Page 96 of Mafia Daddy's Christmas Bride

My mind drifts back to Ernie Abruzzo. The connection to Mrs. Ferraza keeps nagging at me. What the hell was she doing meeting with a bottom-feeder like him? Ernie was a nobody. Nothing that would put him on the radar of a Don's wife.

I pull out my notebook, flipping through the pages of scribbled notes. The timeline doesn't add up.

Mrs. Ferraza meets with Ernie multiple times in the weeks before her death.

Ernie overdoses days after she's killed.

Don Ferraza claims no knowledge of these meetings.

And now Isabella gets approached by the Feds with doctored evidence pointing at us. Is it all just a bunch of weird unrelated coincidences or is someone playing a long game against us?

I rub my temples, feeling the tension headache building.

The weight of it all, protecting Marco, keeping Angelica safe, figuring out what the hell is happening with Isabella, it's crushing. But I have to endure it because one wrong move and everything falls apart.

I glance at the bottle of whiskey on my shelf. Tempting, but I need a clear head.

What was Mrs. Ferraza's endgame? Was she trying to get Isabella out of the life or was there something deeper? And how did Ernie fit into it all?

My phone buzzes again. With a growl, I grab it, ready to tell Marco I need a goddamn minute, but it's not Marco.

It's Jimmy, one of my guys who works in the DA's office I contacted to find out if the news about Ernie was true and asked for anything he could find on Blackwood.

Got that info you wanted on Abruzzo. He was an informant, but not for Blackwood. Different handler - Agent Ricci. Started working for Feds 8 months before death.

I stare at the screen, fitting the pieces together. So Ernie was a rat, but not Blackwood's rat. So maybe this is all just a bunch of odd coincidences.

Any connection to Agent Blackwood?I text back.

The response comes quickly.

Nothing direct. But Blackwood would've had access to the files. He's supervisor of the FBI's organized crime unit. Been there 15 years. Rumor is he has a hard-on for La Corona.

Supervisor of the organized crime unit? That's not what Isabella told me. She said he was just an agent working her mother's case. Is she lying to me or is he lying to her?

I set the phone down, mind racing. If Blackwood's the supervisor, he has resources, connections, influence.

He could pull strings across multiple departments, access confidential informants from other divisions.

He could probably bury evidence.

Hell, he could fabricate it if he wanted to.

Why lie to Isabella about his position? Why use her at all when he has the power to move directly against us?

I grab my laptop and pull up the search engine, typing "Victor Blackwood FBI." News articles pop up, mostly standard press releases about busts and indictments. Nothing that jumps out.

Then I try "Victor Blackwood family."

Nothing useful there, either.

I lean back in my chair, frustration building. Something's off about this whole situation.

Blackwood's not just some agent.

He's high up enough to orchestrate a complex operation.

Yet he's working Isabella personally, feeding her doctored evidence, manipulating her emotions.