The Godfather's Love (Erika and Charles) novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16

(Erika’s Perspective)

+45 Coins

The private hospital room in Paris carried the sharp scent of disinfectant, mingled with the crisp, post-snow air drifting in through the half-open

window.

My ankle was in a cast. The doctor had instructed at least three weeks of complete rest.

Damien had arranged for the best private room and assigned a silent but professional caregiver.

I leaned against the headboard, eyes fixed on the encrypted message feed flashing across the tablet screen.

In Seattle, a farce more absurd than any play was unfolding.

At the center of the chaos was Evelyn.

Her obsession and resentment had completely drowned out any sense of reason or fear.

She hadn’t followed Charles’ final wish for her to “live a good life.” Instead, she used the last of her money to smuggle herself back into the United

States.

She didn’t dare return to Seattle directly. She lay low in a nearby city.

With the limited, yet lethal, knowledge she had, she began weaving a web.

She first contacted a few low-level members of the Nell family-young men who had once flirted with her or had been swayed by her beauty.

She cried to them about her “tragic fate,” hinting that the godfather had “used and discarded” her.

Like ink dropped into clear water, the rumors spread silently through the lower ranks of the family.

Next, she leaked a few suggestive photos-taken during a camping trip to Mount Rainier-of her and Charles in intimate poses.

She sent them to a few old-guard cadres within the family, men who had long disagreed with Charles’ leadership or had quietly resented his growing

autocracy in recent years.

Her final blow-what she clearly believed to be the most fatal-was an anonymous letter submitted to the family Elder Council.

In the letter, she detailed how Charles had “seduced” her, a “naive subordinate,” how he had promised her a future, and how he was forced to cast her away under the “persecution” of his wife, Erika.

But she didn’t stop there.

She went on to accuse me-Erika Churchill-of betraying the family. She claimed that my sudden departure to Europe was not a personal decision, but a move to align with a powerful European syndicate, plotting to overturn the Nell family from within. She declared that Charles either had no idea… or worse, had allowed it in exchange for personal gain.

The letter was a bomb dropped into a still pond.

The Elder Council was furious.

Chapter 16

Loyalty and stability were the cornerstones of a mafia family’s survival-more sacred than any written code.

Charles’ behavior, true or not, had already caused serious fractures in the family’s internal trust.

And my “defection” and “possible foreign collusion” touched the family’s most sensitive nerve: betrayal.

My father, Old Churchill, received word immediately.

He didn’t call me. He went straight to the Nell family estate to face the Elder Council.

+45 Coins

With him were the Churchill family’s most senior and most feared lawyer, and several well-respected peacemakers from the West Coast underground.

At the same time, I sent my father an encrypted file package through Damien’s secure network.

There were no emotional accusations in the file. Only cold, hard evidence.

There were blurred financial records showing Charles had used family funds to purchase an apartment and jewelry for Evelyn.

There were travel logs showing Charles had missed or delayed key family business events to be with her.

There was a high-resolution scan of the “Asset Division and Relationship Dissolution Agreement” I signed before leaving.

And most critically-there was a full dossier detailing the three most profitable and secretive smuggling routes on the East Coast. It listed key contacts, safe houses, and the structure of the entire operation.

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