Falling for My Ex’s Mafia Dad — Episode 76
The judge did not accuse Fay of stealing the ledger. He ruled that chaos around the clinic proved Kent’s release would create unacceptable pressure on witnesses and evidence. Lorenzo’s attack achieved its purpose even in failure.
Fay allowed herself one hour to grieve before meeting Mara. Emotion deserved space, but despair could not become Lorenzo’s final victory.
The captured attorney requested a deal. He would testify that Lorenzo forged the ledger and ordered the safe-house leak if prosecutors guaranteed protection from both families.
Mara demanded physical corroboration. The credential device proved forged signatures, but the original ledger remained necessary to separate authentic crimes from additions.
Ivan identified the escaped Kozlov representative as Sergei Volkov, an enforcer loyal to Ivan’s syndicate identity rather than his federal mission. Sergei believed Ivan had betrayed the organization for Fay.
Sergei would use the ledger to seize Lippert routes and blackmail federal officials. He had no reason to return it voluntarily, but he wanted Ivan exposed and punished.
Fay proposed an exchange: Ivan for a forensic copy of the ledger. Ivan agreed before Mara finished explaining the danger. Fay refused to let him offer his life without an extraction plan.
They arranged a monitored meeting at the docks. Ivan would appear to surrender while state teams tracked the ledger’s scanner signature. No criminal family would control the perimeter.
Before the operation, Fay visited Lorenzo in the hospital jail ward. He smiled as if the hostage crisis had been a family disagreement rather than attempted kidnapping.
She told him Victoria lived and had testified. Sofia’s records eliminated his parental claims, while the clinic board had removed him permanently. Every structure he used to own Fay was collapsing.
Lorenzo said power would return when people feared the vacuum. Kent was imprisoned, Ivan discredited, and Daniel unwilling to lead. The city needed an Alden.
Fay understood the invitation beneath the threat. Lorenzo believed she would eventually inherit his methods because leadership had been left empty around her.
She said she would coordinate protection without accepting the throne. Power could be distributed through courts, trusts, boards, and people free to leave. Lorenzo laughed at the idea of authority without fear.
Fay placed his cradle charm on the bedside table. She told him the child would know his name only as a warning about what blood did not entitle anyone to claim.
His composure finally broke. He lunged despite his restraints, shouting that the baby carried Alden blood. Guards forced him back as Fay walked away.
At the prison, Kent heard about the confrontation through Mara. He worried Fay was carrying too much while pregnant. Mara reminded him that concern did not authorize decisions on Fay’s behalf.
Kent wrote Fay a letter rather than issuing instructions. He described fear honestly and asked what support she wanted. The change survived confinement.
Fay answered that she wanted him alive, accountable, and patient. She promised no timeline for release, only persistence toward a truthful outcome.
As she sealed the letter, Daniel called from the dock operation. Ivan had entered Sergei’s warehouse, but the tracking signal split into twelve identical copies.
Then Sergei appeared on a live feed holding Ivan at gunpoint and burning what looked like the original ledger page by page.