Chapter 5 - The Master Ledger
The silence in the penthouse kitchen became absolute.
"Who?" Dominic’s voice was barely a breath, but the lethal edge in it could have sliced through steel.
"It was Elena, sir," Marcus reported, the line crackling with static. "Your corporate auditor. She was managing the offshore accounts from the downtown office tonight. Raines's men must have tailed her when she left the building. They took her, and they took her laptop with the encrypted master keys."
My breath caught in my throat. Elena. I knew her well—she had desked just down the hall from me on the forty-third floor, a quiet, brilliant woman with a young daughter who always brought homemade cookies to the office.
"If Raines cracks those keys," Dominic said, his jaw locked so tight the muscle pulsed, "he gains access to every shell company, every legal defense fund, and every asset we've built over the last decade. The entire syndicate—and every legitimate business front keeping us above water—gets exposed to federal prosecutors and rival hit squads in twenty-four hours."
"Is she alive?" Dominic asked, his tone dropping into a terrifyingly calm register.
"For now," Marcus said. "Raines sent a burner phone message to my private line three minutes ago. He doesn't want money. He doesn't want territory."
Dominic didn't need to ask. He already knew.
"He wants Penelope," Dominic whispered.
The kitchen seemed to tilt on its axis. My knees went weak, and I had to grab the edge of the marble island to keep from collapsing.
"No," I gasped, the word tearing out of my chest. "No, Dominic, this is because of me. They know you're protecting me. They're using Elena to—"
"Quiet, Penny," Dominic commanded, his voice sharp but steady. He pressed the phone tighter to his ear. "Marcus. Where is the drop?"
"An abandoned warehouse district down by the South Chicago rail yards," Marcus replied rapidly. "Raines says he wants a direct trade. The master ledger keys for your secretary and the unborn child. He gave us until noon today."
Dominic slowly lowered his phone, the screen glowing dimly in the dark kitchen. He didn't look at the device. He looked at me.
The fierce, terrifying possessiveness in his eyes had evolved into something far more dangerous—a cold, absolute fury that threatened to burn the entire city to the ground.
"Dominic, you can't go," I pleaded, stepping toward him, my voice breaking. "It's a trap. If you walk into that warehouse, Raines will have his men waiting with every weapon in the Midwest. He wants to wipe you out."
"Let him try," Dominic said softly.
He reached out, his large, warm hands gently gripping my shoulders, grounding me against the terror that threatened to swallow me whole. His thumb brushed my cheek, wiping away a tear I hadn't realized I was crying.
"For four years, I let people think the Bellano empire was built on violence and fear," Dominic murmured, his dark eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made the rest of the world vanish. "They thought I was just a gangster in a tailored suit."
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He leaned down, pressing his forehead gently against mine, his breath warm and steady against my skin.
"They are about to find out what happens when someone tries to take my family."
