Chapter 2 - The Sealed Penthouse Doors
The heavy mahogany doors of the private dining room locked with a heavy metallic click. The high-rise city lights outside seemed to fade into the background as an suffocating tension filled the air. Eight associates around the table stood frozen, their hands hovering near their coats, staring in shock at the bodyguards who now had guns pointed directly at their heads.
"Alexander, what is the meaning of this?" shouted Marco, the senior associate who had bumped Lucia's elbow. "You're letting a clumsy waitress disrupt a fifty-million-dollar deal?"
Alexander didn't answer Marco immediately. He kept his hand firmly on Lucia’s back, pulling her subtly behind his broad shoulders. His dark hair and sharp mustache caught the warm light of the crystal chandelier as he looked down at the spilled red wine soaking through the legal document.
"Marco," Alexander said softly, his voice devoid of any warmth. "You bumped her elbow on purpose. You wanted the distraction so I would rush my signature."
Marco's face twitched, sweat glistening on his forehead. "That's absurd! She spilled the wine herself!"
Alexander turned his gaze to Lucia. "Tell me again, Miss Grant. What did my loyal associate say in the language of my grandfathers?"
Lucia stood her ground, stepping out slightly from behind Alexander. Her voice was steady, echoing clearly off the glass windows. "He told the man next to him that as soon as you put ink on that paper, the explosive device at the South Pier warehouse would be detonated. He said you would take the blame for the destruction of the syndicate's main shipment."
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Marco pulled his pistol, but before he could raise it, Alexander’s chief bodyguard, Leo, fired a single suppressed shot. Marco dropped to his knees, clutching his shoulder as his gun clattered onto the hardwood floor.
👉 Read PART 3 to see what secret Lucia was hiding about her true identity!
