Roselle’s POV
After spending a while staring at the door, I finally pulled myself together and got out of bed.
I headed straight for the shower.
As soon as the warm water began running down my shoulders, my mind returned to everything I had learned the previous night.
I carefully kept my hair away from the water while the water poured down from the shower head.
The last thing I needed was to spend extra time drying it, especially when I was already trying to get ready as quickly as possible.
Once I was done, I stepped out of the shower and headed into the walk-in closet.
At first, I made my way toward the gowns.
Then I stopped.
I turned around and walked toward the trousers instead.
I chose black pants, a black shirt, and a black coat.
I didn’t know exactly what I would encounter today, but I preferred to be prepared.
And if things became messy, at least blood wouldn’t be as noticeable on black.
I quickly dressed and walked toward the bedroom door.
The moment I stepped outside, a voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Good morning, Madam.”
I turned sharply.
Sylvester was standing beside the door.
I hadn’t even noticed him.
I quickly composed myself.
“I was actually about to send for you.” I said then I paused.
Something about his posture told me he hadn’t just arrived.
“How long have you been here?” I asked directly.
“Since a while ago,” he replied.
“Master Silas instructed me to wait for you at the entrance of the room. So I’ve been here waiting for you to come out.”
I was briefly surprised.
Silas had apparently thought ahead again.
A small part of me was touched by his attentiveness, but I quickly pushed the thought aside.
There was too much to accomplish today.
“Let’s walk toward the garage while we talk.” Sylvester nodded, and we began walking through the hallways leading toward the garage.
“I couldn’t go through all the documents yesterday, so I’ve decided to handle the businesses one at a time.”
I glanced at him. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“I plan to deal with one today, the money-laundering business.”
Sylvester nodded.
“Master informed me about it this morning. I’ve already contacted the Russian Don, Yuri Zaitsev, and arranged a meeting point just outside the city.” He paused before continuing.
“Before I explain what you need to know, may I ask what you already understand about the DeLuca money-laundering operation?”
His tone remained respectful.
“Please don’t take the question as an insult. I’m only trying to assess your current knowledge so I don’t waste your time explaining things you already understand.”
“No offense taken.” From his words and manner, I could tell he was genuinely trying to determine how much I knew.
“The money made illegally by mafia bosses can’t simply be used because it’s considered dirty money,” I explained.
“What they need is clean money, money that appears to have been obtained legally or, at the very least, has a legitimate source.”
I paused.
“The DeLucas exploited that system by taking dirty money and providing clean money in exchange for a percentage.” I ended
Sylvester nodded.
“There are two parties involved in money laundering, the buyers and the sellers.” He began after I finished speaking.
He continued as we walked.
“Today, we’re meeting a buyer. Don Yuri has five million worth of dirty money that needs to be cleaned. I’ve already prepared the team responsible for transferring the equivalent amount agreed upon to him.”
He stopped speaking as we entered the garage.
At first, I wondered why he had suddenly stopped but before I could voice out my confusion, I heard voices.
“Good day, Madam.”
The greeting came in unison.
I turned toward the source.
Several men stood in the garage, all dressed in dark suits.
They were clearly bodyguards.
And every single one of them had just bowed to me.
“At ease,” I commanded before turning toward Sylvester, silently demanding an explanation.
“They’re all foot soldiers,” he quickly explained.
“Master instructed me to select a few to accompany us. So I ordered them to join us as well. Until you have your own personal team of soldiers, I would advise that we make use of them.”
I looked at the men again as I slowly assessed them.
He was right.
I had no idea what we might encounter during this exchange, and going there without protection would be foolish.
“Alright. Let’s move.” I said then I walked toward the first car, where the door was already being held open for me and Sylvester.
Once we were inside and the door closed behind us, I turned toward him.
“Continue what you were saying.”
“Once we get there, you’ll have to negotiate your cut,” Sylvester began.
The car began moving, with several others following closely behind us.
“At the moment, you’re acting as the seller to the Russian Don. That means you have the upper hand.” He paused briefly.
“Since he isn’t from this country, he needs clean dollars to conduct business here. Without them, his dirty money is practically useless to him. Even if he tried to clean the money himself, he would still need a legitimate financial structure within the country to make it usable.”
He looked at me.
“He already understands this, of course. But I want you to understand your position as well. When you negotiate, you shouldn’t undervalue what you’re offering.”
I nodded slowly.
“There’s another reason I set the meeting for an hour earlier than you were told. I deliberately didn’t inform you instead waited for you to take your time. I wanted them to believe that meeting with you isn’t something they can arrange at their convenience, the harder it seems to see you, the higher your value.” A faint smile touched his lips.
“To put it simply, I wanted you to arrive with the upper hand.”
“Alright.” I fell silent for a moment, allowing everything he had said to settle in my mind.
The documents I had reviewed the previous night had explained most of the methods used to clean the money, but they hadn’t covered these smaller details, the negotiations, the power dynamics, or how the previous Don handled these meetings.
Thankfully, because I had already studied the documents, the new information wasn’t difficult to absorb.
It simply filled in the gaps.
“Are there any other rules I should know?” I asked
“For the most part, this is simply a business exchange,” Sylvester said.
“The only difference is that both parties are essentially holding a gun to the other’s head, ready to pull the trigger the moment they feel cheated.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Other than that, there’s nothing complicated. There’s a man who needs traceable money, and there’s a woman who controls money that isn’t easily traceable.” He shrugged slightly.
“Both sides need something from the other, so I advise you to treat it that way.” He paused.
“But the bigger question is what you intend to do with the money once you’ve received it.”
I turned toward him.
“After you agree on your percentage, you’ll have to provide his portion of the clean money by the end of today. I’ve already contacted the financial handler responsible for the former DeLuca finances. He confirmed that there are sufficient funds available to cover the amount.”
He continued.
“He can transfer the money through offshore accounts before it reaches Don Yuri, making the transaction difficult to trace.”
I listened carefully.
“But that’s not what concerns me right now,” Sylvester added.
“What I want us to discuss is how you intend to handle and process this new incoming money.”
I was about to answer when the car suddenly came to a stop.
Sylvester glanced through the window before turning back toward me.
“We’re here.” He looked ahead.
“This is the exchange point.”