Chapter 141
Asher’s POV
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The safehouse felt smaller by the day. Not in size, but in the way the walls seemed to press in on us, suffocating and heavy. The silence of the mafia was worse than any threat. We had made the first move, leaked what we could, and forced their hand. But instead of an immediate counterattack, the Don had gone quiet.
And that scared me more than anything.
Isabella sat at the worn wooden table, her laptop open in front of her. The glow from the screen cast sharp shadows across her face. She was focused, scrolling through a list of names, her fingers moving quickly as she jotted notes in a leather–bound notebook. Luca leaned against the counter, arms crossed, his usual mask of indifference slipping just enough for me to catch the tension in his eyes.
“We need to hit them where it hurts,” Isabella said finally.
“We already did,” I muttered.
She shook her head. “Not enough. The bribery, the threats, they’ve done it before, and they’ll do it again. But if we make their own people turn against them?” She tapped a name on the screen. “That’s how we break them.”
I moved to stand behind her, scanning the name she had highlighted. Victor DeLuca.
Luca let out a low whistle. “Now that’s an interesting choice.”
Victor had been a business partner of the mafia for years. He handled offshore accounts, shell companies, the kind of financial gymnastics that kept their empire running smoothly.
“You think he’d flip?” I asked.
Isabella leaned back in her chair. “If he thinks he’s next on the chopping block, yes.”
Luca frowned. “Victor’s smart. He won’t betray them unless he’s sure they can’t protect him.”
“That’s where we come in,” Isabella said. “We make him see that the mafia isn’t as untouchable as he thinks.”
I exhaled slowly. “And how do we do that?”
She smirked. “By setting fire to everything he built.”
Tracking Victor wasn’t easy. He was careful, paranoid, always moving. He never stayed in one place for too long, never left a trail to follow. But Isabella had connections, people who owed her favors, and within hours, she had an address. A penthouse in the city, high–end, discreet, the kind of place where powerful men hid when they wanted to disappear. It was far enough from the usual mafia circles to give him plausible deniability but still close enough to run when things went south. He was playing it smart, but not smart enough.
Luca and I sat in the car across from the building, watching. The street was quiet, too quiet for my liking.
“This is either going to go exactly how we want,” Luca muttered, “or it’s going to get us killed.”
I smirked. “That’s usually how our plans go.”
He rolled his eyes but didn’t argue.
We got out, moving quickly. The lobby was empty, the doorman giving us a bored glance before turning back to his newspaper. Isabella’s contact had already ensured our access, one call, and the elevator opened without question
When we reached the penthouse, I knocked twice. No answer.
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Chapter 141
Luca sighed and pounded harder. “Victor, open the door. We know you’re in there.”
A long pause. Then the sound of locks clicking.
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Victor Romano was older than’t expected, his salt–and–pepper hair disheveled, his eyes bloodshot. He wasn’t the picture of a man in control. He was a man who hadn’t slept in days, who had seen the walls closing in and didn’t know how to stop them.
“What do you want?” he asked, voice hoarse.
“To make you an offer,” I said, stepping inside before he could slam the door. Luca followed, shutting it behind us.
Victor ran a hand over his face. “You think you can threaten me?”
Luca chuckled. “If we wanted to threaten you, we wouldn’t have knocked.”
Victor exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”
I crossed my arms. “No, I think we do. The mafia is unraveling. Your name is tied to them in ways you can’t erase. When they go down, you go down with
them.”
He flinched, just slightly, but enough.
Luca leaned against the wall. “You can let them bury you with them, or you can start talking.”
Victor swallowed. “If I help you, I’m a dead man.”
“If you don’t, you’re already dead,” I said.
Silence stretched between us. Victor looked away, his jaw tight.
“I need time,” he muttered.
“You don’t have it,” I said. “They’re already deciding who to sacrifice. If you wait too long, they’ll make that choice for you.”
His hands trembled slightly as he reached for a glass on the table, but he didn‘
argue.
Luca pushed off the wall. “We’ll be in touch.”
As we left, I could feel Victor’s stare burning into my back. He wasn’t convinced yet. But he was close.
Back at the safehouse, Isabella was waiting.
“Well?” she asked as soon as we stepped inside.
“He’s thinking about it,” I said, collapsing onto the couch.
Luca shook his head. “More like panicking about it.”
Isabella smirked. “Good.”
She turned her laptop toward us. “Because we’ve got bigger problems.”
The screen showed a news article. A headline that sent a chill down my spine.
Sources Confirm Internal Conflict Within Mafia Organization
Luca frowned. “That was fast.”
“I made sure of it,” Isabella said. “I leaked just enough to make them question each other.”
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Chapter 141
The article detailed whispers of betrayal, paranoia growing within the ranks. Some of their own people were considering jumping ship.
“This is what we needed,” I said.
Isabella’s expression darkened. “Maybe. But it also means they’re going to get desperate.”
Luca exhaled. “Desperate means dangerous.”
And then there was the last thing none of us had said yet.
The Don.
He hadn’t made a move. He hadn’t responded to the leaks, the shifting alliances, the growing chaos. And that silence was starting to feel like a noose tightening around our necks.
I looked at Luca. “How long do we wait before we make the next move?”
Luca hesitated. “Not long.”
We all knew the truth.
The Don wasn’t going down without a fight. And when he struck back, it wouldn’t be subtle.
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