His Trusted Men Thought They Trapped the Ruthless Crime Boss — Until a 7-Year-Old Girl Pointed at His Security Screen

"Let her go," Dante repeated, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. He kept his hands visible, his eyes locked on Maria, offering her a subtle, reassuring nod.

Victor laughed harder, pushing the gun tighter against Maria’s head. "Are you stupid? I'm going to kill her, and then I'm going to kill you. But first, I want you to beg. I want you to get on your knees and apologize for treating me like a sidekick for fifteen years!"

Dante didn’t move. He didn’t drop to his knees. Instead, a slow, dark smirk spread across his face. It was the smile of a man who had already won.

"You always had a loud mouth, Victor," Dante said smoothly. "Always bragging. Always needing everyone to know how smart you are."

Victor frowned, his finger twitching on the trigger. "Shut up! Get on your knees!"

"Ten minutes ago, while you were standing outside my safe room," Dante continued, his voice echoing clearly in the quiet foyer, "you confessed to skimming money. You confessed to working with the Cartel. You laid out your whole little master plan."

"So what?" Victor sneered, though a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "You're about to be dead. Who are you going to tell?"

Dante slowly lowered his hands, adjusting the cuffs of his black suit. "I'm not going to tell anyone, Victor. Because they already heard you."

Victor’s face dropped. "What?"

"Protocol Black doesn't just cut the lights and blind the cameras," Dante explained, his eyes turning lethal. "It takes all internal audio from this penthouse and live-streams it to the secure phones of every single syndicate boss, cartel leader, and underboss in this city."

The blood drained completely from Victor’s face. He realized the horrifying truth.

"The Cartel you sold me out to?" Dante whispered, stepping closer. "They despise rats. You just broadcasted to the entire criminal underworld that you steal from your bosses and turn on your friends. You have no allies left. You are a walking dead man."

Victor panicked. His hands shook violently. In that split second of sheer terror, his grip on Maria loosened.