Chapter 4 - The Lethal Warning
Luca picked up the heavy manila envelope. It was thick, unsealed, and felt strangely dense. With a rigid, unyielding hand, he flipped the flap open and dumped the contents directly onto the black glass coffee table.
Three massive stacks of crisp, hundred-dollar bills tumbled out, secured tightly with thick rubber bands. It was easily fifty thousand dollars in untraceable cash.
Luca’s expression instantly darkened into a dangerous, lethal scowl. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the money. This wasn't a gift. This was a payoff.
"What did they pay you to say?" Luca asked aloud into the cold, empty room, his voice dropping into a quiet, terrifying register.
He assumed she was a corporate spy, paid by a rival family to steal documents or plant a listening device. But as he went to push the stacks of dirty money aside, he noticed a small, folded piece of white hotel stationery tucked neatly between the cash.
He pulled the paper out and slowly unfolded it.
The handwriting was erratic, rushed, and pressed so hard into the paper that the pen had nearly torn through the page. It wasn't a confession of corporate espionage. It was a desperate, terrifying warning.
“I’m so sorry. I couldn't do it. Don't drink the champagne. It’s laced with highly concentrated fentanyl. Your uncle Vincent hired me to sedate you so his men could bypass your biometric security. They are already in the building. If I stay, they will kill us both. I’m running to draw them away. Do not look for me. Just survive.”
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Luca stopped breathing. The air in his lungs turned to absolute ice.
👉 The woman Luca thought was a traitor had just sacrificed herself to save his life, and the assassins were already closing in on her.
