Chương 5 - The Poisoned Pawn
Cassidy stared at the blade gleaming in the dim light of the closet.
She had spent two years paying Marcus every spare dime she earned.
Now, she realized her massive debt was just a leash used to keep her in the underworld's orbit.
“If you kill me, you get nothing,” Cassidy said, her voice eerily calm.
“Pierce doesn't know who Victor really is, does he?”
Marcus hesitated, his grip on the knife loosening just a fraction.
“Victor is a buyer,” Marcus replied, though he sounded uncertain.
Cassidy let out a dark, humorless laugh.
“Victor is the head of the Bratva’s weapons division, and he has a kill squad waiting outside.”
Marcus’s eyes widened in genuine panic.
“If you want to survive tonight, you will put that knife away and let me do my job,” Cassidy ordered.
She pushed past him and walked back into the blinding light of the dining room.
She picked up a velvet box containing three expensive fountain pens from the host station.
When she returned to table 4, the atmosphere had grown suffocatingly tense.
Dominic had authorized the eighty-million-dollar wire transfer on his tablet.
Victor was smiling, holding up his glass of Château Margaux in a mock toast.
“To a very profitable partnership,” Victor declared.
Natalia picked up her glass, her eyes locking onto Cassidy.
As Cassidy leaned in to hand Dominic a pen, she noticed a tiny white residue on the rim of his crystal glass.
Natalia had poisoned the wine while Cassidy was in the hallway.
Dominic reached for his glass, eager to seal the victory.
Cassidy had to make a choice in a fraction of a second.
If Dominic drank it, he would die, and she would be an accessory to murder.
If she stopped him, Victor would kill her for ruining the assassination.
Dominic raised the glass to his lips.
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Cassidy pretended to trip on the edge of the plush carpet.
She slammed her silver tray directly into Dominic’s arm, sending the poisoned wine shattering to the floor.
