Chapter 5 - The Snake in the Grass
The peace we found on the terrace didn't last long. Three days later, a betrayal struck from within a sector we thought was completely secure.
My cousin Petra, who had been staying at an apartment in the city under the watch of Aleandro’s men, went missing on her way home from work. The news reached us during breakfast, delivered by a visibly shaken security chief.
"They hit the transport van two blocks from her gallery," the chief explained, his head lowered. "Professional job. No casualties, but they took the girl and left a message."
He placed a small, bloody wedding invitation on the table. It was the original invitation to my wedding with Dario, but across my name, someone had written in thick red ink: A trade. The cousin for the wife. Midnight at the northern docks.
I stood up from the table, my breakfast completely forgotten, a cold dread seizing my chest. "Petra... Oh god, Petra has nothing to do with this. He’s going to kill her."
Aleandro stood up beside me, his face turning into a mask of pure stone. The warmth he had shown me over the last few days vanished, replaced by the terrifying aura of the Mancini boss. "He won't kill her yet. She is his only leverage. If he kills her, he knows I will wipe out his entire family line without hesitation."
"We have to give him what he wants," I said, my voice rising in panic, grabbing Aleandro’s arm. "I'll go to the docks. I'll exchange myself for her. I can't let her die because of me."
Aleandro grabbed my shoulders, his grip tight enough to anchor me. "Listen to me, Julia. Look at me."
I looked up at him, tears blurring my vision.
"You are never going back to Dario Dragna," Aleandro said, each word hitting like a hammer. "If I give you to him, he will kill Petra anyway just to punish you, and then he will destroy you. I do not bargain with snakes. I crush them."
"But how do we save her?"
"He wants a meeting at the northern docks because he thinks he has the tactical advantage there," Aleandro explained, turning to his security team. "He thinks the Commission's neutrality ruling means I won't bring heavy numbers. He’s wrong. Gather the full vanguard. We are going to the docks, but we aren't trading anything. We are ending this."
He turned back to me, his expression softening just a fraction. "I need you to stay here, Julia. With thirty armed guards inside the house. I will bring Petra back to you alive. I swear it on my life."
"No," I said, shaking my head, my jaw setting with a determination I didn't know I possessed. "I'm coming with you."
Aleandro frowned. "Absolutely not. It's a war zone."
"Dario wants me there. If he sees your vans arrive without me, he might panic and kill Petra immediately before you can breach the perimeter," I argued, stepping closer to him. "Put me in an armored vehicle in the back. Let him see my face through the glass. Buy your men the time they need to encircle him. Let me be the distraction, Aleandro. Let me help you finish him."
Aleandro stared at me, his eyes searching my face for any sign of weakness or hesitation. He found none. A slow, proud smile spread across his lips, dark and beautiful.
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"You are a dangerous woman, Julia Voss," he murmured, his hand reaching behind my neck to pull me into a brief, fierce kiss. "Fine. You come with me. But you stay in the armored car until I say otherwise. If a single bullet touches your vehicle, my men will pull you back to the estate."
"Deal," I said.
