Chapter 6 - A Viper in the Ranks
|
"Finish that sentence, Marcus, and it will be the last breath you ever draw."
The voice came from the double doors like the crack of a whip in a frozen cemetery.
Dominic Bellini stood in the entryway, dressed in a sharp charcoal three-piece suit, his hands resting casually inside his pockets.
Behind him stood two hulking security operatives, their jackets unbuttoned, their eyes locked onto Marcus’s spine.
The temperature in the library seemed to drop ten degrees in an instant.
Marcus stepped away from Emma immediately, raising his hands in a mocking gesture of surrender.
"Relax, Dominic," Marcus said with a forced chuckle that reeked of nervous sweat.
"I was just acquainting myself with the new help."
"You were threatening a member of my personal household," Dominic replied, his voice terrifyingly calm.
He walked into the room with slow, predatory grace, not even glancing at Marcus as he approached Emma.
Dominic stopped beside her, his dark eyes scanning her face to ensure she was unhurt.
"Did he touch you?" Dominic asked Emma directly, ignoring his lieutenant entirely.
"No," Emma answered clearly. "He only reached for the books."
Dominic turned his gaze back to Marcus, the cold wrath in his eyes capable of turning stone into ash.
"You arrived without an invitation, Marcus."
"I came to report on the Pier 42 development," Marcus said quickly, trying to regain his footing.
"The city inspection was approved this morning, and the offshore freight contracts are secured."
Dominic walked over to the desk and picked up a single sheet of paper—the very invoice Emma had decoded.
"Pier 42 was demolished by the city eight months ago, Marcus."
Marcus went completely rigid, the color draining from his face until his skin resembled spoiled milk.
"Someone has been feeding you lies, Dominic," the lieutenant stammered, glancing frantically between Emma and the ledger.
"You're listening to a common maid over a man who bled beside your father?"
Dominic closed the distance between them until he was towering over his traitorous underboss.
"This woman knows more about honesty in a single ledger than you have shown in ten years of service."
Dominic leaned close to Marcus’s ear, his voice dropping into a deadly, private whisper.
"Two million dollars funneled through the Cayman accounts."
"Another four million sent to the Moretti family in Manhattan to purchase black-market ammunition."
"Did you really believe I wouldn't see the noose you were preparing for my neck?"
Marcus swallowed hard, realizing that every single secret scheme he had orchestrated was laid bare on the desk.
"Dominic, listen to me—"
"Get off my property," Dominic commanded, cutting him off with absolute finality.
"If your feet touch the grounds of this estate after noon today, my men will not ask for your explanation."
Marcus backed out of the library slowly, his eyes burning with venomous hatred toward both Dominic and Emma.
When the heavy doors clicked shut behind him, the tension in the room remained thick enough to choke on.
"He will not go quietly," Emma whispered, her heart racing as she looked at Dominic.
"He will try to kill you before you expose him to the other families."
May you like
Dominic looked down at her, a dark, dangerous smile touching his lips.
"Let him try," Dominic answered softly. "He has no idea what I am willing to burn to protect what is mine."
