Chapter 6 - The Shadow War
The public fall of Caleb Vance was swift, but wounded men in the city rarely went down without trying to burn everything around them.
Three weeks after the gala, Caleb’s business was completely bankrupt. His name was trash in financial circles, and the police were closing in on his embezzlement charges. Desperate, stripped of his pride, and consumed by revenge, Caleb made a dangerous move.
He went to the Moretti family—the rival syndicate that had been trying to breach Darius Villano's control over the city's shipping ports for a decade.
"She knows where Villano keeps his private financial records," Caleb lied to Julian Moretti, the ruthless underboss of the Moretti faction. "She’s staying at his estate. If you take her, you can force Villano to hand over the port deeds."
It was a suicide play, born of pure malice.
On a rainy Thursday afternoon, Mireia was leaving the corporate offices of her newly reclaimed inheritance fund in the city's financial district. Two security guards assigned by Darius accompanied her to the underground parking garage.
As they reached her car, dark sedans blocked the exits.
Armed men in black masks stepped out, guns drawn.
Before Mireia's guards could draw their weapons, they were struck down by heavy blows from behind. Mireia gasped, backing away against her car, reaching into her bag for her phone.
A heavy hand grabbed her arm, slamming her against the vehicle door.
"Don't move, pretty girl," a rugged voice growled.
The door of a black SUV opened, and out stepped Caleb. He looked unhinged, his clothes messy, his eyes bloodshot.
"Caleb?" Mireia hissed, her heart pounding, though she forced her eyes to narrow. "Are you out of your mind?!"
"You ruined me!" Caleb screamed, stepping close, his finger pointing wildly at her face. "You took my money! You embarrassed me in front of the whole city! You think you can just walk away with Darius Villano?!"
"You ruined yourself," Mireia spat, refusing to back down. "You stole from me!"
"Shut up!" Caleb grabbed her shoulder violently. "You're coming with us. Once Moretti has you, Villano will give up the ports to get you back. And then I get my money back!"
Mireia looked at the masked men around her. She knew if she got into that car, she might not survive the night.
She looked Caleb dead in the eye. "Darius isn't going to negotiate with you, Caleb. He's going to kill you."
"He won't touch me while I have you!" Caleb snarled, dragging her toward the SUV.
Suddenly, the lights in the underground garage flickered and died.
Total darkness swallowed the space.
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the sound of rainfall outside and the sudden, sharp click of automatic weapon slides cocking in the dark.
"What the hell?" one of Moretti's men shouted, raising his flashlight.
The beam of light cut through the dark, catching a shadow standing near the garage exit.
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Darius Villano stood there alone, holding a heavy silver pistol at his side. His coat blew gently in the damp draft of the garage. He didn't look angry. He looked like an apex predator that had finally caught its prey in an open field.
"Caleb," Darius said softly, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. "You should have taken the prison sentence."
