Chapter 13 · Court

"Mr. Tan." Marco Falcone dropped the folder on the table so hard my water glass jumped. "That's your signature. Real name. Real address. Real social security number. You want to explain that to my grandmother, or should I?"

I didn't touch the folder. I already knew what was in it, because I was the idiot who wrote it.

"I signed a marriage license," I said. "That's usually how it works."

"Not for a stand-in." Marco smiled like he'd been waiting a month to use that word in this room. "Stand-ins use paper names. That's the whole point of hiring one. You gave my cousin your actual life, and now your actual life owes actual money to actual people who are not fans of this family."

Donna Falcone sat at the head of the table like she'd been carved into the chair. She didn't look at Marco. She looked at me, and that was worse.

"Is it true," she said, "that your father's debt is still open with the Ianellis?"

Nobody in this room needed a warrant to ruin me. They just needed her nod.

"It's true," I said. "It's also mine to carry, not this family's problem.