CHAPTER 3 — “The Man in the Shadows Knew Everything”
Meline's entire body went rigid.
Her hand instinctively covered her stomach.
Every survival instinct screamed at her to run.
Slowly, she turned around.
A tall man stepped out from the darkness near the basement stairs. He looked to be in his early fifties, dressed in an expensive navy overcoat despite the cramped apartment. His silver hair was neatly combed, and his calm blue eyes carried none of the cruelty she had learned to fear.
Still, he had broken into her home.
That alone made him dangerous.
"Who are you?" she demanded, backing toward the kitchen drawer where she secretly kept a small revolver.
The man noticed the movement.
"If I intended to hurt you, Miss Hayes... you would already be dead."
She froze.
He knew her real name.
"My name is Victor Moretti."
She had never heard it before.
"I used to work for Dominic's father."
That made her blood run cold.
Another mafia man.
Another lie.
Another trap.
"I don't care who you worked for."
She pulled the revolver from the drawer and pointed it directly at his chest.
"Get out."
Victor didn't even flinch.
Instead, he slowly removed a worn leather wallet and placed an old photograph on the table.
Meline's eyes widened.
It was Dominic.
But much younger.
Perhaps fifteen years old.
Standing beside a smiling woman with chestnut hair.
His mother.
Victor stood behind them with one hand resting on Dominic's shoulder.
"I helped raise him after his mother died."
Silence filled the apartment.
Victor sighed.
"I also know why he announced his engagement."
"I heard everything."
Meline laughed bitterly.
"You heard him call me a problem?"
"I heard him lie."
She stared at him.
Victor continued quietly.
"Dominic never wanted Seraphina."
"He was buying time."
"He believed someone inside his own organization was feeding information to the Duca family."
"So he convinced everyone—including Seraphina—that she had already won."
Meline's grip tightened around the revolver.
"No."
"I heard him."
"He said he'd handle me quietly."
Victor looked directly into her eyes.
"Because there were microphones inside his office."
Meline blinked.
"What?"
"He couldn't risk revealing how much he loved you."
"He knew someone was listening."
The room suddenly felt too small.
Her breathing became uneven.
Victor slowly reached into his coat.
Meline immediately raised the gun higher.
"Don't."
He carefully removed a tiny electronic device.
No larger than a coin.
"A surveillance transmitter."
He placed it on the table.
"We found three identical bugs inside Dominic's office after you disappeared."
Her knees weakened.
Everything...
Everything she had heard...
Had possibly been staged.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Victor's voice softened.
"He searched for you every single day."
"He hasn't slept more than two hours a night in months."
"He destroyed half his own organization trying to find the person responsible."
Meline whispered,
"Then why didn't he find me?"
Victor lowered his head.
"Because someone inside his family always knew where you were..."
"...and erased every trail before Dominic arrived."
The room fell silent.
There was a traitor much closer than anyone had imagined.
At that exact moment—
A loud explosion shook the entire building.
BOOM!
The basement windows shattered inward.
Dust filled the apartment.
Car alarms screamed outside.
Victor immediately grabbed Meline by the arm.
May you like
"They found you."
"Run!"
