Chapter 4
The silence in the dimly lit hallway was so absolute that the sound of rain hitting the roof sounded like thunder.
Victoria’s chest heaved as she stared at Dante, the silver revolver trembling in her hand.
“You don't intimidate me, Moretti!” she yelled, though her cracking voice betrayed her.
“I do,” Dante replied simply, taking another step forward.
“I intimidate everyone in this city who thinks they can touch what belongs to me.”
“She doesn't belong to you!” Victoria shrieked. “She’s a nobody! A glorified bean counter!”
“She’s the woman who exposed your amateur theft,” Dante said, stepping directly into the gun’s line of sight.
“Which makes her far more valuable to me than you ever were to Wilkes.”
Beatrice held her breath, watching Dante position himself between her and the weapon.
He was entirely fearless, treating the deadly gun as nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
“Put it down, Victoria,” Dante commanded quietly. “Before I stop offering options.”
Victoria looked around frantically, realizing for the first time that the darkness held more than just shadows.
Marco appeared at the far end of the corridor, his weapon raised with cold precision.
Another man stepped out from the stairwell behind her, cutting off any chance of escape.
She was completely surrounded.
Tears of frustration and terror spilled over Victoria’s mascara, running dark tracks down her pale cheeks.
“Charles promised he would handle it,” she sobbed, her arm finally drooping under the weight of the steel.
“Charles was using you as a shield,” Beatrice said softly, stepping around Dante slightly.
“The authorization code used to move the money had my ID, but the secondary approval came from his private terminal.”
Victoria looked at Beatrice in shock. “What?”
“He let you set up the offshore transfers, but he made sure the paper trail led back to me and you,” Beatrice explained.
“If Moretti found out, Charles would play the innocent boss who was betrayed by his staff.”
Victoria’s face drained of what little color remained.
The gun slipped from her fingers, clattering loudly against the cold concrete floor.
Marco stepped in instantly, kicking the weapon away and securing Victoria’s arms behind her back.
“Take her to the warehouse on Forty-Fourth,” Dante ordered Marco without looking back.
“What about Charles?” Beatrice asked, her pulse still racing from the encounter.
Dante turned to her, his dark eyes searching her face with an intensity that made her skin prickle.
“Charles is currently hosting a late-night poker game at his penthouse in Tribeca,” Dante said.
“He thinks Victoria is fixing his problem right now.”
“What are you going to do to him?”
May you like
Dante stepped closer to Beatrice, reaching out to wipe a drop of rain from her cheek.
“I’m going to crash his party,” Dante said softly. “And you’re going to help me destroy him.”
