He Thought Someone Had Broken Into His Estate—Then the Underworld Knelt Before the Woman Beside Him

Three massive, unmarked Sikorsky helicopters cut through the rain-soaked fog, their powerful searchlights sweeping across the helipad.

The white beams pinned Matteo and Evelyn in blinding brilliance.

Matteo instinctively stepped in front of her, raising the carbine with his good arm, but Evelyn reached out and gently pushed the barrel down toward the deck.

"They're mine," she said.

The lead helicopter flared its rotors, touching down with a heavy, pressurized hiss on the center of the helipad. The side door slid open instantly. Six operators in pristine, charcoal-grey tactical gear—bearing the silver crest of the House of Vane on their shoulder patches—spilled out onto the deck, forming an impenetrable defensive perimeter around the aircraft.

An older woman stepped out from the cabin. She was dressed in an impeccably tailored black trench coat, her silver hair pulled back in a severe, elegant chignon. She carried an ivory-handled cane and walked with the absolute authority of someone who answered to no government on earth.

"Helena," Evelyn said, stepping forward.

The older woman stopped three paces away, bowed low from the waist—a bow born of decades of genuine loyalty—and looked at Evelyn with fierce, protective eyes.

"Lady Genevieve," Helena said, her voice crisp and European. "The European councils have received your transmission. Station Omega is dead. Julian’s assets have been seized. The Sovereign Registry is secure."

"And the Council?" Evelyn asked.

"The Council is on their knees, waiting for your command," Helena replied. She turned her sharp, assessing gaze toward Matteo, taking in his torn suit, the blood soaking his arm, and the Kimber still clutched in his hand. "And who is this?"

"This is Matteo Duca," Evelyn said without hesitation. "He is the reason I survived tonight."

Helena’s eyebrows lifted slightly. She bowed her head toward Matteo in a gesture of profound, measured respect. "The House of Vane remembers its debts, Mr. Duca. Your father was a legend. It seems the bloodline has not faded."

"Neither has hers," Matteo replied, his gaze shifting back to Evelyn.

Helena gestured toward the open cabin of the helicopter.

"We must leave immediately, my Lady. The airspace over New York will be locked down by federal authorities within twenty minutes. The transport is waiting in Halifax. We must take you to the ancestral seat in Vienna before the rival factions attempt to regroup."

The words struck the roof like a cold front.

*Leave.*

Matteo felt a sudden, sharp hollow open in his chest—a sensation far more painful than the bullet wound in his shoulder. For over a year, she had been a permanent fixture in his world. Every morning at eight o’clock, she was there. Every evening when he burned the midnight oil, she was outside his door.

Now, the carriage had arrived to take the queen back to her throne.

Evelyn looked at the open helicopter door, then turned slowly to face Matteo.

The rain had stopped, leaving the night air clean and freezing. Water dripped from the hem of her trousers. She looked at him with an intensity that made the surrounding soldiers shift uncomfortably on their feet.

"Your general counsel will need to be replaced," she said softly, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I recommend Marcus Wright from the eighth floor. He’s dull, but he doesn't take bribes."

"I don't care about the counsel," Matteo said, closing the distance between them until he was standing directly in front of her, ignoring the six armed guards who tensed instantly. "Stay."

The word was simple, heavy, and completely stripped of his usual corporate arrogance.

Evelyn looked at him, her amber eyes swimming with an unspoken war between dynasty and desire.

"I have an empire to rule, Matteo," she murmured. "I am the Sovereign Arbiter. I cannot sit behind an oak desk and order your coffee anymore."

"I don't want a secretary, Evelyn," Matteo said, his voice dropping into a fierce, unyielding growl. "I never did. Rule your empire from here. Beside me."