The Mafia Boss Called Her a Thief—So She Broke the Necklace and Showed Him What Was Inside

Ten minutes later, the tugboat was ablaze.

Sebastian didn't leave anything to chance. He took the micro-film spool that had popped free from the shattered core of the ring, secured the original ledger, and then opened the vessel's fuel lines in the engine room.

As the emergency klaxons wailed across the Rotterdam industrial channel, Sebastian steered the small maintenance launch away into the mist, watching the tug turn into a roaring funeral pyre against the bruised morning sky.

Norah sat wrapped in Sebastian's heavy wool overcoat, clutching a thermos of hot black coffee his remaining harbor contacts had brought to their extraction point.

"What was on the film?" she asked, watching the orange flames reflect in the dark waves behind them.

Sebastian pulled a small loupe from his pocket—Norah's loupe, which he had recovered from the table—and held the film against the dawn light breaking through the clouds.

"Every politician, port director, and judge on Vaneck's payroll in Illinois," he said. "My father didn't keep these records to blackmail them. He kept them as insurance. If Vaneck's cartel ever tried to move on Chicago, this single strip of film would dismantle their entire network in federal court before lunch."

Norah looked at him, studying the hard angles of his profile. "You aren't going to the federal court, are you?"

Sebastian looked down at her. "The law is a blunt instrument, Norah. It takes years to cut through corruption. I can settle this in three hours."

"How?"

"We fly back to Chicago," he said simply. "Before Vaneck’s men at Navy Pier realize their boss is dead in the North Sea."

"And what happens to Vance Fine Jewelry?" she asked, her voice quiet. "My shop is in ruins. The front windows are blown out. The bench is covered in shrapnel."

Sebastian reached out, his warm, rough fingers gently tilting her chin upward so she was forced to look directly into his gray-green eyes.

"Your grandfather protected my family's legacy with his life," Sebastian said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You protected mine today. By the time we land at Midway, your shop will be rebuilt. I've already wired fifty million dollars into your family trust account. You can buy every sapphire in Sri Lanka if you want to."

Norah didn't flinch. "I don't want your money, Sebastian."

"I know," he said softly, his thumb tracing the curve of her lower lip with unexpected tenderness. "That’s why you're getting it."

A black helicopter bearing the discreet insignia of a private European aviation firm descended through the fog, hovering over the concrete helipad of the Dutch coastal guard station ahead.