A custom cufflink studded with tiny diamonds slipped from the lapel of his perfectly pressed suit and rolled onto the floor mat.
As I bent to pick it up, my gaze caught the tablet he'd tossed aside. The screen lit up on its own, and an encrypted message flashed across it. Every word burned:
"Godfather Rowe, thank you so much for pulling strings and securing the exclusive premier booth at the International Jewelry Expo for me! But the raw gemstone vein in Sicily that you've promised is far too precious. I feel terribly guilty accepting it and truly don't know how to repay you!"
The tablet jumped to a private feed. Selene's post glared back at me: "Only a true queen of jewelry deserves the world's most precious raw gemstone vein."
The photo showed her diamond-laden hand caressing a pigeon blood ruby of extraordinary color. It was Sicily's rarest mineral treasure, the kind every jeweler alive would kill to possess.
I knew exactly what Selene was doing. She'd meant for me to see all of this.