Page 54 of Intrigue

“They found more than they expected.”

I kneel by the vent, running my fingers over the edges. There’s no dust, no sign of old neglect. They opened it.

My gut tightens.

Bianchi shifts beside me. “They knew what they were looking for.”

That’s what bothers me.

The Morettis have never been subtle, but this isn’t their usual brand of recklessness. This was deliberate. They weren’t just fishing for leverage. They were confirming something.

My chest tightens with the weight of it. Edoardo’s death has always been a fracture line—dangerous but manageable. But this? This isn’t just about revenge or territory.

This is about Selene.

And if they know about—

Yes. I guess it’s time to let them know the real truth. But I’ve always been one to go big.

I push to my feet, jaw locking. “We burn it.”

Bianchi doesn’t blink. “The whole thing?”

“We lure both of them back first. Give them something to chase.” I nod, forcing myself to think, to be precise. “Make them believe they’re getting closer. Then we end it.”

“How?”

I kick open the storage door, revealing stacks of crates, some Marconi shipments, some just junk. “They think this place is a front. Let’s make it one. Spread word we’ve got a big drop tonight. Don would know I’m not bluffing. Lure them in.”

Bianchi hesitates. “And then?”

I grab a can of accelerant from the shelf, the kind we use to torch evidence. “We burn it down. Them with it.”

His eyes widen, but he nods. “Risky. Don Marconi won’t like losing the gallery.”

“Don Marconi can shove it,” I snap, sloshing the liquid over the crates. “He’s the reason she’s in this mess.”

Bianchi nods once, already on his phone. I turn away, fingers flexing, reaching for another cigarette I don’t light.

Selene thinks she still has time to decide. To choose between this life and whatever fantasy she’s built with Cassian.

She doesn’t.

By the time this night is over, her choice won’t matter anymore.

Bianchi standsby the door, his gun loose in his hand. As I work, my thoughts zero in on that night five years ago. Edoardo’s blood pooling on the floor, Selene shaking over him, knife still in her hand. I’d walked in, saw the phone, read the texts. “Tonight. After the announcement. She won’t see it coming.” Her own father signed off on it. I had to move fast and wipe the scene, break her heart, send her running. It worked. Until now.

“They’ll be here soon. How long till they bite?” I ask Bianchi, turning back to him.

We had been able to lure Don here too. I just made it seem like the Don was about to lose his very important shipment I had stolen at the docks earlier. He and some of his men are no doubt on their way now. What he doesn't know is that when he comes here, I’ll let the real truth out.

The Don is coming to kill me. The Moretti’s are coming to kill him.

“Hour, maybe less,” he says, pocketing his phone. “Word’s out. They’ll come.”

“Good.When they show, we hit them hard. No survivors.”

He nods. “What about Cassian?”