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HE SAW THE BRUISE SHE TRIED TO HIDE—AND THE WHOLE EMPIRE KNEW CHASE WAS A DEAD MAN WALKING! / Chapter 5 / 10

Chapter 5 - "DELETING THE TEXTS WON'T SAVE HIM." CHASE'S DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SELL OUT KATARINA TO A RIVAL FAMILY!

While Katarina slept in the luxurious feather bed of the East Wing, the dark underbelly of Philadelphia was beginning to boil.

In a smoky, dimly lit basement tavern in North Philadelphia, Chase Carter sat at a corner table, a glass of cheap whiskey shaking in his hand. His nose was bandaged, and his left arm was suspended in a crude sling. His face was a map of terror and rage.

"I'm telling you, she has everything!" Chase hissed to the man sitting opposite him.

The man was Leo Marcone, the ruthless underboss of the rival Marcone crime family. The Marcones had been at war with the Servinos for three decades, fighting over the lucrative shipping routes along the Delaware River.

"The girl is his personal assistant," Chase continued, leaning in close. "She handles all his logistics files. She knows the arrival dates for the shipments from Palermo. She knows where he keeps his private ledgers. If you help me get her back, I'll give you her phone backup. I have all her deleted texts, her emails, everything!"

Leo Marcone took a slow drag from his cigar, the red glow illuminating his scarred face. He smiled, a cold, predatory expression.

"You're a pathetic piece of trash, Chase," Leo said, blowing a cloud of smoke into Chase's face. "You let another man take your woman and break your nose, and now you come to me to fight your battles."

"I can get you the files!" Chase yelled, desperate. "Just give me three of your guys. We'll grab her when she leaves his estate. She's weak. She'll do whatever I say if I get her alone!"

Leo leaned back, contemplating the offer. The Marcones had been looking for a weakness in Vittorio’s armor for years. Vittorio was too smart, too careful, and too protected. But this girl... this assistant might be the key to destroying the Servino empire from the inside out.

"Alright, Chase," Leo murmured, extinguishing his cigar in the glass of whiskey. "We'll do it your way. But if you're lying to me about what she knows, I'll let Vittorio have what's left of you. And believe me, his methods are much slower than mine."

Meanwhile, back at the Servino estate, Vittorio was standing in his study, looking at a surveillance feed on his laptop. The screen showed a GPS tracker moving through North Philadelphia—the tracker his men had secretly placed on Chase’s car before letting him go.

Enzo stood beside his desk, his face grim. "He went straight to the Marcones, Don Vittorio. He's selling her out."

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Dr. Mercer looked down at the ultrasound monitor, her fingers moving with practiced ease over the trackball. The quiet hum of the machine filled the room, punctuated only by the rhythmic, heavy breathing of Dorian Cross standing near the door. He hadn't sat down once. His tall frame cast a long, imposing shadow across the sterile room, hand resting near the button of his suit jacket—a posture born of years of constant vigilance.

Dr. Mercer looked down at the ultrasound monitor, her fingers moving wit...

The ambulance siren wailed in the distance, a rising shriek that cut through the rainy night like a knife. I didn't wait for them. I held Arianne against my chest, feeling the terrifyingly erratic rhythm of her pulse, and bolted down the grand mahogany staircase.

The ambulance siren wailed in the distance, a rising shriek that cut thr...

The heavy cabin door hissed shut behind me, sealing in the scent of expensive cologne, manufactured corporate harmony, and betrayal. As I stepped back onto the sun-baked tarmac of the private aviation terminal, the stifling afternoon heat hit me like a physical blow. Behind the thick, tinted glass of the jet's windows, I could see Carter’s silhouette—his jaw set in that familiar, arrogant angle of a man who believed he had just successfully disciplined a disobedient pet.

The heavy cabin door hissed shut behind me, sealing in the scent of expe...

Vittorio didn't look surprised. He reached down and picked up his gold signet ring, sliding it onto his pinky finger.

"I expected nothing less from a rat," Vittorio said, his voice flat. "Let them make their move, Enzo. It is time we put an end to the Marcone family once and for all. And we will use their own greed to trap them."

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