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The wind off Boston Harbor didn't just bite that October evening; it tore through wool and leather like a blade. Dante Russo didn't feel it. His fingers, calloused from decades of handling triggers, ledgers, and the quiet execution of underworld business, hovered just inches from the rough canvas. / Chapter 7 / 10

Chapter 7 - The Judas WithinDante stepped out into the private study, his expression turning into a slab of granite. Nico stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, holding a leather-bound ledger recovered from Salvatore’s safe.

"Read it," Dante commanded.

"It’s not just Salvatore who knew Elena was pregnant," Nico said, his eyes avoiding Dante's. "Someone inside our own inner circle leaked the hospital schedule. Someone tipped off Salvatore's hit squad about the maternity clinic on Newbury Street seven years ago."

Dante’s heart skipped a beat. "Who?"

Nico handed over a single page torn from the back of the ledger. Written in Salvatore’s neat, meticulous handwriting was a single name and a bank routing number.

Marcus Vance.

Dante stared at the name. Marcus Vance. His own head of security. The man who had stood by his side through every turf war, who had helped him secure Boston after the "death" of his wife, and who had sworn absolute loyalty on a blood oath.

"Where is Marcus?" Dante asked, his voice dangerously low.

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Dante closed his eyes for a single second, the betrayal tasting like ash in his mouth. "He didn't just betray me seven years ago. He’s trying to finish the job tonight."

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