CHAPTER 1 ≈ The job
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The alley behind the Iron Viper warehouse smelled like smoke, wet asphalt, and freshly spilled danger — exactly the kind of place Aria Vale had been trained for.
Her boots splashed through a shallow puddle as she walked, hood drawn low, gloved fingers tapping a silent rhythm against her thigh. Her pulse was steady. Her face expressionless. Her stride unbroken.
But her mind…
Her mind was a storm.
Tonight, I walk into the DeLuca empire.
Tonight, I become Vesper for real.
Not the government-created ghost.
Not the brilliant hacker whispered about in the cybercrime underground.
But the woman who would infiltrate the most powerful mafia family on the East Coast — and destroy them from the inside.
She reached the rusted metal door marked only with a snake symbol. Two guards in black stepped forward, guns visible, suspicion sharp in their eyes.
"Name," the first one demanded.
Aria tilted her chin just enough. "Vesper."
Recognition flickered. Fear followed.
Good.
The guard knocked twice, paused, then knocked again — a coded pattern she recognized instantly. The lock clicked open.
"Welcome to the Viper," he muttered.
Aria walked inside.
---
The Warehouse
The interior was a glowing web of servers, cables, and humming power units. A digital beast hidden inside a rundown building — the perfect disguise.
Men and women sat at computer stations, some coding, others running illegal betting ops, others simply looking like they hadn't slept in a decade.
Aria's lips curved faintly.
This place was a playground.
Her playground.
A tall man approached — shaved head, tattooed neck, scar slicing across his brow.
"You're Vesper?"
"Last time I checked," Aria said.
He didn't smile. "I'm Marco. DeLuca's tech overseer. You'll be reporting to me until the boss decides what to do with you."
Translation:
Until Luciano DeLuca decides if you live or die.
"Follow me," Marco ordered.
Aria did, eyes absorbing everything — security camera angles, blind spots, escape routes, server ports, firewall patterns.
Every detail mattered.
Every detail kept her alive.
---
Luciano's Shadow
Marco led her into a smaller chamber filled with monitors. On the largest screen was a paused video feed of a man.
Aria recognized him instantly.
Luciano DeLuca.
Tall. Sharp jaw. Dark hair slicked back with casual arrogance. Eyes like winter steel — cold, calculating, unreadable. A man who didn't need to raise his voice to silence a room.
A man she had been studying for months.
Aria forced her gaze away.
Marco crossed his arms. "Before the boss meets you, I need to see if you're half as good as rumors say. You hack this firewall in under ten minutes, or you're out."
He sat at a console and typed rapidly. A brutal digital fortress appeared on the screen — spikes of encrypted data, shifting keys, dynamic traps.
Aria cracked her knuckles.
"That all?" she asked.
Marco snorted. "Try not to embarrass yourself."
Aria slid into the chair, exhaled slowly, and let her fingers move.
Her hands flew across the keyboard like lightning, unlocking ports, weaving through traps, creating false echoes, slipping into hidden tunnels of code only an elite hacker could even recognize.
One minute.
Three.
At five minutes, the digital fortress shattered.
Marco's jaw dropped.
"You… You actually—"
The monitor went black.
A voice behind them spoke:
"Who hacked my system?"
Aria's pulse flickered.
She turned.
There he was.
Luciano DeLuca in a dark tailored suit, expression unreadable, power rolling off him like smoke from a gun barrel. His presence filled the room — dangerous, magnetic, dominant without effort.
He stepped forward, boots quiet against the floor.
Marco swallowed hard. "Boss, uh… she passed your—"
Luciano raised a hand. Silence fell instantly.
His eyes locked on Aria.
Aria's stomach tightened.
Focus. Stick to your cover. Don't let him see you.
"What's your name?" Luciano asked.
"Vesper."
"Not your alias," he said softly.
His voice was deep, smooth, terrifyingly calm.
"I only go by Vesper here," Aria replied.
Luciano studied her — not her body, not her face, but her mind.
Like he could see the gears turning behind her eyes.
Most men underestimated women.
Luciano DeLuca was not most men.
"Impressive work," he finally said. "Most hackers take twenty minutes to scratch my firewall. You broke it in five."
Aria shrugged, masking the thrill of victory. "It was slow today."
Marco's mouth dropped. Luciano's eyes flickered — amusement? Intrigue? Danger?
