Chapter 16
When I came to the bar, I called Luca. Told him to meet me upstairs in the private booth and not bring anyone else. I didn’t want eyes. I didn’t want mouths. Just answers.
The second he sat across from me, I slid a whiskey his way and asked, “Where the fuck are my shipments?”
He blinked, rubbed his palms together, and said, “Which ones, Boss?”
“The three heading to Asia and Eastern Europe. The ones that left the Cebu docks two weeks ago.”
He froze a little. That told me everything.
I leaned in. My voice dropped low. “Start talking, Luca. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
He swallowed hard. “We lost them mid–route. No contact. No alerts. Just silence.”
“Lost?” I echoed, scoffing. “You lose a goddamn dog, not multi–million dollar weapons.”
‘I know, Boss. But there’s more. We traced the last movement logs from the cargo nav systems. It’s subtle. Clean. But the two leads back to Montenegro hands.”
didn’t move for a second. Then I sat back, laughed once, and slammed the glass down so hard
t cracked. “Montenegro? That dusty old bloodline? Are you telling me Don Domino’s ghost is out here poking into my empire?”
‘They’re not ghosts, Boss. They’re alive. And moving.”
‘Montenegro doesn’t breathe in my territory. We never even crossed paths before.”
‘They are now.”
stared at the bottle for a moment, then leaned forward, dragging my palm across the counter.
‘Set up a goddamn meeting. I don’t care how. I want to know what they want. If they think they can touch my ports, they better be ready to drown in them.”
Luca was about to stand, but his phone buzzed. He checked it. Paused.
‘What?” I said.
He looked up, voice tight. “We just got an invitation.”
narrowed my eyes. “From who?”
‘Del Vale. There’s a gathering in Spain. Mafia dinner. Black auction. All the major bloodlines got
nvitations.”
‘And?”
He met my gaze. “Montenegro is on the guest list. They’re not hiding anymore. They’re coming.”
lit a cigarette. Took a long, slow drag. My pulse was already humming.
‘Perfect,” I said, letting the smoke roll out of my mouth. “Let’s eat with the vultures.”
instruct Luca to gather everything. I don’t care how long it takes or how much it costs. I want full intel on the Montenegros–their operations, allies, movements, and every fucking person breathing under their payroll. I told him I want all Del Vale auction patterns traced too. Who
12:54 pm pppp.
bought what, which syndicate backed who, and which seats stay empty but always funded. want potential allies and neutral families marked red or green, no in–betweens.
I said, “We’re traveling lean. Suits, smiles, and silencers. Nobody makes a move unless I give th nod. We’re not guests. We’re hunters.”
Luca gave a tight nod and pulled out a manila folder from his coat. Dropped it in front of me lik it weighed the world.
“Boss… before you look… brace yourself,” he muttered.
I opened the file.
My hands stilled. Front page. Top clearance photo. Geneva Salvacion.
Alive. Not just hiding. Active.
Location: Spain. Tied to the Montenegros. Under their protection.
I stared at it in silence. My blood went cold, then hot.
“She’s in Spain?” My voice was low. Dangerous. “She’s working with them?”
Luca didn’t answer right away. Then said, “She’s the one leaking intel. Routes. Arms shipments Safehouse records. All three missing arms crates were traced to locations now unde Montenegro custody. It wasn’t a random hijack. It was a surgical hit.”
I sat down slow, dragged a hand across my face, then slammed my fist on the desk.
“Fucking traitor,” I growled. “I gave her everything. A name. A family. And she turns my ow business against me?”
Luca didn’t say anything.
“She tricked me,” I muttered. “Made me sign that divorce paper. Acted all broken and innocent Meanwhile she was watching, listening. Plotting with my enemies.”
I stood up and kicked the chair across the room.
‘No paper can cut me off. No passport changes what she owes me. If she thinks she’s free just cause she changed countries, she’s more delusional than I thought.”
That night, I went to my armory. Didn’t need security. Didn’t want an audience. Just me, a bottle of scotch, and that old blade from my grandfather. It was used for blood oaths. For family. Or fol
Vengeance.
wrote her name on paper.
Geneva.
watched it burn in the candlelight. Let the ashes stick to my hand. Let the fire eat it whole.
‘If Montenegro’s sheltering you, Geneva,” I said under my breath, “I’ll tear their house down brick by brick. I’ll scorch every boat, every border, every fuckin‘ person you think will protect you.”
stabbed the dagger into the table hard.
‘You want a war?”
My voice didn’t shake.
‘You got one.”
2/3 49.0%
12:54 pm
MARGOT’S POV
My hand was shaking when I stared at the test results.
“Permanent uterine failure.”
The words looked like they were taunting me, laughing in my face. I read it again. And again. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t scream. Couldn’t cry the way I was supposed to.
I just stood there in the hospital bathroom, frozen, while the walls closed in. And then I snapped.
I grabbed the nearest perfume bottle from the counter and smashed it on the floor. Glass scattered across the tiles like blood, sharp and unapologetic.
I crouched down, shaking.
“Why her?” I whispered. “Why does that bitch get to be a mother and I’m just… hollow?”
My voice cracked. My chest hurt. And for a second, I felt like I was going to throw up.
I thought about all the nights I faked those miscarriages. How I laid in bed crying for show while sneaking champagne behind Niccolo’s back. How he started pulling away every time I did it. How he used to look at me with disgust and guilt, and how I used that guilt like a goddamn
weapon.
But now…
Now I didn’t even have that.
I didn’t hear the door open. I didn’t even realize I was still on the floor until I heard my mother’s voice from behind me.
“There you are,” she said, stepping inside with her heels clicking lightly. “The doctor said you locked yourself in. What happened?”
My father followed. “We need to talk. You’re running out of time. He’s still not marrying you. He needs a reason, Margot. A child.”
I snapped. I grabbed the test result and threw it straight at her chest. “I CAN’T GIVE HIM A CHILD!” I screamed, standing up fast. My legs shook. My chest heaved. “I’m barren! I’m fucking dead inside!”
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