Chapter 1 - The Papers in His Hand
Dante Cavali was carrying divorce papers to his wife when he heard her mother say, “By tomorrow morning, Dante will be dead.”
He stopped outside the sunroom.
Rain struck the windows of his Chicago penthouse.
Inside, a porcelain cup rattled against its saucer.
“Pack your bags, Serena,” Patricia Romano said.
“Your father has already given the order.”
Dante’s fingers tightened around the envelope.
At thirty-two, he had survived threats, betrayals, and men who smiled while planning his funeral.
None of them had hurt him as much as the woman standing on the other side of that door.
For three years, Serena had flinched when he touched her.
She left rooms when he entered.
She locked her bedroom every night.
He had married her to end a war between their families.
Then he had made the mistake of loving her.
That afternoon, he had signed away two properties and seventy-five million dollars.
He had also ordered permanent protection for her.
He wanted her safe.
Even if being safe meant being free of him.
“Carlo Esposito is moving against the South Docks tonight,” Patricia continued.
“By midnight, the supply lines will be burning.”
“I’ll warn Dante.”
Serena’s voice was sharp.
Dante barely recognized it.
“The night captain was bought two weeks ago.
The phones are monitored.
The exits are controlled.”
“Then I’ll find another way.”
“If you warn him, you die with him.”
A pause.
“Then I’ll die with him.”
Dante stopped breathing.
Patricia gave a short, ugly laugh.
“You hate him.”
“I love him.”
The envelope bent in his hand.
“Before the wedding, I heard Dad and Carlo talking,” Serena said.
“They wanted me to make him trust us.
They wanted his schedules.
His security.
Everything.”
“So you destroyed your marriage?”
“I kept him away from me.
I made sure loving me would never make him trust my father.”
Dante shut his eyes.
Every locked door changed meaning.
Every quiet good night.
Every time he had mistaken heartbreak for disgust.
“Now he’s divorcing you,” Patricia said.
“I know.”
“He doesn’t want you.”
“He thinks letting me go will make me happy.”
His phone vibrated.
LOBBY TEAM COMPROMISED.
A second message followed.
HOSTILES INSIDE BUILDING.
At the far end of the hall, the elevator chimed.
Patricia turned toward the sound.
The color drained from her face.
Dante stepped through the sunroom door.
Serena looked at the envelope.
Then at him.
“How much did you hear?”
May you like
“Enough.”
Behind him, the elevator doors began to open.