He stepped closer.
Too close.
Aria felt every cell in her body sharpen.
Luciano tilted his head slightly. "Tell me something, Vesper… Do you always talk like you're not afraid of me?"
Aria held his gaze. "Should I be?"
Marco looked like he wanted to faint.
Luciano… smiled.
Not friendly. Not warm.
A slow, dark smile that meant trouble.
"For now…" he murmured, brushing past her, "no."
He paused at the door.
"But I suggest you stay interesting, Vesper. Boredom kills faster than bullets."
Aria's breath caught for the first time.
Not from fear.
From instinct.
Because this man was more dangerous up close than any file had warned her.
And he was already curious about her — which was the worst possible outcome.
Curiosity led to attention.
Attention led to suspicion.
Suspicion led to death.
But when his eyes slid back to hers one last time, lingering just a half-second too long, Aria realized something else:
Luciano DeLuca didn't just see her as an asset.
He saw her as a challenge.
And challenges fascinated him.
---
The Briefing
Hours later, Aria sat at her new workstation. A messy pile of assignments, access logs, and encrypted requests lay on the desk. Marco hovered, still rattled from earlier.
"Look," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "The boss doesn't get impressed. Ever. So watch yourself."
"I always do," Aria said.
She powered up the terminal. A message immediately appeared:
REPORT TO OFFICE 3B — NOW.
— L.D.
Aria's stomach tightened.
Already?
This can't be good.
---
Luciano's Office
His office was nothing like the rest of the warehouse. Sleek floors, black marble desk, dim lighting, shelves lined with leather-bound books and old revolvers. Power and silence lived here.
Luciano sat behind the desk, jacket off, sleeves rolled up. His forearms were solid, veins sharp. He typed something on his laptop without looking up.
"Close the door," he said.
Aria did.
He finally lifted his gaze.
Steel met storm.
"Sit."
She sat.
Luciano leaned back, studying her like she was a puzzle he intended to solve.
"I checked your records," he said.
Aria's pulse stuttered — barely. "And?"
"They don't exist."
Aria forced a steady breath. "I like privacy."
"Everyone in my world likes privacy," he said. "But they still have a past."
He stood abruptly, walking around the desk until he was beside her.
Too close again.
Aria didn't flinch.
Good.
He noticed.
"I don't trust ghosts," he said softly. "Ghosts are usually spies."
Her throat tightened.
He's testing you. Not exposing you. Not yet.
"And what do you think I am?" she asked calmly.
Luciano slowly leaned down, one hand bracing the chair behind her. His face inches from hers. His cologne dark and clean and dangerously intoxicating.
"I don't know what you are…" he murmured, voice low enough to cut through her skin.
"But I want to find out."
A shiver crawled up her spine — unwanted, betraying, electric.
Luciano straightened again, mask of composure returning.
"You'll be working directly under me," he said.
Aria blinked. "Under you?"
He gave her a look that made her heart skip.
"In my operations," he clarified.
Then, lower:
"Unless you want the other meaning."
Aria's breath stilled.
Luciano smirked.
"Relax. If I wanted to hit on you, you'd know."
She swallowed. "Why me?"
"Because you're too good to waste," he said. "And because I'd rather have dangerous people close to me instead of hiding in shadows."
His eyes swept over her — not lustful, not possessive.
Analytical.
Strategic.
Predatory.
"I want to see what you do when I give you real power," he said.
Aria's chest tightened.
This was bad.
Very bad.
If she worked directly under Luciano, he'd be watching her every move. Every breath. Every lie.
Her cover could collapse.
But refusing him would raise suspicion faster.
So she forced a nod.
"Fine."
Luciano smiled — slow, satisfied.
"Good. Your first assignment begins tomorrow. A high-level hack. Dangerous. Dirty. Important."
He leaned in again.
"And Vesper… don't make me regret choosing you."
Aria rose to her feet, chin high.
"Wouldn't dream of it."
As she walked out, she felt his eyes on her back.
Heavy.
Hot.
Curious.
Dangerous.
Her heart pounded once the door closed.
I'm in. Deeper than I planned. Closer to him than is safe.
And for the first time since the mission began…
Aria wasn't sure whether she would bring Luciano DeLuca down.
Or whether he would ruin her first.