Chapter 14
"You misunderstand the situation, Morreti," Alessandra whispered, her voice a low, mesmerizing hum that carried more deadly intent than a shouted threat.
She slowly walked around the chair, stepping into the center of the room. "You summoned me here thinking I was vulnerable. You thought that because I purged my own family, I was distracted. You thought you could take my shipping lanes."
Morreti frowned, signaling subtly to his bodyguards standing by the door. "It wasn't a request, Alessandra. You have no leverage."
"Leverage," Alessandra repeated softly, the word tasting like ash in her mouth. She unbuttoned the jacket of her tailored suit, revealing a sleek, glowing digital monitor strapped to her forearm. The small screen displayed a steady, rhythmic green pulse synced perfectly to her heartbeat.
"Directly beneath this warehouse is the primary drainage canal," Alessandra stated, her dark eyes locking onto Morreti with an icy, unforgiving fire. "And currently anchored in that canal is a Romano freighter loaded with three tons of military-grade C4. The detonator is tied to my biometric telemetry. If my heart stops, or if I press this button, this entire building will be vaporized."
The room went dead silent. The five Bosses stared at the monitor on her arm in absolute, suffocating panic. The bodyguards froze, their hands hovering uselessly over their weapons.
"You're bluffing," one of the younger Bosses stammered, his fair skin turning the color of curdled milk. "You wouldn't blow yourself up."
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"I burned my father, my mother, and my sister to the ground because they allowed a child to kick my son," Alessandra said, taking a slow, deliberate step toward the table. "What do you think I am willing to do to men who try to steal my empire?"
Morreti swallowed hard, his aristocratic superiority draining entirely from his face, leaving behind a pale mask of sheer terror. He realized, with sickening clarity, that the woman standing before him was not a fragile doll; she was a predator who had completely outmaneuvered them all.
