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Valemont City – Nightfall
The streets were slick with rain, shimmering with the neon reflection of streetlamps and passing cars. Valemont wore its grime like a tailored suit—sleek on the outside, but rotten in the seams. Every alley hummed with whispered threats. Every light flickered like a heartbeat afraid to stop.
Dante Moretti stood across the street from a parking garage just off Dempsey Avenue—another one of Nico Verratti's assets. The man inside was Luca Benedetti, one of the last links between the Vultures and their old money laundering network.
Luca had been a weasel in silk since Dante's earliest days in the gang. He was soft-handed, oily-eyed, and smart enough to never get his hands dirty. But Dante had learned over the years: it wasn't always the blood on the hands that made someone guilty. Sometimes it was the blood they enabled.
Tonight, Luca would pay for what he had enabled.
---
Inside the Garage
Luca walked with a slight limp, a side effect of a yacht accident he claimed was "heroic." More like drunk. He puffed nervously on a cigar, eyes darting around the dim parking structure, the kind of man who always looked over his shoulder—because he knew something was always behind him.
Dante moved like wind. Silent. Unseen.
He dropped behind Luca as the man reached his car, placed a gloved hand over his mouth, and whispered, "You remember me, Luca?"
The color drained from Luca's face. His cigar fell to the floor.
"D-Dante—?"
"Thought I was dead?"
"I didn't— I never—"
"You never stopped the lie. You never spoke the truth."
Dante pulled him into the car and shut the door.
He leaned in, voice cold. "You knew they were going to hit my family. You did nothing. You even handled the wire transfer. I read your name on the account."
Luca started crying. "I was following orders—Nico gave the greenlight, not me. I swear it. I had no choice!"
"You always have a choice," Dante growled.
He held up a flash drive. "This is your legacy now. Bank records. Safehouse routes. Offshore keys. Everything I pulled from your laptop this morning while you were busy at brunch."
"You hacked me?"
"I bled for ten years. The least I could do was borrow your passwords."
Luca whimpered, pressing against the seat.
"What are you going to do?"
Dante looked him dead in the eyes. "I'm going to make it look like you took your own life. Because if Nico finds out you talked to me, your wife and daughters die screaming."
Tears ran down Luca's face. "Please…"
Dante left him with a single pill bottle and a note that read, "I couldn't live with what I've done."
Thirty minutes later, the body was found slumped in the front seat. Suicide. At least, that's what the reports would say.
---
Elsewhere – The Campus Protest
Aria stood on a small platform outside Valemont University's main building, microphone in hand. Students and faculty filled the quad, holding signs that read:
"STOP THE VIOLENCE."
"CLEAN STREETS, CLEAN GOVERNMENT."
"NO MORE SILENCE."
Aria spoke with fire in her voice.
"For years, this city has turned a blind eye to corruption. To gang control. To fear. We've watched people vanish, businesses fold, and families fall apart. And what have we done? Nothing. We've called it 'just how things are.' But that ends now!"
Applause. Shouts of agreement.
"I was almost another statistic last week. I was attacked. And no one came—not the police, not security, not the system. The only reason I'm standing here is because someone outside the system saved me. That should terrify us all."
She looked up at the crowd.
"We can't change the past. But we can damn well fight for the future."
Another round of applause. Her speech was recorded and shared within hours. By midnight, it had gone viral on local media and student feeds.
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Nico's Headquarters – The Reaction
Nico Verratti watched the clip on his phone, rage simmering beneath his designer suit. His hand clenched around a glass of scotch, veins pulsing.
"She knows too much," he muttered.
Beside him, Marco Renaldi, his consigliere, frowned. "She's just a college girl."
"She's a witness," Nico snapped. "And she's riling up public sentiment. That makes her a liability."
Marco hesitated. "You want her silenced?"
"No," Nico said, eyes narrowed. "I want her scared. Reminded that this city is ours. Make it look random. A warning."
---
Later That Night – Another Attempt
Aria walked home from a late-night study session, earbuds in, heart still buzzing from the protest's success. She didn't notice the van creeping down the block until it was too late.
Two men jumped out, faces masked.
She screamed—but a hand clamped over her mouth.
Then—
CRACK.
A blur of motion. A fist connected with one attacker's jaw, sending him spinning. The other tried to draw a knife but was intercepted by a knee to the gut and a vicious elbow.
Within seconds, both men were unconscious on the ground.
Dante stood over them, breathing hard.
Aria blinked up at him, dazed. "You again…"
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
He looked at her, jaw tight. "Go home. Stay away from cameras. Stay away from rallies. You're drawing fire."
"You watched the video?"
"I watch everything."
"Why do you keep saving me?" she asked softly.
Dante didn't answer. He turned to leave.
But she caught his wrist.
"You don't have to walk alone," she said.
For a second, his face softened.
Then he yanked free.
"I'm not someone you follow," he said coldly. "I'm someone you survive."
---
Aria's Apartment – Later
Aria stared at the image she had found online: the surveillance photo of Dante from years ago. She held it side by side with a blurry shot she took of him tonight.
Same jawline. Same scar over the brow.
It was him.
She whispered, "Dante Moretti… what did they do to you?"
---
Back at the Safehouse – The Planning Begins
Dante returned to the safehouse, slamming the door behind him. His fists were tight. His mind raced.
Aria was in deeper than she realized. Nico wouldn't stop now. And as much as he hated it, Dante knew he couldn't stay away from her.
He opened his laptop.
The screen displayed a web of names, red strings connecting photos and digital profiles. Luca was crossed out. Pike, too.
Next up: Dominic Falco—a hitman still active in Nico's inner circle. Brutal. Loyal. And stupid.
Dante highlighted his name.
"You're next," he whispered.
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End of Chapter Hook
In a dark office downtown, Carmen Sorrento poured herself another drink and watched a screen full of surveillance footage. One image froze her blood.
Aria.
Talking to Dante.
She picked up the phone.
"Yeah… we've got a problem."
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