Everyone at the Gala Thought the Mafia Boss’s Wife Was Too Soft for His World—Until His Trusted Lieutenant Betrayed Him, Armed Men Closed In, and Vanessa Crossed the Ballroom in One Heel to Show Them Exactly What Damien Moretti Had Never Thought to Ask

"Hello, Marco," Vanessa said, dropping smoothly from the shipping container to the concrete floor ten feet away, her weapon never wavering. "You're looking old."

Vance let out a low, disbelieving laugh. "Vesper. They said you died in Vienna. They said you retired to the countryside."

"I did retire," Vanessa said, taking two steps forward, her boots clicking softly on the damp concrete. "Until you decided to hire a pathetic lieutenant to ruin my dinner."

Luca, scrambling backward on his hands and knees, stared at Vanessa in sheer terror. "What... what are you talking about? Who is she?"

"Shut up, you idiot," Vance spat without looking at Luca. He kept his eyes locked on Vanessa. "You married Damien Moretti? The syndicate Don? You, Vesper? The woman who spent ten years putting men like him in federal cages?"

"I married the man I loved," Vanessa corrected coldly. "And unlike you, Marco, Damien actually has a code."

A heavy iron door at the back of the warehouse swung open with a slow, grinding screech.

Damien stepped into the light. His black coat was wet with rain, his expression carved from granite, his weapon held low at his side.

Luca turned his head, saw Damien walking toward him like a vengeful ghost from the grave, and let out a strangled gasp. "No... no, I shot you! I saw you fall!"

"You shot my shoulder, Luca," Damien said, his voice echoing through the vast space like thunder rolling across a valley. "Eleven years I brought you into my home. Eleven years I fed your family, paid your debts, and called you brother."

Damien stopped five feet from Luca, looking down at his former lieutenant with a look of profound, icy disgust.

"You didn't just betray me," Damien said softly. "You put a bounty on my wife. You brought armed men into a room where she was standing."

"Damien, please!" Luca wept, pressing his back against the steel container, clutching his hands together in desperate prayer. "It was Vance! Vance approached me! He forced my hand! He threatened my family!"

"Vance didn't pull the trigger at the Ashford," Vanessa said quietly from the side. "You did, Luca."

Vance slowly took a step backward, eyeing the dark water of the bay visible through the open loading bay doors thirty feet away. "Vesper... this isn't your fight. Let me take the case and walk out. I'll give you fifty percent of the Zurich assets. You can leave this mob boss and go anywhere in the world."

Vanessa didn't even look at Vance. She kept her pistol pointed at his chest.

"Damien," she said softly. "He's trying to reach the detonator in his left pocket for the thermal charge on the table."

Vance’s eyes flashed with anger. He lunged for his pocket.

CRACK!

Damien fired.

The heavy bullet caught Vance in the right shoulder, spinning him around and slamming him against the staging table. The thermal detonator rolled harmlessly across the concrete.

Vanessa walked over, stepped on Vance's wrist until he groaned in pain, and kicked his concealed sidearm away into the water. She reached down, picked up the heavy black case, and secured it under her arm.

"The case is secure, Don Moretti," she said smoothly.

Damien walked up to Luca, who was trembling uncontrollably on the floor. Damien didn't raise his gun. He simply looked down at the man who had been his brother.

"Cassian is outside with the transport," Damien said quietly. "He's going to take you to the basement at Pier 4. You have two hours to write down every name, every account, and every corrupt officer you gave to Vance."