Chapter 44 #2
Victor doesn't flinch. He maintains his smirk, picking up his wine glass and gently pressing the rim against her lower lip, offering her a taste. "I hear you have a boyfriend," he murmurs, his eyes scanning her face for any sign of deception.
At the mention of a boyfriend, Alicia’s breathe catches sharply in her throat. She pulls back just an inch.
"Its fine," Kai interjects smoothly, cutting through the sudden tension. "A woman this beautiful is bound to captivate other men. Now, it is simply her choice who she decides to keep."
Kai can feel it in the air—Alicia’s guard has completely dropped. She is entirely intoxicated by Victor's presence. She glides around the table, sinking into the red leather sofa right beside Victor.
The security guard behind her steps forward, placing the partnership contract and a heavy Montblanc pen on the table. "Two signatures," she says, her voice returning to its business tone, though her eyes still linger on Victor. "And we are partners."
As Victor engages her in a detailed discussion about the casino's logistics, his voice smooth and distracting, Kai casually slides his phone out of his pocket.
His fingers fly across the screen, deploying a localized intercept script to clone her phone's signal using the data they had already pulled from her social media accounts.
"Tell me," Victor says, shifting his position slightly to block her view of Kai. "Do you have any operations established in America? Or perhaps the other side of Europe? Russia?"
Alicia smiles, shaking her head gently as she signs the first page. "Step by step, Mr. Victor."
Victor lets out a rich, dark laugh that echoes through the quiet VVIP room. "Of course. Step by step."
Before her fingers can wrap around the heavy Montblanc pen to sign the first page, Alicia pauses.
A slow, calculative gleam enters her eyes.
She deliberately slides a diamond ring off her ring finger and lets it drop onto the glass table.
It lands with a sharp click right in front of Victor and Kai, spinning for a brief second before settling into the centre of the glass.
Kai lets out a quiet smirk, leaning back slightly. Victor is right, he thinks. Pretty women have pretty brains.
Kai shifts, tapping Victor's shoulder with a casual, practiced ease. "Well, gentleman," Kai says, his voice smooth, dripping with the feigned deference of a business associate. "Maybe a gentleman needs a pretty woman to discuss the finer details of this arrangement privately."
With a polite nod to Alicia, Kai slides off the deep-red leather sofa and exits the VVIP suite.
The moment the door clicks shut behind him, Alicia’s personal bodyguards take the cue.
They step out of the room as well, sealing the entrance from the outside to afford Victor and Alicia absolute privacy.
For nearly an hour, Kai is forced to play a waiting game in the corridor, under the relentless, watchful glare of the Gambino security detail.
He leans against the velvet-lined walls, checking his device, tracking the progress of the local interception script as the minutes tick away.
Inside, the negotiation goes deep into the night.
When the heavy suite doors finally open again, Victor steps out into the dim hallway. Alicia is right at his heels, her posture entirely relaxed, her guard completely dismantled. She leans in and presses a soft, lingering kiss against Victor's cheek—a silent confirmation of a successful deal.
Kai watches the display, his frustration peaking after an hour of being tracked like a hawk by her security. The moment Victor steps away from the suite, Kai approaches him, his jaw tight.
"It's done, bro," Victor murmurs, his voice a low, steady rumble.
"Can we go now?" Kai grumbles, his voice thick with exhaustion and frustration. "It's too late. It’s almost 3:00 a.m. and I need a bed."
Victor glances down at his watch. "It is late. Let’s move."
They navigate the dark exits of the club to where their transport is waiting.
Victor had already sourced a high-performance motorcycle through an Underworld contact earlier that week.
It is a completely blacked-out machine, stripped of its number plates, entirely invisible to traffic cameras and digital tracking matrices.
Kai swings his leg over the back, sitting behind Victor.
Victor twists the throttle, and the engine lets out a ferocious, guttural roar that echoes through the concrete walls.
He cuts the bike sharply into the narrow alleyways, tearing through the late-night shadows.
Within minutes, the heavy vibrations of the bike soothe Kai's exhaustion; Victor can feel Kai falling half-sleep, his chin eventually dropping to rest heavily against Victor’s shoulder.
Exactly fifteen minutes later, Victor pulls into the hidden parking structure of the hotel Kai had booked for a ten-day stay three days ago.
As the engine dies, Kai slurs in a thick, sleepy voice, "Oh... I am passing out."
"Get off the bike," Victor commands flatly, dismounting in one smooth motion.
