CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY SEVEN – UNDER HEAVY SCRUTINY

As they sat around the dining table, Scipione addressed Joan directly. "You claim Alessandro sent you here for protection. What exactly are you running from?" Joan took a deep breath. "The police in New York were closing in on the Fratelli operations. I... I was involved in some of the family's business. Alessandro thought it would be safer for me to come here until things cooled down." Scipione's eyes narrowed. "And what 'business' exactly were you involved in?" Joan hesitated, weighing her words carefully. "I ran a clinic that... that helped with certain financial transactions." Understanding dawned in Scipione's eyes. "Money laundering," he said flatly. Joan nodded, her heart pounding. She watched as Scipione exchanged a look with Marco. "Well," Scipione said slowly, "perhaps you're not entirely useless after all." Over the next few weeks, Joan found herself slowly being integrated into the Fratelli family's operations in Sicily. Her experience with the Lighthouse Protocol pr