Chapter 8
The click of the deadbolts engaging behind Margaret and Ava sealed the luxury atelier once more. The room was now empty of innocence, leaving only the executioner and the condemned. The bright, cinematic light from the skylights continued to pour down, illuminating the pure white walls and the deep crimson carpet, refusing to grant the traitors the mercy of shadows.
Dominic slowly crouched down in front of Valeria. He balanced effortlessly on the balls of his polished leather shoes. He reached out with a heavily tattooed hand, the refined, sharp designs moving with predatory grace, and gently took Valeria’s left hand.
Valeria trembled violently, her rosy skin entirely blanched with terror. She thought, for a fleeting, desperate second, that he might forgive her.
Instead, Dominic grasped the massive, multi-carat diamond engagement ring he had placed on her finger just two months prior. With a smooth, agonizingly forceful pull, he stripped the ring from her hand, scraping the metal painfully over her knuckle.
Valeria let out a sharp cry, clutching her bare finger.
"This ring," Dominic whispered, holding the diamond up to the brilliant light, "belonged to... my grandmother. It is meant... for a woman of honor."
He casually dropped the priceless ring into the breast pocket of his unbuttoned white shirt. He stood back up, looking down at her with eyes so cold they burned.
"Dominic, what are you going to do to us?" Lucian asked from the floor, his voice a pathetic, gurgling rasp. He tried to push himself up, but one of the white American bodyguards stepped forward and firmly planted a heavy boot on Lucian’s shoulder, pinning him to the carpet.
"You," Dominic said, turning his slow, measured gaze to the older man. "Are going to call... Luca Valenti. Right now."
Lucian swallowed hard. "If I call him, he'll know something is wrong. I'm supposed to meet him at the docks at midnight."
"You are going to tell him," Dominic instructed, his voice low and mesmerizing in its lethality, "that the security codes... have been changed. You will tell him... that you need to hand him... the new cipher... in person. At the airport hangar."
"He won't believe me!" Lucian protested, panic flooding his eyes. "Luca is paranoid! If I change the meeting place, he’ll suspect a trap!"
"Then you had better... be very convincing," Dominic murmured, crouching down slightly to look Lucian dead in the eye. "Because if Luca... does not show up... at that hangar... I will have my men... skin your sister alive... while you watch."
Valeria let out a horrifying, breathless scream, covering her face with her hands.
"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Lucian frantically agreed, his hands shaking as he reached into his tailored suit jacket for his encrypted cell phone.
May you like
Dominic stood up, smoothing the fabric of his trousers. He looked around the ruined, brightly lit luxury atelier. The shattered glass, the spilled perfumes, and the broken displays were a physical manifestation of the betrayal that had infected his syndicate. He was going to wipe it clean.
"Make the call," Dominic ordered. "And remember... your life... is hanging on his answer."
