Chapter 26
Vargas stared down the barrel of Alessandra’s suppressed weapon, his mind racing for an exit strategy that didn't exist. The freezing air of the meatpacking plant seemed to swallow the silence between them.
"You can't kill me, Alessandra," Vargas rasped, trying to muster a bravado he no longer felt. "The East Coast coalition is backing me. If I disappear, they will wage a war that will tear your syndicate apart. They want the shipping lanes, and they have the money to fund an army."
Alessandra didn't flinch. Her dark eyes remained locked onto him with an icy, unforgiving fire. She slowly lowered the gun, placing it on a nearby crate, but her posture remained perfectly balanced and lethal.
"You think the East Coast families care about you?" Alessandra asked softly, her American accent crisp and sharp. "They used Julian to lure me out to Montana. When that failed, they left him to bleed out on the floor. They are using you to hold Chicago, Vargas. And they will discard you the moment you become a liability."
Vargas swallowed hard, the brutal truth of her words piercing his arrogance. He was a pawn in a much larger game.
"What do you want?" Vargas muttered, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
"I want the East Coast coalition exposed," Alessandra stated, her voice dropping into a dangerous whisper. "I want the names, the offshore accounts, and the routing numbers they used to fund your coup. You are going to sign a full confession detailing their involvement, and I am going to leak it to the federal authorities."
"If I do that, I'm a dead man," Vargas scoffed, shaking his head. "The coalition will have me assassinated in prison."
"If you don't do it, you are a dead man right now," Alessandra countered, her pretty, adorable features hardening into a mask of pure lethality. "I will put a bullet in your head, burn this building to the ground, and tell the East Coast families that you stole their money and fled to South America. They won't avenge you, Vargas. They will hunt you."
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Vargas looked at the cold, unyielding sovereign standing before him. He realized he was trapped between a firing squad and a federal cell. He slowly reached for a pen.
"Give me the paper," Vargas whispered, entirely broken by the absolute power of the Romano Boss.
