Chapter 10 Leverage

The estate did not sleep.

It waited.

Elena felt it in the way the corridors hummed softly through the night, in the tension coiled behind every guarded doorway. Men moved with purpose now, no wasted steps, no idle chatter. This was not preparation-it was anticipation.

Someone had made a move.

And now Alessandro De Luca was deciding how the board would bleed.

Elena sat in the small sitting room adjoining her bedroom, her hands wrapped around a mug that had long since gone cold. She hadn't been asked to stay there. She hadn't been ordered.

Which meant the decision had already been made.

Alessandro entered without warning, his presence filling the room like a shadow cast by firelight. His expression was controlled, but she had learned to read the cracks beneath the surface-the slight tension at the corner of his eyes, the stillness that preceded violence.

"They called again," he said.

Elena straightened. "What do they want?"

"You."

The word landed heavily between them.

"Alive?" she asked.

"For now."

She nodded slowly. "Then they think they're winning."

"They think I'll trade," Alessandro said flatly.

"And they're wrong."

"Yes."

Silence stretched. Elena studied his face, searching for hesitation, for fear. She found something else instead-resolve sharpened to a dangerous edge.

"You won't give me to them," she said.

"No."

"Even if they kill the guard."

Alessandro's jaw tightened. "That blood is already on their hands."

Elena rose to her feet. "You're lying to yourself."

He turned sharply. "Don't."

"You built this world on control," she continued, undeterred. "But this is the first time control isn't enough. They're forcing you to choose."

"I've chosen," he snapped.

"And what happens when they escalate?" she asked. "Because they will. They'll take another man. Then another. They'll make it public."

His eyes darkened. "I will burn them to the ground."

"And how many bodies will it cost before you reach them?" she demanded.

He stepped closer, towering over her. "You think sacrificing yourself is noble?"

"No," Elena said quietly. "I think pretending I'm not already part of this is naïve."

"You are not a bargaining chip."

"I am leverage," she corrected. "And you know it."

The words hit harder than any accusation.

Alessandro turned away, pacing once, twice. "You don't understand what they'll do to you."

"I understand enough," she said. "Fear is their language. Let me speak it back."

He stopped abruptly. "This is not bravery. It's recklessness."

"Then teach me strategy," she replied. "Instead of locking me away and pretending I don't exist."

The room fell silent again.

Finally, Alessandro spoke. "They want a meeting."

Elena's breath caught. "Where?"

"A neutral site. Old shipping warehouse near the docks."

"When?"

"Tomorrow night."

She nodded once. "Then I go."

"No," he said immediately. "You stay here."

"Then they kill the guard," she countered. "And you lose loyalty."

"I'll recover it."

"At what cost?" she pressed. "Your men already see the cracks. Valeria wasn't subtle."

Alessandro's eyes flashed. "Stay out of her mind games."

"She's not the only one," Elena said. "Others are watching. Measuring how much you're willing to risk for me."

"And what conclusion would you like them to draw?" he asked sharply.

"That you don't sacrifice your people for pride," she replied. "And you don't hide behind me either."

He stared at her for a long moment.

"You want to be bait," he said finally.

"I want to be a participant."

"You could die."

"Yes."

The admission was calm, terrifying in its certainty.

Alessandro moved closer, his voice dropping. "If I take you there, I lose the right to pretend I'm protecting you."

Elena met his gaze steadily. "Then stop pretending."

The decision was made without ceremony.

Plans unfolded rapidly after that. Maps were spread. Routes traced. Snipers positioned. Contingencies layered upon contingencies. Elena listened, absorbing everything, refusing to be sidelined.

She dressed carefully for the meeting-not in finery, not in weakness. Black trousers. A fitted jacket. Her hair pulled back tight.

When she emerged, Alessandro watched her with an expression she couldn't quite name.

"You look like you belong," he said quietly.

"I always did," she replied.

The drive to the docks was silent. The city blurred past the tinted windows, lights flickering like distant stars. Elena felt oddly calm, her fear sharpened into focus.

The warehouse loomed ahead, rusted and cavernous, its emptiness humming with threat.

Alessandro exited the car first, his men fanning out seamlessly. Elena followed, her steps steady despite the weight of every eye upon her.

They entered together.

The captors were already there-three men, faces obscured by shadows. One of them held the missing guard on his knees, bruised and bleeding but alive.

Relief surged through Elena, quickly tempered by dread.

"You came," one man said. "And you brought her."

Alessandro's voice was ice. "Release my man."

"After we talk," the man replied. "Your weakness has become expensive."

Elena stepped forward before Alessandro could stop her.

"I'm not his weakness," she said clearly. "I'm his warning."

The men laughed.

"You think you matter?" one sneered.

"Yes," Elena replied. "Because you're afraid of me."

That drew their attention.

"Fear?" the man scoffed.

"You took a guard to force a meeting," she said. "You didn't kill him. That tells me everything."

Alessandro's gaze snapped to her-sharp, impressed, alarmed.

"You want leverage," Elena continued. "But leverage cuts both ways."

One of the men raised his gun.

Before Alessandro could move, Elena spoke again.

"Kill me," she said evenly, "and Alessandro burns every route you touch. Every ally you rely on. You won't survive the week."

The silence that followed was deafening.

The leader studied her carefully. "You speak like you know him."

"I do," Elena said. "And I know what he does when he stops caring."

Alessandro said nothing-but the truth of her words radiated from him like heat.

Slowly, the gun lowered.

"You're dangerous," the man said.

Elena smiled faintly. "So are you. That's why this ends now."

The guard was shoved forward roughly. He stumbled, then was caught by Alessandro's men.

"No more games," Alessandro said. "You walk away. Tonight."

"And her?" the man asked.

"She stays with me," Alessandro replied.

A beat.

Then the men stepped back, retreating into the shadows.

The warehouse exhaled.

As they drove away, the tension finally broke. Elena's hands trembled now, adrenaline crashing hard.

Alessandro turned to her. "You defied them."

"I spoke their language," she replied.

"You defied me," he corrected.

She met his gaze. "And you didn't stop me."

"No," he admitted. "I watched."

"And?"

His expression softened, just barely. "You were terrifying."

Elena let out a shaky laugh. "So were you."

Back at the estate, as dawn crept faintly across the sky, Alessandro stopped her outside her room.

"You changed the balance tonight," he said.

"So did you," she replied.

"How?"

"You didn't treat me like leverage," she said softly. "You treated me like a partner."

He studied her for a long moment.

"This world will try to destroy you," he said.

"Then let it try," Elena replied. "I'm not alone anymore."

Alessandro didn't deny it.

But somewhere deep within the cartel, whispers had already begun.

Because leverage had shifted.

And the most dangerous thing in Alessandro De Luca's empire was no longer his enemies-

It was the woman who stood beside him.