Chapter 3 3

Seraphina POV

The glowing cherry of Silas Vance's cigarette burned through the freezing dark, a silent testament to my damning mistake. He had seen everything.

Before I could even step away from the rusted porthole, the heavy metal door of my cabin clicked shut. I spun around, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Silas stood in the cramped space, the shadows clinging to his dark trench coat. He had moved without a single sound-*The Ghost*.

My hand shot under the lumpy mattress, my fingers wrapping around the cold hilt of my hunting knife.

"I wouldn't," Silas murmured, his voice a smooth, lethal drawl. His eyes, dark and obsessively sharp, dropped to the blood drying on my faded cotton dress. "Sloppy work with the floorboards, Fia. But the anchor? Inspired."

"Get out," I hissed, raising the blade.

He didn't flinch. Instead, he took a step closer, the scent of rain and expensive tobacco filling the stifling room. "If I scream, the crew comes. If I go to the police, you hang. But we both know the real threat is your family. Should I tell the Moretti *Capo* that his niece is butchering his assets?"

My grip on the knife tightened until my knuckles turned white. A family inquiry meant the basement, the torture tools, and a slow, agonizing death.

Silas reached into his coat. I braced for a gun, but he tossed a thick manila envelope onto the blood-stained mattress.

"Fifty thousand in bearer bonds," he said casually. "Consider it an investment. You have a fire in you, Fia. A vengeance I recognize. I'm going to help you burn it all down, and in return, you let me watch."

It wasn't a request. It was a collar. I stared at the fortune, then at the madman offering it. I needed resources to destroy Damien Falcone, and Silas was handing them to me. I slowly lowered the knife, sealing a fragile, dangerous deal with the devil.

Hours later, the freighter groaned against the Chicago pier. Freezing rain lashed at my face as I stepped onto the gangway. The docks were a chaotic mess of shouting men and flashing lights.

Chicago Police.

"Nobody leaves!" a burly CPD officer barked, shoving past a deckhand. "Commissioner Vance's orders. We're searching every cabin for contraband."

Panic seized my throat. My cabin. The blood.

The officer marched toward me. "Step aside, girl. Which room is yours?"

"You don't want to do that," I said, keeping my voice steady. "I am under the protection of the Moretti family."

The cop sneered, unimpressed. "Moretti means nothing to the Commissioner. Move."

He reached for my arm. I didn't shrink back. I channeled every ounce of the *Mafia Queen* I had been forced to become in my past life. I squared my shoulders, lifting my chin with aristocratic disdain.

"Touch me," I said, my voice dropping to a glacial, carrying pitch, "and you will be explaining to Damien Falcone why you laid hands on his future wife."

The officer froze. The name *Falcone* hung in the freezing rain like a loaded gun.

"The New York Five Families do not take kindly to disrespect," I continued, my eyes boring into his. "Search my room, and I will personally have Damien call the Mayor's office to discuss your career."

The cop swallowed hard, the color draining from his face. He weighed the risk of a mafia war against a routine raid. "My apologies, Miss," he muttered, stepping back into the rain.

Damien POV

The rain drummed a steady, muted rhythm against the roof of the black Duesenberg Model J. From the shadows of the pier, I watched the scene unfold through the rain-slicked window.

"She's a liability, Boss," Angelo grunted from the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel. "Using the Falcone name to bully beat cops. We should terminate the arrangement before she causes a real diplomatic incident."

I leaned back against the plush leather, a faint smile touching my lips. "You're missing the beauty of it, Angelo."

"Beauty?"

"She tested the waters with the Moretti name first," I pointed out, my eyes fixed on the slender girl standing tall in the freezing rain. "When that failed, she didn't panic. She dropped the Falcone name with the exact precision of a loaded weapon. How does a country girl from Wisconsin understand the power hierarchy between Chicago and New York so flawlessly?"

Angelo frowned, shifting in his seat. "She's still a problem."

"She's a puzzle," I corrected softly. The dull, transactional nature of this arranged marriage had just vanished, replaced by a sharp, sudden intrigue. "Call my mother, Angelo. Tell her any talk of breaking the engagement is indefinitely suspended."

"Boss-"

"Drive," I ordered, my gaze lingering on Seraphina until the shadows swallowed her.

Angelo put the car in gear, the heavy engine purring as we pulled away from the pier, heading straight into the dark, treacherous streets of Chicago.