Kai stumbles off the seat, his legs heavy as he trudges toward the elevator. Victor follows closely behind, his eyes scanning the empty lobby. They step into the mirrored lift, and Victor punches the button for the fourth floor, targeting room 408.
"You told me before she was a stylist who loved money," Victor says, breaking the silence of the ascending elevator.
"Hmm... hmm..." Kai mutters. His voice is incredibly deep, gravelly with sleep as he leans his head against the handrail, barely conscious enough to keep his eyes open.
"The deal is done," Victor continues his tone practical. "She wants me at her villa tomorrow evening."
"She’s impressed by you," Kai mumbles, a lazy smirk tugging at his lips. "And you’re fucking acting. I know it’s just a performance, but she has no idea. She loves it. The way she dropped that ring... oh God, I actually feel bad for the boyfriend."
"Me too," Victor says, though his face remains a mask of pure ice.
The elevator doors slide open with a soft chime.
They step out into the quiet corridor, their muffled footsteps echoing on the carpet as they reach room 408.
The moment they cross the threshold, Kai kicks off his shoes, rips off his tailored suit jacket, and collapses half-naked across the mattress, asleep within seconds.
Victor doesn't go to bed. He strips out of his gear, takes a swift, freezing shower, and changes into a clean pyjama set. Sitting at the small desk, he bypasses sleep entirely to draft a full encrypted briefing, sending every detail of the newly secured partnership straight to Lucius.
While Kai sleeps like a baby, Victor stays awake, his mind working through a better strategy for tomorrow's villa meeting.
Suddenly, his screen lights up. Kael has sent over a fully reviewed blueprint for the next phase.
Victor analyses the tactical points, satisfies himself with the variables, and finally allows his eyes to close, drifting into sleep.
On the other side of the city, inside the expansive Blackwood estate, the atmosphere is deathly quiet.
Lucius watches the encrypted text line illuminate his phone. He scrolls through Victor's briefing, his expression dark but satisfied, before looking up to discuss the logistics with Kael, who is seated across from him.
The bedroom door opens quietly, and Tessa steps out into the dimly lit living area. She stops, her eyes taking in the sight of both men huddled over the documents scattered across the couch.
"Victor executed everything perfectly," Kael says, turning to Lucius.
A rare, fierce flash of pride breaks through Lucius's cold exterior. "He is my life. I am proud of him."
Tessa walks slowly toward the couch, her bare feet silent on the hardwood. Lucius catches her movement, his gaze softening instantly as he reaches out a hand for her. "Come here, darling."
"Yup, Mrs Blackwood," Kael adds with a faint smile, clearing a spot on the cushions. "Come and join us."
Tessa sinks into the space beside Lucius, her eyes immediately dropping to a stack of old, weathered envelopes resting on the coffee table. "What are those letters for?"
Kael glances at Lucius before answering softly. "Letters that your parents wrote to Lucius’s father, years ago."
Tessa's breathe hitches slightly. She looks at the faded ink. "Can I read them?"
"Yes, of course you can read them," Lucius murmurs, his fingers gently brushing against her waist.
A small, fragile smile touches Tessa's lips.
She reaches out and pulls the first letter from the pile.
As her eyes scan the elegant cursive, the truth begins to unravel.
The words detail how Lucius’s father had quietly assumed financial responsibility for her entire upbringing, handling their expenses from her childhood behind the scenes.
He was the only one, she realizes, her throat tightening as she traces her mother's written gratitude. He was the only one giving money to my mother, making sure I was taken care of.
She reads through them, one by one, the weight of the past pressing down on her chest until the first tear spills over her lashes. Kael notices immediately, silently reaching over to pull a clean napkin from the side of his coffee cup, offering it to her.
"Thank you, Kael," she whispers, her voice trembling as she dabs at her eyes.
Lucius watches her, the sight of her tears twisting something sharp in his chest. He gently catches her hand, pulling the next letter away from her fingers. "Darling, you need to stop here. No more reading letters tonight. Please."
Tessa nods weakly, swallowing the ache in her throat.
"Fine. But those are really old... please keep them safe for me. Please."
She looks into Lucius's dark eyes, her voice cracking with raw emotion.
"I’ve already lost my parents. The only things I have left are the words they wrote. I can't lose them."
Lucius pulls her closer against his chest, wrapping his arms around her securely. He understands completely. Don Blackwood had done a lifetime of horrific, unforgivable things in his first life, but as these letters prove, history is never just black and white.
~