Chapter 4 - The Price of Truth
The acrid scent of gunpowder hung heavily in the air as Marcus quickly secured the perimeter, locking the heavy doors of the Sapphire Dining Room from the inside and checking the pulses of the fallen men.
I remained seated against the velvet pillar, the old leather journal clutched so tightly to my chest that my knuckles were entirely bloodless. My mind was racing a mile a minute. The ten million dollars Dominic had offered as a mocking joke suddenly felt less like a lottery win and more like a death sentence.
Dominic crouched lower, resting one forearm on his knee. He didn't look like a mob boss preparing to execute an inconvenient witness; instead, he looked like a predator who had just stumbled upon a rare, highly valuable treasure.
"You read the code," Dominic stated, not as a question, but as a proven fact. "You translated pages that my best linguists couldn't crack in a month. And more importantly... you saw something on page three that made Constantine panic enough to start a firefight in my own club."
I swallowed hard, my throat dry as sandpaper. I knew that lying to a man like Dominic Russo was a fast track to the bottom of the East River. But telling the complete truth meant opening doors I had spent a decade trying to keep bolted shut.
"It was a name," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the hum of the ventilation system.
Dominic raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. "Whose name?"
"Viktor Vance," I replied, meeting his obsidian gaze directly for the first time. "The man who murdered my father in Marseille twelve years ago."
A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Dominic’s features. He wasn't expecting a personal vendetta hiding behind the shy, unassuming demeanor of his waitress. He leaned back slightly, rubbing his jaw with a thumb while he processed the information.
"Viktor Vance," Dominic murmured, tasting the name on his tongue. "Constantine’s primary enforcer and financial auditor in Eastern Europe. If Vance's name is tied to this ledger, that means Constantine’s entire operation—every shell company, every bribe, every dirty politician on his payroll—is documented right here in this book."
Dominic stood up smoothly, offering a large, strong hand down to me.
I stared at his hand for a second. Taking it meant stepping into his world, crossing an irreversible line from which there was no turning back. But looking down at my torn apron and remembering the piling hospital bills for my mother, I realized I had already crossed that line the moment I spoke up.
I placed my hand in his. His grip was firm, warm, and secure as he pulled me effortlessly to my feet.
"You saved my life tonight, Amelia," Dominic said, dusting off a speck of imaginary lint from his sleeve. "If Constantine had managed to slip away with that book without realizing its contents were compromised, or if he had eliminated us all, he would have retained absolute leverage over every syndicate leader on the East Coast, including me."
"I didn't do it to save you," I said honestly, my voice regaining a spark of defiance. "I did it because I couldn't stand by and let him walk away with the secrets that destroyed my family."
Dominic let out a short, approving chuckle. "Spoken like a true survivor. I respect that. No fear, no unnecessary dramatics."
He turned and gestured toward the private elevator hidden behind the mahogany paneling of the dining room.
"Marcus, clean this mess up and ensure the authorities don't look too closely at The Sterling tonight," Dominic commanded without looking back. "Amelia, you're coming with me. Your shift as a waitress is officially over."
"Where are we going?" I asked, suddenly feeling a surge of caution as I clutched the journal tighter.
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Dominic stopped at the open elevator doors and turned his head, his dark eyes gleaming with a mix of ambition and lethal intent.
"We are going to dismantle Constantine Volkov’s empire from the inside out," Dominic said smoothly. "And as for that ten million dollars I promised? Consider it an advance. If we find Viktor Vance through this book, I’ll double it."
