The night I brought my pregnant mistress into our Manhattan mansion, I expected my wife to scream.

The heavy silence of the private jet was broken only by the steady hum of the engines.

I stared at the Department of Justice immunity agreement in my hands, the date glaring back at me like a physical threat.

Exactly one week from today.

I looked up at Eleanor. My wife sat across from me, sipping a glass of sparkling water, entirely unbothered by the fact that I had just discovered her ultimate betrayal.

"You aren't taking us to a new life in Europe," I said, my voice eerily calm despite the rage boiling in my chest. "You are taking me to a black site."

Eleanor set her glass down on the mahogany table.

"I am taking you to a secure federal holding facility in Geneva, Lucian," she corrected smoothly.

"The US Attorney has jurisdiction there through an international task force. You will be processed, debriefed, and held safely away from the syndicate."

I let out a harsh, humorless laugh.

"Safely? You think the federal government can protect me from the remnants of Hector's cartel, or from Arthur's loyalists?"

"They don't have to protect you," Eleanor replied, her eyes devoid of any sympathy. "They just have to keep you locked in a concrete box until you testify against the five major families in New York."

I stood up, the sheer audacity of her plan pushing me over the edge.

I reached for the weapon I had holstered at my waist, fully intending to force the pilot to turn the plane around.

Before my fingers even brushed the grip of my gun, a cold, heavy barrel was pressed directly against the base of my skull.

"Don't do it, boss," Victor said from behind me.

His voice was deadpan, completely devoid of the fierce loyalty he had shown me for seven years.

I slowly raised my hands, realizing the depth of my own foolishness.

"You really flipped him, Eleanor?" I asked, staring at my wife. "You bought the most dangerous man in my organization?"

"I didn't buy him," Eleanor answered softly. "I gave him his life back. Victor's sister has been facing twenty years for a RICO charge you let her take to protect your shipping lines."

She opened a folder next to her and slid a document across the table.

It was a full federal pardon for Victor's sister.

"I traded her freedom for his absolute loyalty to me," Eleanor explained. "Victor works for the Justice Department now. And currently, his only job is making sure you arrive in Geneva alive."

Victor removed the weapon from my holster, tossing it carelessly onto an empty seat.

"Sit down, Lucian," Victor ordered, pressing his gun harder against my neck.

I sank back into the leather seat, staring at the woman I loved, the woman carrying my child.

She had dismantled a billion-dollar criminal empire in less than twenty-four hours, without firing a single bullet herself.

She had weaponized my mistresses, my finances, and my own men against me.

"You are going to spend the rest of your life in a supermax prison," Eleanor said quietly. "But our son will grow up with a clean name, free from the blood you spilled to build your throne."