Chapter 1 - The Whisper
I stood entirely frozen in the doorway of my own kitchen.
My hand was already gripping the cold steel of the loaded gun hidden beneath my tailored coat.
The blood drying on my cuff felt like a heavy reminder of the violent world I lived in.
For fourteen agonizing months, I had been tearing the criminal underworld apart looking for my wife's killer.
I had tortured rivals, destroyed entire syndicates, and burned million-dollar warehouses to the ground.
Now, my silent daughter was telling a stranger that the monster was standing inside my own home.
I looked at Grace, the young housekeeper I had barely paid attention to since hiring her.
Her face was as pale as a ghost.
I demanded to know exactly what Sophie had whispered to her.
Grace glanced nervously toward the long, dark hallway behind me.
She stepped closer to me, shielding Nora with her body.
She whispered that Sophie had named the man who murdered Isabelle.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs.
I asked her for the name.
Before Grace could open her mouth, heavy footsteps echoed on the marble floor behind me.
I spun around, drawing my weapon in a fraction of a second.
Standing at the end of the hall was Dante, my most trusted underboss and my childhood best friend.
He had a strange, unreadable smile on his face.
He asked me why I had my gun drawn inside the house with my children.
I kept the barrel aimed directly at his chest.
I told him that we had a serious security breach.
Dante chuckled softly, a sound that made my blood run cold.
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He slowly reached inside his dark suit jacket.
He told me that the only breach in this house was the one he was about to create.
