The Godfather's Love (Erika and Charles) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Charles took a deep breath, trying hard to maintain the composure of a mafia don.

+45 Coins

“Elders,” he began, “Evelyn’s words are unreliable. She turned vindictive after being spurned. She forged evidence and slandered me. As for Erika..”

He paused. His voice caught in his throat.

“There was a misunderstanding between us. She left for Paris on impulse. But I’ve already sent someone to bring her back. I believe…”

“A misunderstanding?”

My father suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade cutting straight into Charles.

“What kind of misunderstanding would compel my daughter to sign a dissolution agreement, abandon the dignity of being Lady Nell, and flee to

another country?”

“And what kind of misunderstanding,” he continued, voice now cold and cutting, “would make you, Charles, in a time when your family faced pressure from all sides, waste your time and energy on a young girl-so much so that you neglected the Northwest docks and nearly botched a deal with the

Russians?”

His final words echoed with weight-he was quoting directly from the itinerary records.

One of the Elders nodded slightly.

Charles’s face darkened further.

“Mr. Churchill, this is an internal matter of the Nell family-”

“When it concerns my daughter’s safety and reputation,” my father interrupted coldly, “and threatens the decades-long alliance between our two families, it is no longer merely your internal affair.”

He gestured to the lawyer beside him, who stepped forward and handed a document to the Elders.

It was a copy of my agreement, along with a summary of the evidence I had provided.

The Elders passed it from hand to hand. As they read, their expressions grew heavier.

“As for Miss Evelyn’s accusation,” one of the Elders said slowly, his eyes fixed sharply on Charles, “that Erika has colluded with external forces…”

“That’s nonsense!” Charles cut in immediately, this time with rare firmness. “Erika would never betray the family! She just… she was upset. Damien is nothing more than a friend she met in Paris.”

Even as he said it, Charles felt the hollowness in his own words.

“Is that so?” my father said casually-but his next words struck like thunder.

“Because the information I received says that this Damien is a young executive on the European Business Joint Council. And that council… just happens to coordinate the transatlantic flow of certain ‘special goods.”

He paused, letting the implication land.

Chapter 17

+45 Coins

“Charles, you’ve been overseeing the family’s smuggling routes for years. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of them.”

The European Business Joint Council-a pristine name on the surface, but in truth, a glove that covered the iron fist of Europe’s underground:

smuggling, laundering, power brokering.

Damien was no “ordinary friend.”

Charles stood there as if struck by lightning.

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