Chapter 7 - The Master Strategy
I didn't sleep that night.
At 3:00 AM, after ensuring Leo was sound asleep in his crib with two guards stationed outside his door, I walked straight down to Lucian's private office.
The light was still burning beneath the door.
I pushed the door open without knocking. Lucian was sitting behind his heavy oak desk, a bottle of aged scotch half-empty beside him, staring at an array of live security monitors showing the estate perimeter. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the dark ink of a lion tattoo creeping up his chest.
He looked up, surprise flashing across his exhausted face. "Elina? Is something wrong with Leo?"
"Leo is fine," I said, walking into the room and closing the heavy door behind me. "It's your inner circle that's sick."
Lucian's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
I walked right up to his desk, pulling out the small leather planner I had hidden in my cardigan pocket. I slammed it down on his desk, open to the page with Clara's notes.
"Clara wasn't just a boss's wife," I said, my voice ringing with fierce conviction. "She was smart. She noticed discrepancies in your financial ledgers before she died. Look at those entries, Lucian. M.V. Marco Viti."
Lucian stared at his dead wife's handwriting. His jaw tightened so hard I heard the bone click. "Where did you find this?"
"In the nursery closet," I explained. "And an hour ago, I heard Marco trying to convince you to get rid of me. He isn't worried about your safety, Lucian. He's terrified because I look like Clara—and he thinks I know what she knew before he had her killed!"
Lucian slowly stood up. The air in the room grew suffocatingly dense, vibrating with a terrifying, primal rage. The scotch glass in his hand cracked under the sheer pressure of his grip.
"Marco has been with my family for fifteen years," Lucian whispered, his voice dangerously soft. "My father trained him."
"Then his betrayal goes fifteen years deep," I replied stepping closer, taking his hand to carefully remove the cracked glass before it cut his skin. "He sold Clara to the Rossis. And right now, he's planning his next move."
Lucian looked down at our joined hands, then up into my eyes. The icy rage in his expression melted into a startling depth of tenderness.
"You came down here to protect me," Lucian murmured, his thumb lightly tracing the back of my hand. "You knew Marco was dangerous, and you walked right into the tiger's den to tell me."
"I did it for Leo," I breathed, my heart hammering against my chest as he pulled me half an inch closer. "And... I did it for you. You don't deserve to be stabbed in the back by the men you trust."
Lucian let out a low, rough exhale. He reached up with his free hand, his warm fingers cupping the side of my neck, resting lightly against my pulse point.
"You aren't Clara, Elina," Lucian whispered, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my knees tremble. "Clara was quiet. She hated this world. But you... you have fire in your veins. You fight for what's yours."
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"Lucian..." I breathed.
"We set a trap," Lucian declared, his decision made. "We give Marco the opening he's been waiting for. And we crush him and Mateo Rossi once and for all."
