He Called Me His Plaything in Front of His Men, So I Left Carrying His Heir novel · Chapter 22 of 24
Chapter 22: Read Aloud
Cosima opened the first ledger and put on her glasses.
"The fourteenth of March, two thousand and four," she read.
Her voice was flat, even and clear, the voice of a woman reading the weather off a card.
It carried to the far end of the table without effort.
"Forty thousand dollars to a county commissioner. Authorized by Gaetano Candela. Paid in cash at the Independence Avenue storefront. Witness, Cosima Candela."
Nobody moved.
"The second of May, two thousand and four. Twelve thousand dollars to a man in the city's licensing office. Authorized by Gaetano Candela."
She turned the page.
"The ninth of June."
A heavy man in the middle of the table put down his wine glass.
"Eight thousand dollars to the captain for the Westport job." She looked up over her glasses at the heavy man in the middle of the table. "That's you. You were paid on the first of every month for sixteen years. I wrote it down every time."
The heavy man did not say anything.
He had gone the color of tallow.
"Authorized by Gaetano Candela," Cosima read. "Authorized by Gaetano Candela. Authorized by Gaetano Candela."
She read for what felt like a very long time.
She read dates and sums and the names of men I did not know.
She read the names of two judges and a lawyer and a deputy chief.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of He Called Me His Plaything in Front of His Men, So I Left Carrying His Heir are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 21 · All chapters · Chapter 23 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend