Chapter 10
The click of the deadbolts sent a wave of absolute panic rippling through the wealthy guests. Women began to quietly weep, clutching their expensive jewelry, while the men stood rigidly, calculating their odds of survival. Alexander stood in the center of the room, a dark monolith holding a fragile, filthy child, dictating the fate of everyone present.
"Daddy, I want to go home," Sophia whispered into his collar, her small body exhausted from the adrenaline and fear.
"We are going home, my love," Alexander murmured gently, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Just close your eyes for one more minute. Daddy has to finish his business."
He looked back down at Victoria, who was still cowering in the trash. "You have exactly ten seconds to tell me who authorized the diversion of the Swiss funds. You don't have the routing codes for those accounts, Victoria. Someone on the inside had to sign off on the transfers."
Victoria swallowed hard, her eyes darting frantically toward the heavy velvet curtains at the back of the room. She was trembling so violently that her teeth chattered. "Alexander... if I tell you... he'll kill me."
"If you don't tell me," Alexander replied, his voice devoid of all humanity, "I will leave you in this room with Marco and a pair of pliers. Choose."
Tears streamed down Victoria's ruined face. She realized she was trapped between a ghost and a monster. She opened her mouth, her voice barely a whisper. "It was..."
Before she could speak the name, the massive stained-glass window at the far end of the ballroom shattered violently.
The sharp, deafening crack of a high-caliber sniper rifle echoed through the night. The bullet tore through the bright, vibrant room, completely missing Alexander but striking the marble pillar just inches from Victoria’s head. Showered in stone shrapnel, Victoria screamed and covered her face.
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The bodyguards immediately drew their weapons, shouting orders and forming a protective wall in front of Alexander. The guests dropped to the floor in pure hysterics.
Alexander didn't flinch. He tightened his grip on Sophia, shielding her entirely with his broad body as he stared at the shattered window. The money hadn't just been stolen for bribes; it had been funding a coup. And the man who orchestrated it knew Alexander had finally come home. The war for the Sterling empire hadn't ended in Sicily. It was just beginning.
