Chapter 5 A LINE CROSSED

Elena sat at her desk, staring at the screen in front of her. The contents of the V. Case folder were spread out before her-spreadsheets, documents, and scanned notes. Names she recognized. Others she didn't. But one name stood out, appearing more times than she could count.

Lorenzo De Luca.

Her breath hitched. Her father hadn't just been investigating Lorenzo-he had been unraveling the entire De Luca empire.

She scrolled through the files, her stomach tightening with each new discovery. Financial records. Confidential reports. Police statements that had mysteriously never seen the light of day. There were receipts of offshore accounts, names of high-ranking officials receiving bribes, and detailed logs of illicit transactions.

This wasn't just speculation. This was proof. The kind that could bring the De Lucas down if it landed in the right hands.

Her fingers hovered over the trackpad as she skimmed through an old email her father had written but never sent.

"If anything happens to me, Elena, don't trust anyone. The De Lucas own more than just the streets-they own the system. Be careful. This isn't just about me anymore".

A shiver ran down her spine.

She leaned back in her chair, running a hand through her hair. What had her father uncovered that made him a target? And if the De Lucas had silenced him...

Would they come for her next?

The thought sent a wave of unease through her, but she shoved it down. Fear wouldn't bring her father justice. Fear wouldn't stop the De Lucas.

But exposing them? That just might.

She exhaled sharply, staring at the screen as possibilities raced through her mind. She needed to do something with this information-but who could she trust?

Before she could think further, her phone vibrated against the desk, the sharp sound cutting through the silence.

Elena grabbed it, expecting to see Sofia's name. But the second her eyes landed on the caller ID, her pulse spiked.

UNKNOWN NUMBER.

She hesitated, fingers tightening around the device. Then, swallowing her nerves, she answered.

"Hello?"

A long silence. Then-

"You really don't know when to stop, do you?"

The voice was smooth, deep, edged with amusement.

Lorenzo De Luca.

Elena's grip tightened on the phone. He knows.

"And you really don't know when to mind your own damn business," she shot back, masking her unease with defiance.

A low chuckle. "You made it my business the moment you started digging into things that don't concern you."

Elena pushed away from her desk, pacing the small space of her apartment. "Oh, it concerns me," she said coldly. "My father was murdered, and your name is all over his case files."

Lorenzo didn't react right away, but when he spoke again, his voice was quieter-deadlier.

"Be careful where you tread, Vasquez."

Her stomach twisted at the veiled threat, but she refused to let him hear her fear. "Then maybe you should stop trying so hard to keep me from finding it."

A pause. Then, softer, but no less dangerous-

"This is your last warning."

The line went dead.

Elena exhaled sharply, staring at her phone. Her last warning.

Lorenzo knew she had found something.

And if he was calling her personally?

She was getting too close.

Meanwhile...

Lorenzo De Luca set his phone down, his expression unreadable as he leaned back in his chair. The dim glow from his desk lamp cast sharp shadows over his face, but his dark eyes were fixed on nothing in particular.

Across the room, Marco stood with his arms crossed, watching him carefully.

"She's relentless," Marco said. "She won't stop."

Lorenzo exhaled slowly. He had dealt with plenty of nuisances in his time-rivals, law enforcement, traitors-but Elena Vasquez was different. She was stubborn, reckless. And worse, she was smart.

"She found something," he murmured, more to himself than to Marco. "Something her father left behind."

Marco shifted slightly, his tone unreadable. "Want me to handle it?"

Lorenzo's jaw tensed, his fingers tapping lightly against the edge of his desk. "No." His voice was firm. "Not yet."

Eliminating her now would be the easy choice. But easy didn't always mean smart.

For now, she was just a journalist with a file. Dangerous, yes. But not unstoppable. If he played this right, he could find out exactly how much she knew-and who else knew it.

"Elena Vasquez thinks she's hunting me," Lorenzo mused, a smirk ghosting across his lips.

"She doesn't realize... I've already started hunting her."

Marco said nothing, but there was a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.

Elena had crossed a line. She had proof.

And now, whether she realized it or not, she had put herself in the middle of a war she wasn't prepared to fight.

And if she wasn't careful-

She wouldn't make it out alive.