---
Valemont Docks – Midnight
The water was still. Too still. Not a single gull cried, not a single tugboat groaned. The moon hung low, bleeding silver over the warehouse roofs, where shadows moved like ghosts.
Dante crouched behind a stack of shipping containers, watching as three black SUVs pulled up beside Dock 17. Men spilled out—heavily armed, suits barely concealing pistols and earpieces. Standard Vulture muscle.
But this wasn't just another exchange.
This was a setup.
One he had baited himself.
He lifted a pair of binoculars. Mikhail Reznov stepped out of the center vehicle, a man Dante hadn't seen in years. Reznov was a Russian trafficker who had once worked with Nico—until the Vultures cut him out and left him for dead in a backroom deal.
Apparently, Nico wanted him back on the payroll. Desperate times.
That made Mikhail a weak link.
Perfect.
Dante watched as the crates were unloaded—likely drugs, weapons, or worse. He snapped a few photos, logging the evidence, then whispered into his earpiece.
"Camera 3, angle. You see the briefcase?"
From a nearby rooftop, a voice crackled back.
"Copy. Got it. You want me to move?"
Dante smirked. "Not yet. Let the snakes coil before we strike."
Tonight wouldn't just be another bloodletting. It would be a message.
And this time, the whole city would hear it.
---
Three Hours Earlier – Aria's Dorm Room
Aria paced back and forth, phone pressed to her ear.
"You're still not picking up," she whispered into the voicemail. "I know you think you're doing this alone, but… I'm not going away. I've read everything about the Vultures. I've read everything about you. And I still believe there's more to you than revenge."
She paused, sighing.
"You saved me twice, Dante. The least I can do is save you from yourself."
She hung up, fingers trembling. Her heart was doing things she didn't have words for—thumping in ways that had nothing to do with fear, and everything to do with him.
She shouldn't care. He was dangerous, violent, haunted. A man with blood on his hands and ghosts in his wake.
But still…
Still, when she closed her eyes, she remembered the way he looked at her—like she was something worth protecting.
And maybe, just maybe… something worth changing for.
---
Flashback – Ten Years Ago
Age 22.
Dante stood in the back courtyard of the Vultures' old estate, watching his wife, Elena, dance barefoot in the rain.
Her laughter rang out like music.
"You're going to catch a cold," he called, smiling despite himself.
She spun toward him, water trailing from her hair. "I've survived you. I think I can survive the rain."
He reached for her, pulling her close.
"You made me believe in something I didn't think was real."
"And what's that?"
"Home."
They kissed.
And then, just like that, the memory shattered—like glass under a boot.
---
Present – Docks, Back to Reality
Dante's expression hardened.
He'd buried Elena and their son in shallow graves—metaphorical and literal. The Vultures had seen to that. Every step he took now was for them. And soon, he'd bring Nico to his knees.
The transaction below was ending. Mikhail shook hands with Nico's proxy—a slick little rat named Santino Velluci—then turned toward his car.
Dante clicked the detonator.
BOOM.
The first SUV exploded in a column of fire. The men scattered, screaming. Chaos erupted.
From above, Dante and his sniper ally—Killian Hart, a former merc turned ghost—opened fire with suppressors. One shot. Two. Three.
In under sixty seconds, half the guards were down.
Dante slid down the cargo netting and sprinted into the smoke.
"Reznov!" he shouted.
The Russian spun, panic in his eyes. "Moretti?!"
Dante tackled him into cover.
"Tell Nico this is what loyalty costs."
Reznov coughed, shaking. "I didn't know! I didn't know—he said you were dead!"
"I was. Now I'm hell with a heartbeat."
He handed Reznov a burner phone. "You want to live? Start recording. Start talking. When the time comes, I'll protect you."
Reznov swallowed. "What do I say?"
"The truth."
---
Across Town – Nico's Rage
Nico Verratti stared at the security feed from the docks, fists clenched tight around a crystal tumbler. The images were hazy, scrambled, but clear enough to see flames, bodies, and chaos.
Falco. Luca. Now this.
And worst of all…
Moretti.
He hadn't just returned.
He was hunting.
"Bring me Carmen," Nico growled.
Marco blinked. "Why her?"
"Because she's the only one left who knows how Moretti thinks."
"And what if she's helping him?"
"Then we put her in the ground too."
---
Carmen's Office – The Warning
Carmen Sorrento stood at her window as two black SUVs pulled up outside her building. She didn't move. She had seen this coming.
When you once shared a bed with a monster like Nico, you never truly stopped sleeping with one eye open.
She lit a cigarette and waited as his goons entered.
"Miss Sorrento," said the taller one, "Mr. Verratti would like a word."
She turned, dragging smoke into her lungs.
"Tell Nico I'll come when I'm ready. And if he sends anyone else to escort me, they won't leave with their kneecaps."
The men exchanged nervous glances.
One made a move.
She drew her pistol faster.
Click.
"Try me," she said, aiming between his legs.
They backed out.
Carmen smiled.
Old dogs, new tricks.
She picked up her phone and dialed a number she hadn't called in a decade.
When it connected, she said only one word:
"Moretti."
---
Killian's Safehouse – Debrief
Blood streaked Dante's knuckles as he scrubbed them clean in the rusty sink.
Killian stood in the corner, watching.
"You keep doing this at this pace, you'll burn out before you get to Nico."
"That's the idea," Dante muttered.
Killian tossed him a towel. "You're not a machine, D. You're a man. One with cracks showing."
"I don't need therapy."
"No, but you need something."
"Like what?"
"Maybe her."
Dante froze.
Killian smirked. "I saw how you looked at the girl. Aria. She's not just a damsel you rescued. She's your anchor—and you know it."
Dante said nothing.
Because deep down, he knew Killian was right.
But anchors don't belong in storms.
---
University Campus – Aria Attacked Again
Later that evening, Aria returned to her dorm to find the door ajar.
Heart pounding, she stepped inside.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then—
A figure lunged from the shadows.
She screamed, fighting back as a masked man grabbed her from behind.
A second figure stepped in—gun drawn.
"You should've stayed quiet, little dove," the man snarled.
Just as the trigger pulled—
CRACK.
The door exploded inward.
Dante burst through, gun in each hand.
In seconds, the two attackers were dead.
He rushed to her side. "You alright?"
Tears streamed down her face.
"I'm fine… you got here just in time."
He helped her up, blood smearing her cheek. "They're escalating."
"They want me gone."
"They want you silenced. That's different."
She looked at him.
"You always show up."
He met her gaze.
"Because you matter."
They stood there for a beat too long.
Then she hugged him—tight, trembling.
And this time, he didn't push her away.
---
End of Chapter Hook
In a dark chamber beneath Valemont City Hall, three men met in secret.
One was a judge.
One was a senator.
And one was Nico Verratti.
"We need to end this," said the senator. "Your problems are spilling into our laps."
"I have it under control," Nico snapped.
"No," the judge said. "You had it under control. Now Moretti is carving a path through your empire."
Nico stood.
"Then I'll give him something to lose."
---