Desperate men
Chapter 38: Desperate Men
Viktor Romano was dying.
The realization had become impossible to ignore.
Every morning his chest hurt.
Every night he struggled to breathe.
Every doctor told him the same thing.
Slow down.
Reduce stress.
Prepare.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Viktor Romano had never prepared for anything in his life.
The old mafia boss sat alone in his office staring at the Chicago skyline.
The city belonged to Lorenzo now.
Not officially.
Not yet.
But everyone could feel it.
The shift.
The change.
The beginning of a new era.
The betrayal.
The passage-of-time betrayal.
Undefeated.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
Immediately.
"Come in."
One of his captains entered.
Nervous.
Sweating.
Terrified.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The man handed over a folder.
Then took two steps backward.
Reasonable.
Very reasonable.
Because nobody wanted to deliver bad news to a dying king.
The captain cleared his throat.
"We lost another shipping route."
Silence.
Immediate silence.
Viktor opened the folder.
Read it.
Then read it again.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because the numbers were worse than he'd expected.
Millions.
Gone.
Partners abandoning him.
Investors disappearing.
Territory shrinking.
The empire was bleeding.
And everyone knew who was holding the knife.
Lorenzo Vitale.
The realization made something ugly twist inside his chest.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
Something worse.
Jealousy.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because Lorenzo still had time.
Still had youth.
Still had a future.
And now...
He had her.
Across the city, Amara Queen sneezed.
Immediately.
The betrayal.
The being-talked-about betrayal.
Undefeated.
The surgeon sat inside her office reviewing surgical schedules while trying to ignore the jungle of flowers Lorenzo had sent.
Unfortunately...
The flowers refused to be ignored.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
One nurse walked by carrying a vase.
Then another.
Then another.
The entire clinic smelled like spring.
Amara hated it.
Mostly.
Possibly.
Not really.
The traitor.
The complete traitor.
A knock sounded.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Lorenzo entered.
Immediately.
Like he owned the building.
The audacity.
The complete audacity.
His eyes found hers instantly.
Of course they did.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"You got the flowers."
Silence.
Amara stared.
Then stared harder.
"Half of Chicago got the flowers."
The mafia don smiled.
Immediately.
The traitor.
The complete traitor.
"I was aiming for subtle."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Amara actually laughed.
A real laugh.
Warm.
Uncontrolled.
Dangerous.
The smile that appeared on Lorenzo's face afterward was enough to make several nurses immediately leave the hallway.
Smart.
Very smart.
Then his phone rang.
The smile vanished.
Instantly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo answered.
Listened.
And slowly became terrifying.
Again.
A recurring problem.
A very recurring problem.
Amara watched.
Interested despite herself.
The betrayal.
The curiosity betrayal.
Undefeated.
The call ended.
Silence.
"What happened?"
Lorenzo looked at her.
Then away.
Then back again.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because he was debating whether to tell her.
A mistake.
A terrible mistake.
Amara noticed immediately.
Naturally.
"What."
The single word carried surgical levels of threat.
Lorenzo sighed.
Immediately.
The universal sound of a man losing an argument before it starts.
"Romano moved money."
Silence.
"Lots of money."
A pause.
"Offshore."
Another.
"And he liquidated several assets."
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Amara frowned.
Then frowned harder.
Because suddenly...
The pieces fit.
The realization hit immediately.
Dangerously.
"He's preparing for something."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Lorenzo looked at her.
The king.
The strategist.
The predator.
And knew she was right.
Again.
The betrayal.
The always-being-right betrayal.
Undefeated.
Across town, Victoria Moreau was having the exact same realization.
The specialist stood inside her hotel suite staring at financial reports.
Romano's finances.
Romano's movements.
Romano's decisions.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
And every single one pointed toward the same conclusion.
A man preparing for the end.
The problem with dying kings wasn't that they were weak.
The problem was that they stopped caring about consequences.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Victoria picked up her phone.
Then hesitated.
A rare occurrence.
A dangerous occurrence.
Because she was considering something she'd never considered before.
Warning the target.
The betrayal.
The professional betrayal.
Undefeated.
The realization irritated her.
Deeply.
Unfortunately...
The thought refused to leave.
Because for the first time in years...
This wasn't just business anymore.
And somewhere deep inside, Victoria suspected that if Viktor Romano made his next move...
People were going to die.
A lot of people.
Including people she unexpectedly didn't want harmed.
Back at the clinic, Amara's phone buzzed.
Immediately.
Unknown number.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The surgeon answered.
Without hesitation.
Without caution.
Without mercy.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then a familiar voice.
Soft.
Elegant.
Dangerous.
"Dr. Queen."
Absolute silence.
Amara sat up straighter.
Immediately.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Victoria Moreau continued speaking.
Calmly.
Carefully.
Urgently.
For the first time.
"You need to leave the clinic."
Silence.
The room froze.
Lorenzo immediately noticed the change in her expression.
Immediately.
Dangerously.
"What happened?"
Amara held up a finger.
Never taking her eyes off the wall.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
On the other end of the line, Victoria exhaled slowly.
Then said the four words that changed everything.
"Romano has lost control."
And suddenly...
Everyone's worst fear became reality.
End Chapter 38