Chapter 1 - The Vault
Amara did not walk into her lavish bedroom to cry.
She calmly pulled a plain black duffel bag from the top shelf of her closet.
She bypassed the diamonds, the designer maternity dresses, and the expensive watches Dante had given her to apologize for his absences.
Instead, she walked down the grand mahogany staircase toward Dante’s private basement office.
The security system required a retinal scan and a secondary passcode to enter.
Dante thought he was the only one who knew the override code.
He had forgotten that Amara possessed a photographic memory and had watched his hand movements in the reflection of a glass cabinet three years ago.
The heavy steel door hissed open.
Amara walked straight to the hidden floor safe concealed beneath a Persian rug.
She entered the sequence and pulled out a heavy, leather-bound ledger.
This was not just a book of numbers.
It was the master record of every offshore account, every bribed judge, and every politician in Dante’s pocket.
More importantly, she grabbed the heavy gold signet ring resting beside it.
Without that ring and the ledger, the Five Families would never recognize Dante as the legitimate Capo.
She was taking his empire.
She placed the items carefully into her bag and walked out the back door into the pouring rain.
Thirty minutes later, Dante slammed the door of his office open.
He stared at the empty floor safe with an expression of pure, unadulterated panic.
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His cell phone rang loudly in the silent room.
"She took it," Dante whispered to the man on the other end of the line.
