "Where's the evidence?"
I held up the folder. "Right here. Where are our families?"
"Safe. For now." Sarah gestured for us to come closer. "Hand over the folder."
As I walked toward her, I noticed something that made my blood freeze.
One of the FBI agents was holding a small device that looked like a TV remote. On the screen, I could see Tony and me walking on the pier.
"You've been watching us," I said.
Sarah smiled. "Oh, Isabella. I've been watching you for weeks. Hidden cameras in Marcus's safe house. Listening devices in your cars. I know about your fake evidence plan."
My heart sank. If Sarah knew about the fake evidence, then this was all a trap.
"I know about Marcus's real files too," Sarah continued. "And I know about your little resistance meeting at the cathedral."
Tony stepped closer to me. "Then why are you going through with this trade?"
"Because," Sarah said, "I wanted to bring you here. Away from your friends. Away from help. Just you two and me."
That's when I realized the horrible truth. Sarah didn't want the evidence. She wanted us.
"You're going to kill us," I said.
"Not kill," Sarah corrected. "Use. You see, Isabella, I've learned something very interesting about your family history. About your real power over the crime families."
She knew. Somehow, Sarah knew that I was the rightful heir to all the families.
"I also know that Tony's feelings for you make him do stupid things," Sarah continued. "Like walking into obvious traps to save you."
"What do you want?" Tony asked angrily.
"I want you to work for me," Sarah said. "Both of you. Isabella will use her family connections to unite all the crime families under my control. Tony will use his skills to eliminate anyone who opposes us."
"Never," I said.
"Oh, but you will," Sarah said confidently. "Because if you don't, everyone you love dies. Not just your parents and Sofia. Everyone. Marcus, Elena, all your new resistance friends."
She gestured to her agents, and they brought out tablets showing video feeds.
On the screens, I could see Marcus being surrounded by FBI agents at another location. Elena and the other resistance members being arrested. Our allies were being captured right now.
"How?" Tony asked desperately.
"I told you, I've been watching everything," Sarah said. "Every plan you made, every person you trusted, every move you planned to make. You've been playing my game this whole time."
I felt completely defeated. We thought we were being clever, but Sarah had been three steps ahead of us the entire time.
"So what happens now?" I asked.
"Now you choose," Sarah said. "Work with me willingly, and your families live. Refuse, and watch them die one by one."
Before I could answer, I heard the sound of expensive car engines.
Three black limousines drove onto the pier, their headlights cutting through the darkness.
Sarah smiled wider than I had ever seen.
"Right on time," she said.
The middle limousine stopped, and the back door opened.
An old man stepped out, wearing a perfectly tailored suit despite the late hour. His hair was white, his eyes were cold, and his smile was cruel.
Even in the dark, I could see the family resemblance. The same nose as my father. The same strong jaw as Tony.
Vincent Russo Senior. My great-grandfather. The puppet master who had been controlling our families for thirty years.
"Hello, children," he said in a voice that sounded like ice. "I've been looking forward to meeting you both."
Tony stepped in front of me protectively, but Vincent Senior just laughed.
"No need for heroics, young Moretti," Vincent Senior said. "We're all family here."
He walked closer, and I could smell expensive cologne and something else. Something that reminded me of hospitals and death.
"Isabella," he said, looking at me like I was a prize he had won. "You look so much like your mother. It's almost heartbreaking."
"You killed my mother," I said, surprised by how strong my voice sounded.
"I did what was necessary," Vincent Senior replied. "Just like I'm doing now."
"What do you want from us?" Tony asked.
Vincent Senior smiled and gestured to Sarah and all the FBI agents around us.
"I want what I've always wanted," he said. "Complete control. And thanks to you two, I finally have it."
He pulled out his phone and showed us a live video feed.
It was my father, Tony's mother Maria, and Sofia. But they weren't in a prison anymore.
They were standing on what looked like the deck of a ship, surrounded by armed men.
"One word from me," Vincent Senior said, "and that ship sinks to the bottom of the ocean. With your families on it."
The phone screen showed the dark water around the ship. We were close to the ocean, but I had no idea where the ship was or how to find it.
"But here's the interesting part," Vincent Senior continued. "The ship doesn't sink if you do exactly what I say."
"Which is what?" I asked, though I was afraid to hear the answer.
Vincent Senior's smile got even wider and more terrifying.
"You're going to help me start a war," he said. "A war between all the crime families in this city. And when the smoke clears, I'll be the only one left standing."
He gestured to his men, and they moved closer to us.
"And the best part," Vincent Senior said, "is that everyone will think it was your idea, Isabella. After all, you are the rightful heir to the families. When you call for war, they'll follow you."
I realized with horror what he meant. He was going to force me to use my family name and power to destroy all the families from the inside.
"I'll never do it," I said.
"Oh, but you will," Vincent Senior said confidently. "Because if you don't, your father dies first. Then Tony's mother. Then Sofia. And then, just for fun, I'll sink a few more ships with innocent people on them."
The phone in his hand buzzed with a message.
He looked at it and smiled.
"Perfect timing," he said. "The family meeting Marcus called? It's starting in one hour. All the crime bosses will be in one room, waiting for the evidence that will destroy me."
He looked directly at me.
"Instead, you're going to walk into that meeting and tell them that Tony's family killed your mother. You're going to demand war. And you're going to watch them tear each other apart."
My heart stopped.
Vincent Senior had turned our own plan against us. The meeting that was supposed to expose him was going to become the beginning of a war that would destroy everyone we cared about.
And I was going to be the one to start it.