Chapter Twenty - Dimitri
Felix arrives at two in the morning.
I’m still awake, standing at the windows overlooking a city that never sleeps, replaying the night’s events on loop.
Janice in my study, hand hovering over that drawer. The fear and guilt written across her face. The way she’d shattered when I touched her, giving me everything despite whatever plan she’d been considering.
Who gave her that phone? What did they want? How long has this been going on?
Felix lets himself in with the spare keycard, takes one look at me, and pours two drinks without asking.
“You look like hell,” he observes.
“It’s 2:00 a.m. How do you expect me to look?”
“Like you’ve been sleeping instead of brooding.” He hands me a glass. “What happened?”
“What makes you think something happened?”
“You texted me at one thirty asking for any intel on contacts Janice has had in the past week. That’s not a casual request.”
Fair point.
I take the drink, don’t sip it. “Someone approached her. Tried to use her against me.”
Felix’s expression doesn’t change, but I see the slight tension in his shoulders. “When?”
“I don’t know. Recently. Tonight, I caught her in my study about to go through my files.”
“And?”
“She claimed innocence, but it’s a lie.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
Felix settles into the chair across from me, drink forgotten. “Tell me everything.”
I do. The confrontation in the study, Janice’s weak attempts at lying, the way fear had warred with something else in her eyes.
“She’s planning something serious.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I shrug. “It’s not exactly hidden knowledge that she’s unhappy here, is it?”
“What did she tell you?”
“Nothing much.”
Felix gives me a narrow-eyed look.
“I know. I should have pressed for details immediately. Should have extracted every piece of information while she was still raw and willing to talk.” I set my untouched drink aside. “She wouldn’t have told me anything anyway.”
Felix pulls out his tablet, navigating to something. “I have information you need to see. It’s part of why I’m here.”
“Go on.”
“The Zullo syndicate is moving again. Quietly. Pedro hasn’t forgotten the market losses or the public humiliation.”
My jaw tightens. “Pedro holds grudges like some people hold investments. What’s he doing?”
“Positioning. Gathering intel. Making contacts with people who might be useful leverage.” Felix turns the tablet toward me. “One of his trusted men attended Damien’s event. The same event where you brought Janice.”
Cold settles in my chest. “Names.”
“Marco Santini. He’s a mid-level enforcer, but smart. Good at information gathering, better at manipulation.” Felix swipes to another screen. “Security footage shows him near Janice multiple times throughout the night.”
“Near her how?”
“Passing by. Close enough to slip something into her purse if he wanted. Close enough to speak without being overheard.” Another swipe. “At one point, both of them disappeared from camera coverage for approximately four minutes.”
The cold crystallizes into fury. “Where?”
“Hallway near the restrooms. Could be coincidence; she needed to use the facilities, he happened to be passing by. Or—”
“Or he approached her then. Made contact. Gave her the phone.”
“It’s speculation, but it fits the timeline.” Felix closes the tablet. “The question is what he offered her. What would make your wife consider betraying you?”
Freedom. Revenge. Justice for what I did to her four years ago.
A dozen reasons, all of them valid.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “She won’t get anywhere.”
“This time. What happens when they approach her again? She could be working with them right now.”
“They won’t get the chance.”
“You can’t watch her every second.”
“Then I’ll make sure she doesn’t want what they’re offering.” I stand, needing movement.
Felix watches me pace, expression unreadable. “You’re in love with her.”
The words stop me mid-stride. “What?”
“You’re in love with your wife. That’s why you’re not interrogating her. Why you’re giving her the benefit of the doubt. Why the thought of her betraying you looks like it’s tearing you apart.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“It’s true, and dangerous.” Felix stands. “Love makes you vulnerable, Dimitri. It makes you predictable. Your enemies will use it against you.”
“Let them try.”
“They already are. The Zullos targeted her specifically because they saw how you reacted when that man touched her at the event. The entire room saw it. You made your weakness obvious.”
“She’s not a weakness.”
“Then what is she?”
I don’t have an answer. Can’t articulate what Janice has become in the months since I forced her into this marriage. More than a liability. More than an acquisition. More than even the woman who tried to destroy me once and might try again.
“She’s mine,” I say finally. “That’s all that matters.”
Felix shakes his head but doesn’t argue further. “I’ll tighten security around her. Increase surveillance. Make sure no one else gets close enough to make contact.”
“Do it subtly. I don’t want her feeling more caged than she already does.”
“You’re asking me to protect her while making sure she doesn’t notice she’s being protected. That’s nearly impossible.”
“Figure it out. You’re good at impossible.”
