Page 82 of The Bonventi Rise

Office.

Stay there. Be there in 10.

True to his word, there's a knock on my door, and Gio enters.

"Good to see you, little brother," Gio says, shutting the door.

"You want a drink?" I ask, standing to pour myself another. "You're one behind."

He shrugs.

"It's a 35-year."

"Sure, why not," he says.

I pour our drinks as Gio takes a seat.

I hand him his glass and sit down.

"So, how you feeling?" Gio asks. "Almost election day."

I smile. "Yeah, I can't believe it. Honestly, I feel great. We did it," I say, leaning forward and holding out my glass. Gio taps it with his.

"We did, Marco. We did."

He takes another sip and sets his glass down.

"I, uh, I've got some news. But first, promise me that how you feel right now won't change."

I put my drink down. "How the hell can I promise that if I don't know what you've got?"

He laughs. "Yeah, well, just don't let this rain on your parade is all I'm saying."

I lean back in my chair, eyeing Gio carefully. My brother's never been one for beating around the bush, so his hesitation makes me a bit nervous.

"Alright, out with it," I say.

"We've managed to get some information from someone inside Sandra's camp."

"Okay, and? She's done," I say firmly.

He nods. "Yes, but he gave us something interesting." Gio pulls out his phone, his thumb sliding across the screen. "But you're not going to like it."

My stomach tightens. "Shit, just?—"

"It's about Alina," he says, cutting me off.

"What about her?" I ask, knowing damn well there's a part of me that doesn't want the answer.

"She's had meetings with Sandra. Several, in fact, over the past few weeks."

"No. That's bullshit. She wouldn't?—"

"Marco." Gio's voice is firm. "I wish it weren't true, but we have proof." He taps the screen a few times before handing it to me. "Take a look."

I lean forward and take his phone.

The security footage is from a camera far away, but it's crystal clear. There's Alina, wearing that blue dress I bought her, walking into Sandra's campaign headquarters. The timestamp shows a date a few weeks ago.