Chapter 13 - A Ghost from the PastDante stared at her, his dark eyes narrowing into slits of pure ice. "You."
Sofia looked different—thinner, her skin pale, the arrogance of her past life replaced by a raw, frantic desperation. Yet the venom in her gaze remained entirely intact.
"Hello, Dante," Sofia whispered, her voice trembling slightly in the cold mist. "Did you really think a black-site exile and a severed family syndicate would keep me buried forever?"
"How did you get past the outer sensors?" Dante demanded, keeping the gun steady, his voice devoid of any human warmth. "More importantly, why are you standing on my property when you know I can have you erased from the earth before the sun comes up?"
"Because I didn't come here to fight you, Dante," Sofia said, raising her empty hands slowly to show she was unarmed. "I came to warn you. Or rather... to trade information for my life."
Dante didn't lower his weapon by a millimeter. "You have nothing I want. You lost your leverage ten years ago."
"Did I?" Sofia let out a bitter, humorless laugh, taking a slow step forward despite the gun pointed at her chest. "You think Victor Vance was the head of the snake, Dante? You think because you locked him away, the Vance family empire just dissolved into thin air?"
Dante’s jaw tightened. "Get to the point."
"Victor was just the accountant," Sofia hissed, her eyes locking onto his with terrifying intensity. "The real power—the syndicate that financed the ports, the politicians, and the black-market arms—belongs to someone else. Someone who has been watching you, watching Lena, and watching your precious twins every single day for the past year."
A cold sweat broke out across the back of Dante’s neck, though his face remained a mask of stone. "Name them."
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"Not here," Sofia whispered, glancing nervously around the foggy garden. "They’re tracking me, Dante. If I talk too loud, we’re both dead before dawn. Meet me tomorrow night at the old railway warehouse near South Chicago. Come alone. If you bring your men, or if you tell Lena... you’ll find out what real betrayal looks like."
Before Dante could grab her, Sofia spun around and melted back into the thick fog, disappearing as silently as she had arrived.
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