He gathers his things, pauses at the door. “Dimitri? When you do talk to her—when you get details about who approached her and what they wanted—don’t let emotion cloud your judgment. We need actionable intelligence, not reassurances.”
“I know how to do my job, Felix.”
“I know you do. I’m just not sure you remember that when it comes to her.”
He leaves, and I’m alone again with my thoughts and the evidence of Janice’s almost-betrayal sitting in a trash can two rooms away.
I should wake her. Should demand answers while the fear of discovery is still fresh, while she’s still raw enough to give me everything.
Instead, I return to the bedroom.
She’s curled on her side, wearing my shirt, hair spilled across the pillow. The moonlight catches the curve of her hip, the soft line of her shoulder. She looks peaceful. Innocent.
Nothing like a woman who was considering betrayal hours ago.
I climb into bed carefully, not wanting to wake her. Pull her against my chest, feeling her settle into the familiar position without waking.
Her heartbeat is steady under my palm. Trusting.
The irony isn’t lost on me. She lies here in my arms, breathing evenly, while somewhere in this penthouse sits evidence of her planned betrayal.
She will betray me.
The certainty settles cold and heavy in my chest. Not tonight, maybe. Not tomorrow. But eventually, when the right opportunity presents itself, when she thinks she’s gathered enough information or the risk is worth the reward—she’ll try.
I’ll have to decide what to do about it.
My phone buzzes. Felix, right on schedule.
Marco Santini’s last known location was Brighton Beach. I have people watching. If he moves, we’ll know.
I type back one-handed, the other still holding Janice.
Find out who he’s working with. Pedro doesn’t make moves without approval from higher up. I want to know who sanctioned the approach.
On it. Be careful. She’s already proven once she’s capable of destroying you. Don’t give her the ammunition to do it again.
I don’t respond. Just set the phone on the nightstand and return my attention to the woman in my arms.
Felix is right, as usual.
Janice shifts in her sleep, making a small sound. Her hand finds mine where it rests against her stomach, threading our fingers unconsciously.
Even asleep, she reaches for me.
The gesture should mean nothing. Sleep is when we’re least guarded, least aware. Her body seeks warmth and comfort without her mind’s permission or participation.
Still. It feels like something.
My phone buzzes again.
Surveillance footage from the event. Santini and Janice in the hallway. Timestamp 22:47. Sending now.
The video arrives seconds later. I watch it three times, analyzing every frame.
Janice exits the restroom, adjusting her dress. Santini approaches from the opposite direction, their collision perfectly timed. He steadies her with a hand on her arm—contact that lasts exactly three seconds. Long enough to pass something small. Long enough to whisper instructions.
She smiles, says something I can’t hear. Thanks him, probably. Then continues down the hallway without looking back.
Professional. Clean. There’s no indication they knew each other before that moment.
Which means the approach was new. She hasn’t been working against me for months—this is a fresh recruitment.
I tell Felix: Enhance the audio. I want to know exactly what was said. And find out where Santini is staying. I want eyes on him 24/7.
Already done. He’s at a hotel in Midtown. Two security, rotating shifts. Want me to bring him in?
I consider it. Grabbing Santini, extracting information through the methods we’ve perfected over years. Learning exactly what the Zullos offered Janice, what they wanted in return.
No. Let him think he’s safe. Let him report back that the approach was successful. I want to know what moves they make next.
You’re using your wife as bait.
I’m gathering intelligence.
From where I’m sitting, you’re gambling with her safety to catch bigger fish.
He’s not wrong. If I let this play out—if I allow Janice to maintain contact with Santini, let her believe she’s successfully hiding her betrayal—I’m putting her directly in the Zullos’ crosshairs.
They’ll want updates. Results. Proof she’s delivering what she promised.
When she can’t provide it, they’ll get impatient. Dangerous.
Or she will provide it, and I’ll watch my empire crumble from the inside out.
Trust me.
I do. But do you trust her?
The question hangs unanswered.
Do I?
I look down at Janice, still sleeping peacefully, her face soft and unguarded in the darkness. This is who she is without armor—vulnerable, beautiful, human.
Tomorrow, she’ll wake and rebuild her walls. Tomorrow, she’ll smile and touch me and pretend everything is normal while planning my destruction.
Tomorrow, I’ll pretend I don’t know.
The alternative is ending this now. Confronting her, extracting the truth, making her understand that betrayal comes with consequences she can’t afford.
Mercy or punishment. Wife or enemy.
The woman I’m falling for or the threat she’s always been.
I press a kiss to her shoulder, feeling her sigh in sleep.
“Choose me,” I whisper against her skin. “When the moment comes, choose me.”
Tomorrow, the real test begins.