Chapter 10 - The Queen of the HarborSix months later, the New York shipping syndicates no longer spoke of the Mercer family with fear or reverence. That name was dead, buried beneath the ash of the Westchester estate and the federal indictments that had dismantled half the city's corrupt political machine.
Now, they spoke of the Caruso Syndicate—and specifically, of Evelyn Caruso.
We stood on the private wrap-around balcony of our new penthouse overlooking the glittering expanse of New York Harbor, watching massive cargo ships bearing the new Caruso-Mercer Logistics insignia glide smoothly through the channel. I wore a simple emerald-silk dress, no corset required, my shoulders bare to the evening breeze.
Roman walked out behind me, setting two crystal glasses of bourbon on the wrought-iron railing before wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder.
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"The dock captains from Brooklyn are downstairs," Roman murmured against my skin. "They want to know if you'll be leading the board meeting tomorrow, or if you want me to handle the renegotiations."
I took a sip of the amber liquid, feeling the warm burn in my throat, and smiled out at the lights stretching across the horizon. My brother was locked away in a cell where no one would ever hear him scream, my father’s empire was entirely under our control, and the scars on my back no longer felt like a prison. They felt like armor.
