Chapter 21
AXEL
"Boss, we've got a problem."
Viktor's standing in my office doorway at six in the morning, and I know from his expression this isn't good.
I set down my coffee. "What kind of problem?"
"The warehouse on Pier 9. It's on fire."
I'm on my feet before he finishes the sentence. "How bad?"
"Bad enough. Fire department's there now, but the structure's compromised. We're looking at a total loss."
"Casualties?"
"Two guards injured. Nothing life threatening, but they're at the hospital." He follows me as I grab my jacket and keys. "Boss, this wasn't an accident. They found accelerant. Multiple ignition points. This was coordinated."
My jaw clenches. "Who?"
"That's the question. Could be the Volkovs retaliating for the failed hit on Luca's estate. Could be someone testing us while we're dealing with the Luca situation. Or..."
"Or it could be Luca himself." The thought sits like lead in my stomach. "Sending a message."
"It's possible. He's got the resources. And the motivation."
I think about it as we head to the garage. Luca knows my operation inside and out. Knows my weak points, my supply chains, where I keep what. If he wanted to hurt me, he could do real damage.
But would he? Twenty years of friendship, destroyed by a confession and a woman. Is that enough to turn him into an enemy?
The warehouse is still smoking when we arrive. Fire trucks surround it, hoses spraying water onto what's left of the structure. The building's gutted, roof collapsed, walls barely standing.
Two million in merchandise. Gone.
Sergei meets us at the perimeter tape. "Whoever did this knew what they were doing. Hit us at shift change, when security's weakest. In and out in under ten minutes."
"Security footage?"
"Cameras were disabled first. We've got nothing."
Of course not. Professional job. Planned, executed perfectly.
"Pull everyone in," I order. "I want every contact we have on the street asking questions. Someone saw something. Someone knows who's behind this."
"Already on it."
I stand there watching my warehouse burn and realize how exposed I am. Aurora's at the estate. Pregnant. Vulnerable. If someone's coming after me, they'll go after her next.
"Double security at home," I tell Viktor. "No one gets within a mile of that estate without clearance."
"You think they'll go after her?"
"I think they'll go after anything that hurts me. And she's the easiest target."
The thought makes my blood run cold.
We spend the next six hours coordinating damage control. Moving merchandise from other warehouses. Rerouting shipments. Calling in favors to keep operations running smoothly.
By the time I get back to the estate, I'm exhausted and furious.
And Aurora's in my office.
"What are you doing in here?" I ask, too sharp.
She looks up from my desk, where she's got files spread across every surface. "Working."
"On what?"
"Your books." She gestures at the laptop in front of her. "Viktor mentioned you lost a warehouse this morning. I'm calculating the financial impact and figuring out how to redistribute resources."
I blink. "Viktor told you about the warehouse?"
"He mentioned it when I asked why everyone was running around like the house was on fire." She turns back to the screen. "Turns out, something actually was on fire. So I'm helping."
"Aurora, this isn't your problem."
"It is if I'm living here. If I'm part of this." She doesn't look up. "Besides, I'm good with numbers. Let me be useful."
I move closer, looking over her shoulder at the spreadsheet. It's comprehensive. Detailed. She's already mapped out contingency plans I hadn't thought of.
"You did all this in six hours?"
"I work fast when I'm not being micromanaged." There's an edge to her voice. We're still fighting from yesterday. Still angry.
But she's right. The work is good. Better than good.
"The shell company structure here," I point at the screen. "This is clever."
"I know. That's why I designed it." She finally looks at me. "You're not the only one who's good at financial manipulation, Axel. I've been cleaning my father's money since I was twenty-two."
"I know, but..."
"But what? You didn't think I could handle yours?" Her eyes flash. "I have a degree in forensic accounting. I know how to make money disappear and reappear legally. I know how to structure deals that the IRS can't touch. And I'm really fucking good at it."
"Show me," I say, pulling up a chair beside her.
She does. For the next two hours, we work through the numbers together. She's brilliant, seeing patterns and opportunities I missed. Her suggestions for restructuring after the warehouse loss are innovative, aggressive, and exactly what we need.
"This is good work," I admit finally.
"I told you I was useful."
"You did." I lean back in my chair. "I should have listened."
"Yes, you should have."
Awkward silence fills the room, then she clears her throat.
"I want to keep doing this," she says. "Working with you. Using my skills instead of sitting around being decorative."
"You were never decorative."
"That's what you've been treating me like. Something precious to lock away."
"That's not..."
"It is." She saves her work and closes the laptop. "I'm not fragile, Axel. I'm capable. And if I'm going to be here, I need to be doing something."
She's right. I've been so focused on keeping her safe that I forgot she's more than just someone to protect.
"Alright," I say. "Tomorrow, Viktor briefs you on the full operation. You get access to everything. All the books, all the businesses, all the accounts."
Her eyes widen. "Wait… E-Everything?"
"You want to be involved? Then be involved. Properly." I stand. "But Aurora, this means you're in it. Fully. You'll be part of my organization."
"I understand."
"Do you? Because once you're in, there's no leaving. You'll know too much. Be too valuable. Every enemy I have will see you as a target."
"They already do. Because of the baby. At least this way, I'm a target who can defend herself with information."
She's not wrong.
"Alright. We'll start tomorrow."
She nods, gathers her things to leave. At the door, she pauses.
"The warehouse fire. Do you think it was my father?"
The question I've been avoiding all day.
"I don't know. Maybe."
"If it was..." She swallows hard. "If he's coming after you, that's my fault. I'm the reason he hates you now."
