Not This Time, Don Cassian Chapter 06

Not This Time, Don Cassian Chapter 06

(Third-person POV)

Two weeks after the wedding, Antonio burst into the study.

“Boss, we have a problem.”

Cassian looked up.

“Miss Camilla approved a one-million-dollar political donation last week. To Councilman Hayes.

Antonio’s voice was a low whisper. “Yesterday, the IRS formally indicted Hayes. An anti-corruption probe.

“Our charity foundation, our art investments, Lakeshore Realty. The entire clean chain… it’s all been flagged as ‘suspicious sources of funding’.”

“The IRS sent agents to the art museum this morning.”

Cassian’s knuckles went white.

Beneath that clean chain was the money laundering network Aurora had built, piece by piece, for six

years.

If the IRS and FBI teamed up, if they dug down from the charity, the shell companies in Miami, the drug routes in Mexico… everything would come to light.

“Get Camilla in here,” he said through his teeth.

Ten minutes later, Camilla walked in, her face pale but her eyes defiant.

“Cassian, I did my best,” she said before he could speak. “I was just trying to build connections for you. Councilman Hayes has deep roots in the art world…”

“Did you know the man was under investigation by the IRS?”

“I… I didn’t know. He seemed like a nice guy…”

“So you used a million dollars to get friendly with a high-priority IRS target?” Cassian’s voice was ice.” Before you approved that payment, did you run a background check on him for three generations?”

“A background check for what? He’s a state councilman, a legitimate politician…”

“Aurora would have vetted his grandfather. She would have dug up dirt on his entire family tree and checked ten years of tax records before a single dollar left our accounts!” Cassian slammed his fist on the

desk.

Camilla flinched back, tears welling in her eyes.

“I was just trying to help! Isn’t this how Aurora did things?”

Cassian went silent.

Because Aurora would never do something this stupid.

Aurora was always one step ahead of him.

“I’m pregnant with your child…” Camilla’s voice trembled. “Why are you being so cruel to me?”

“Get out.”

“What?”

“I said, get out.” Cassian closed his eyes. “I need to be alone.”

Camilla stared at him, stunned.

“You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” her voice shook. “That woman who left!”

Cassian didn’t answer.

His silence was more brutal than any word.

“I am your wife! I am carrying your child! And she is nothing!”

“Go to your room.” Cassian opened his eyes. There was no anger left in them, just a cold, bone-deep

exhaustion.

It hurt more than rage.

Camilla stumbled back and ran out of the room.

After the door closed, the study was dead silent.

Cassian walked to his desk and lifted the leather mat.

For six years, her daily summary and risk alerts had been waiting for him in this exact spot.

Tonight, it was empty.

A cold dread washed over him. On instinct, he lifted the false bottom of the blotter.

A file he had never seen before was lying there.

Mexican Routes, Annotated Q4 2023 Edition.

FBI High-Priority Monitored Dead Accounts List DO NOT TOUCH.

Miami Shell Corporation Fund Flowchart.

The date on them: the day before Aurora left the estate.

Cassian’s hands started to shake.

Before she left, she was still building him one last line of defense.

That day he chased her to the gate, she had said, “I don’t want Camilla to get the wrong idea,” and walked away without looking back.

And yet she had come back to this room and left him the very thing that could save his life.

He collapsed into the chair opposite the desk.

It took him a long moment to realize it was Aurora’s chair.

For the first time, he saw the study from her perspective.

The third shelf of the bookcase always held his favorite Macallan.

The second drawer on the left always had his emergency painkillers.

The pot of sage on the windowsill. He’d made one offhand comment three years ago-one-that he liked

the scent. It had been there ever since.

Six years.

Every single comfort in his life, every detail that made his world run smoothly, had been silently arranged by her.

And he had taken it all for granted.

Cassian stood up and walked to the safe.

He took out a small velvet box from the very back.

The Vitelli family’s sapphire engagement ring, passed down for three generations.

He was supposed to give it to Camilla.

But he made an excuse. “We’ll have the formal engagement after the baby is born.”

He told himself it was about family tradition.

But now, he finally asked himself the real question. Why?

Ten years ago. Aurora’s sixteenth birthday.

She wore a formal dress for the first time, with her mother’s pearl necklace, and stood before the portraits

of the Vitelli ancestors.

In that moment, a thought had flashed through his mind.

“If she wasn’t my sister…”

He had killed the thought instantly.

For ten years, he had used the word “sister” to keep a wall between them.

But he could never bring himself to give this ring to someone else.

Cassian clutched the velvet box, his fingers trembling.

Finally, he locked it back in the deepest part of the safe.

“It’s just tradition,” he told himself. “The sapphire just doesn’t go with Camilla’s wedding dress.”

But he didn’t believe his own lie.

The next morning, he walked into Antonio’s office.

“Find out where Aurora went. I don’t care what it takes.”