Chương 6 - The Bait
The transition from a twelve-dollar-an-hour maid to a permanent, protected resident of the Costa estate was jarring for Tessa.
She was moved from the drafty servant quarters to a lavish guest suite near Damian's master bedroom.
Her wardrobe of faded scrubs was replaced with soft, expensive fabrics chosen by Damian’s silent assistants.
Yet, despite the luxury, the air inside the fortress felt heavy, humming with the terrifying anticipation of a siege.
For three days, the city remained eerily quiet.
No drive-by shootings, no intercepted shipments, no threats.
Damian knew it was the calm before the storm. Ivan Volkov was a predator who liked to play with his food before he struck.
Tessa spent her days exactly as she had before, reading to Beatrice and feeding her.
But now, she was flanked by two massive, armed guards every time she stepped into the hallway.
She hated the constant surveillance, but she hated the thought of Ivan finding her even more.
On the fourth evening, Damian summoned Tessa to the underground bunker.
She had never been allowed inside the nerve center before.
The glowing monitors cast long, eerie shadows across Damian's sharp features as he sat behind the main console.
"Sit," Damian ordered, pointing to a chair beside him.
Tessa sat down, nervously twisting the fabric of her expensive sweater.
"Why am I here?" she asked, glancing at the screens displaying the perimeter walls.
"Because Ivan made his move," Damian said, tapping a few keys on the keyboard.
A new screen flickered to life, showing a live feed from a security camera mounted inside a dingy, dimly lit diner.
Tessa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
It was the diner where she worked weekend shifts to make ends meet.
The camera showed Ivan sitting in a booth, wearing an immaculate white suit, surrounded by heavily armed Bratva thugs.
He was holding a terrified waitress by the hair, speaking casually to the terrified diner manager.
"He’s looking for me," Tessa whispered, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"He knows you aren't there," Damian replied coldly. "He's sending a message. He will slowly dismantle your old life until you come out of hiding."
Damian turned to look at her, his dark eyes intense.
"I need you to call him."
Tessa froze, staring at Damian as if he had lost his mind.
"Are you insane? If I call him, he'll track the signal!"
"Exactly," Damian said smoothly. "I want him to track the signal. I have routed this phone through a ghost server. It will show your location at an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district."
He slid the encrypted black phone across the desk toward her.
"When he arrives with his kill squad, my men will be waiting in the rafters with sniper rifles."
Tessa stared at the phone, her hands shaking violently.
She was the bait in a deadly mafia ambush.
"You promised to protect me," Tessa said, her voice betraying a hint of betrayal.
"I am protecting you by eliminating the threat," Damian countered softly, leaning closer.
"Ivan has haunted you for years, Tessa. This is your chance to finally cut the string."
Tessa closed her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath.
She remembered the bruises, the stolen money, the sheer terror Ivan had inflicted upon her.
She opened her eyes, a sudden, fierce determination hardening her features.
She picked up the phone and dialed the number she had spent years trying to forget.
It rang twice before Ivan answered.
"Hello, little bird," Ivan purred, his voice dripping with sadistic joy.
"I'm done running, Ivan," Tessa said, her voice surprisingly steady. "Meet me at the old shipyard warehouse on Pier 4. Come alone."
Ivan laughed, a chilling, hollow sound.
"I'll see you soon, my love."
He hung up.
Damian nodded, a lethal smile touching his lips.
"Get Paul," Damian ordered into his radio. "Tell the strike team to move into position."
As Damian stood up to lead the way, the main bunker monitor suddenly went entirely black.
Then the second monitor went dark.
Within seconds, the entire wall of screens shut down, plunging the bunker into pitch blackness.
The heavy steel door locked with a loud, ominous metallic clank.
Damian cursed in the dark, pulling his weapon.
May you like
Ivan hadn't tracked the phone to the warehouse.
He had hacked the Costa security grid, and he was already inside the mansion.
