Chapter 14 - The Queen's GambitWe relocated to the Underground—a secret, Cold War-era bunker beneath the Russo Tower that not even Dante knew about.
For three days, the city bled. Dante’s ghosts struck everywhere: our supply lines, our casinos, our dockyards. He was bleeding our empire dry, trying to force Victor to surrender.
But I knew Dante’s true game.
I sat at the steel war table, staring at a map of the city covered in red markers. Victor was in the armory, interrogating a captured mercenary.
"He's not trying to conquer the city," I murmured to myself, tracing the locations of the attacks. "He's isolating us. He wants Victor to lose his mind with rage so he makes a mistake."
I pulled out my encrypted phone and dialed a number I had memorized from the files in Marcus’s old archive. It was a dark web broker connected to the Sicilian syndicates.
"Connect me to Dante Russo," I ordered, my voice steady.
Ten minutes later, the line clicked.
"Well, well. The runaway bride," Dante’s smooth voice echoed. "Are you calling to surrender, Elena?"
"I’m calling to make a deal," I lied flawlessly, channeling every ounce of cold authority Victor had taught me. "Victor is losing his mind. He’s going to burn this city to the ground before he lets you have it. You're destroying the very empire you want to rule."
"And your proposal?" Dante asked, clearly intrigued.
"A parley. Neutral ground. Just you and me. No weapons, no guards. I will bring you the master ledger with all of Victor’s offshore accounts. In exchange, you let my brother and me walk away from this life forever."
Silence hung on the line. Then, Dante chuckled.
"The Chicago Opera House. Midnight. Come alone, Elena. If I see a single shadow belonging to my brother, Tommy’s other kidney will be sent to you in a box."
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I hung up the phone. I knew I was walking into a suicide mission. But Dante had one fatal flaw: his ego. He believed I was just a terrified maid trying to escape the mob.
He didn't know I was the Queen. And a Queen always protects her King.