"No. I'm the reason he hates me. I slept with his daughter, got her pregnant, then lied to his face for weeks. That's on me, not you."
"We both made choices."
"We did. And now we both live with the consequences."
She leaves, and I'm alone with my thoughts again.
The warehouse attack sits heavily on my mind. Two million in losses. Two guards injured. And I still don't know who's responsible.
Luca's the obvious suspect. He has motive, means, and intimate knowledge of my operations. But would he really go this far? Start a war over a woman?
Over his daughter, maybe. If he sees me as the man who ruined her.
My phone rings. Unknown number.
I answer. "Yeah?"
"Axel Santego?" The voice is unfamiliar. Male, older, with an accent I can't place.
"Who's asking?"
"Someone who knows your warehouse burned down today. Someone who knows you've got Don Luca's daughter in your bed. Someone who's very interested in both those facts."
Ice floods my veins. "Who the fuck is this?"
"A concerned party. You've made powerful enemies, Mr. Santego. Taking that girl was a mistake."
"I didn't take her. She came willingly."
"Doesn't matter how it looks to those watching. What matters is that you've created chaos. Broken alliances. Made yourself vulnerable." A pause. "We'll be in touch."
The line goes dead.
I stare at the phone, mind racing.
Not Luca. This voice was wrong. Too detached, too calculated. Luca would be furious, emotional. This caller was cold. Professional.
Someone else is playing games. Using the situation with Aurora to create opportunities for themselves.
The question is who.
I find Viktor in the security center, monitoring feeds from around the estate.
"We've got a new problem," I tell him. "Someone just called me. Knew about the warehouse, knew about Aurora. Implied they're watching."
Viktor's expression hardens. "Trace the call?"
"Unknown number. Burner, probably."
"Could be anyone. Volkovs, the Italians, even the Irish crew from the north." He pulls up a map on the screen. "You've got a lot of enemies, boss. Any one of them could be using this Luca situation to move against you."
"Or it could be someone new. Someone we don't even know about yet."
"That's worse."
"I know."
I think about Aurora upstairs, working on my books, integrating herself into my operation. Making herself more valuable and more vulnerable with every hour she spends here.
"We need to end this," I say. "The uncertainty. The not knowing who's coming after us or from where."
"How do you propose we do that?"
"By taking the fight to them. All of them. Anyone who thinks I'm weak right now because of the Luca situation needs to learn otherwise."
"That's aggressive."
"It needs to be. We show strength, we eliminate the threat, we make it clear that Aurora is under my protection and anyone who touches her dies." I meet Viktor's eyes. "No more defense. We go on offense."
"What about Luca?"
"What about him?"
"He might be behind the warehouse fire. If we start a war with everyone else, and he's not involved, we're making more enemies than we need to."
He's right. I need to know if Luca's behind this before I start burning down the city.
"Get me eyes on Luca," I order. "I want to know where he is, what he's doing, who he's talking to. If he's planning something, I want to know before it happens."
"And if he is behind it?"
Then I have to decide between my oldest friend and the woman carrying my child.
Not much of a choice, really.
"Then we deal with it," I say. "But carefully. Luca's dangerous. If he's turned enemy, we can't underestimate him."
Viktor nods and gets to work.
I spend the rest of the evening in my office, making calls, positioning pieces, and preparing for whatever comes next.
Around midnight, Aurora appears in the doorway.
"You're still working," she observes.
"So are you, apparently."
"Couldn't sleep." She comes in, sits in the chair across from me. "I heard about the phone call. The unknown caller."
"Viktor told you?"
"He mentioned it. Said someone's watching us."
"They are. But we don't know who yet."
She's quiet for a moment. "This is because of me, isn't it? Because I'm here."
"This is because I have enemies who see opportunity in chaos. You're not the cause. You're just the excuse they're using."
"That's a distinction without a difference."
"Maybe." I set down my pen. "Aurora, I need you to understand something. This life, my world, it's violent. Dangerous. People die. And now that you're part of it, you're at risk too."
"I know."
"Do you? Really?" I lean forward. " it's one thing to know intellectually. It's another to live it. To wake up every day wondering if someone's going to try to kill you to hurt me."
"I lived through my mother's murder. I know what violence looks like."
"That was one incident. This is constant. Ongoing. For the rest of your life, as long as you're with me, you'll be a target."
"Then teach me how to survive it." Her eyes are steady. "Stop trying to protect me from reality and teach me how to navigate it."
She's right. Again.
I've been so focused on keeping her safe that I haven't given her the tools to keep herself safe.
That changes now.
"Alright," I say. "Tomorrow, Viktor starts training you. Self-defense, weapons, threat assessment. You're going to learn how to protect yourself in this world."
"Good."
"And you keep working with me on the business side. Learn the operation inside and out. Know where the money comes from, where it goes, who our allies and enemies are."
"I can do that."
"I know you can."
We sit there in the quiet office, and for once, we're not fighting. Not arguing. Just existing in the same space without friction.
It's strange. Peaceful, almost.
"I should let you work," she says finally, standing.
"Aurora."
She pauses at the door.
"You were right earlier. About being useful. About being more than just someone to protect." I meet her eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't see that sooner."
She nods. "Thank you."
After she leaves, I sit alone in my office, staring at the files and screens and endless work.
The warehouse attack. The mysterious caller. Luca's silence. Aurora's integration into my world.
It's all coming to a head. I can feel it.
And I need to be ready.
For whatever comes next, I need a plan. A real one. Not just reactive defence, but proactive strategy.
I think about Aurora upstairs. About the baby growing inside her. About the life we're building in this violent, dangerous world.
And I make a decision.
I know what I need to do