LEX'S POV
The black blindfold felt rough in Lex's hands. The two men stared at her, waiting. Gold-Tooth smiled his nasty smile.
Lex's heart hammered against her ribs. This was a test. A different kind of test. Last night was about respect. Tonight was about fear.
"No," Lex said, her voice quiet but firm.
Gold-Tooth's smile faded. "What did you say?"
"I said no." Lex dropped the blindfold on the counter. It landed with a soft thud. "If Mr. Scardoni wants to talk to me, he knows where I am. He can come here. I'm not putting that on, and I'm not going anywhere with you."
The other man, who had a scar across his chin, took a step forward. "You don't tell the boss how it works."
"Tonight, I do," Lex shot back, crossing her arms. She was terrified, but she remembered what Vito had said. Respect isn't given. It's taken. She was taking back control of her own feet. "I'm here to serve dinner. That was the deal. This isn't dinner."
The two men looked at each other. They hadn't expected this. They were used to people shaking and obeying.
Just then, the door opened again. A cold breeze swept in.
Vittorio Scardoni walked in, alone.
He took in the scene with one glance: his two men standing close to Lex, the blindfold on the counter, her defiant stance. His face was unreadable.
"Paolo. Marco," he said, their names like a quiet whip crack. "What are you doing?"
Gold-Tooth Paolo swallowed. "We were just bringing her to you, Boss. For the talk."
"I said to escort her," Vito said, his voice dangerously calm. "Not to kidnap her. The blindfold was for her protection, so she wouldn't see the location. It was a suggestion, not an order."
He walked past them and stood in front of Lex. He looked at the blindfold, then at her. "You refused."
"Yes," Lex whispered, her bravery feeling small under his gaze.
A slow smile touched Vito's lips. It wasn't a nice smile. It was a look of pure interest. "Why?"
"Because the deal was dinner," Lex said, finding her voice again. "Not a kidnapping. You want to talk? Talk. But I'm not wearing that. I'm not blind."
Vito stared at her for a long moment. Then, he nodded. He turned to his men. "Wait outside. In the car. We'll have dinner here instead."
The two men left quickly, looking embarrassed. The door closed, leaving Lex alone in the restaurant with the most dangerous man she'd ever met.
"You're full of surprises, Miss Costa," Vito said. He pulled out a chair at her brother's table, Table Four, and sat down. "Sit. Please."
It was the 'please' that threw her. Slowly, she sat across from him.
"My men are impatient," he said. "They think with fists, not heads. I wanted to talk somewhere more private than this. But this will do." He leaned forward. "The money your brother left you. Where is it?"
So that's what this was about. "It's safe," she said carefully.
"It's evidence," he corrected. "Of a debt he was trying to hide from me. From everyone. That money was a down payment on a deal that went bad. It belongs to me."
Lex's stomach twisted. Of course. Nothing was just a gift. "So you want it back? Take it. It's under the counter."
"I don't want it back," Vito said. He rested his elbows on the table. "I want you to keep it. Use it to fix this place. But I want you to know it's mine. That every nail you hammer, every piece of glass you replace, you'll know it was paid for with my money. This place will be… connected to me. Do you understand?"
Lex understood perfectly. It was another leash. A nicer, golden leash. He wasn't just owning her time for thirty days. He was making her business part of his world.
"Why?" she asked, the word bursting out of her. "Why are you doing any of this? You could just take the building. You could have had me hurt last night. Why this… game?"
Vito sat back, studying her. For the first time, he looked tired. Not weak, but weary. "Because men like Paolo out there are a dime a dozen. They obey because they are scared. I have enough scared men. I am interested in someone who is not scared when she should be."
He stood up, ending the talk. "Now, I am hungry. And we have an audience." He nodded toward the window. His two men were sitting in the black car, watching. "Cook for me. Whatever you were making for yourself. I'll eat here."
The rest of the night was the strangest of Lex's life. She cooked a simple pasta with garlic and oil, the only thing she had ready. She served it to Vito Scardoni at Table Four. He ate in silence, while his two henchmen sat in a car outside, guarding a waitress and a plate of spaghetti.
He didn't speak. He just ate, looking around the restaurant, sometimes glancing at her as she wiped down the already-clean counter.
When he finished, he stood and walked to the counter. He pulled out his black wallet again.
"For the meal," he said, placing a hundred-dollar bill down. Then, he kept going. He pulled out bill after bill, stacking them neatly on the counter. One thousand. Two thousand. Five thousand dollars.
Lex stared at the pile of cash. It was more money than she had ever seen in one place.
"This is not for the food," Vito said, answering her silent question. "This is for the lesson."
"What lesson?" Lex asked, her voice hoarse.
"You taught my men a lesson tonight. You showed them that fear is a choice. That is a dangerous lesson for men like mine to learn. This," he said, tapping the stack of money, "is my way of thanking you for the trouble that lesson will cause me. And my way of reminding you."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping. "You are brave, Alessia Costa. But in my world, brave people get used to it. Or they die. Be careful which one you become."
He turned and walked to the door. He didn't look back.
Lex stood frozen, staring at the small fortune on her counter. It wasn't a tip. It was a warning. A beautifully wrapped, terrifying warning.
She ran to the window and peeked through the blinds. Vito was standing on the sidewalk next to the black car. Paolo was holding the door open for him.
But Vito didn't get in. He was talking to his driver, a man who was always silent.
The street was quiet. Lex cracked the window open just a sliver, just enough to hear.
Vito's voice, cold and clear, carried on the night air.
"I want to know everything about her," he said. "Where she goes. Who does she see? What she did before this. What she's hiding. I want her life on paper. By dawn."
The driver nodded. Vito finally got into the car. As the car pulled away, Lex let the blind fall shut, her blood running cold. He wasn't just watching her. He was digging into her past. And by dawn, he would know her biggest secret that she was "The Sphinx," the fighter whose final match ended in her brother's death. She had one night before the storm knew everything.