Isabella POV
The morning sun offered no warmth as I stood before the twelve-foot wrought-iron gates of the Meltoni Estate. My new Bergdorf Goodman white suit felt like a second skin, a razor-sharp contrast to the shadows I was about to step into. Above me, the family's ouroboros crest sneered down, and security cameras tracked my every breath.
I pressed the intercom.
"State your business," a voice crackled. Fabrizio, the majordomo. Decades of serving the Meltonis dripped from his arrogant, clipped tone.
"Cipher. I have a ten o'clock appointment with the *Don*."
"There is no appointment. The *Don* does not entertain nobodies," Fabrizio sneered. "Leave before I send the *Enforcers* to remove you. It won't be gentle."
The line went dead.
I didn't flinch. I leaned against the cold iron and pulled out my modified phone. Fabrizio’s arrogance was the perfect excuse to bypass the front door and kick it down instead.
My fingers danced across the screen. The Meltoni security grid was state-of-the-art, which meant it was entirely predictable. Within forty seconds, I was in.
First, the gardens. I triggered the automated sprinkler system. Through the iron bars, I watched three patrolling *Soldiers* in bespoke suits violently flinch as high-pressure water soaked them to the bone.
Next, the audio. I hijacked the estate's internal sound system. I selected "Nessun Dorma"—the favorite aria of the Conti family's old *Don*. A calculated insult. The operatic tenor blasted at maximum volume, echoing through the pristine grounds and vibrating the windows of the main house.
Finally, the kill shot. I bypassed the inner firewalls and pinged Dante Meltoni’s private, heavily encrypted terminal. I attached a thermal image of his wine cellar, specifically highlighting a priceless 1899 Romanée-Conti.
*The temperature is rising, Don Meltoni. So is your grandfather's fever.*
I hit send.
Less than a minute later, the opera abruptly cut off. The heavy iron gates groaned, slowly swinging inward.
I slipped my phone into my pocket and walked into the lion's den.
A furious-looking man with a scarred chest—Luca Verratti, the *Underboss*—was waiting at the massive front doors. He didn't say a word, but his hand hovered over his concealed holster as he escorted me through the sprawling mansion.
He shoved open the heavy oak doors to the library.
The air inside was thick with the scent of old paper, leather, and expensive whiskey. A fire roared in the massive hearth, casting a towering, predatory shadow across the room.
Dante 'The Ghost' Meltoni stood by the flames.
He was even more terrifying up close. Broad shoulders, a charcoal suit tailored to lethal perfection, and eyes the color of a violent storm. He didn't look at my white suit or the fact that I had just humiliated his security team.
"Where is Dr. X?" His voice was a low, gravelly command that demanded absolute obedience.
I held his gaze, refusing to let the sheer weight of his authority crush me. "Dr. X is dead."
The air in the room vanished.
In a fraction of a second, Dante crossed the Persian rug. He didn't draw a weapon; he was the weapon. His large, calloused hand clamped around my jaw, his fingers digging into my skin with bruising force. He tilted my head up, forcing me to look into his merciless gray eyes.
"You better not be playing games with me," he whispered, his breath smelling of mint and dark liquor. The threat of violence radiating from him was absolute.
I didn't struggle. I didn't blink. I let the ice in my veins meet the storm in his eyes.
"Kill me," I said, my voice a dead, even calm, "and your grandfather's last hope dies with me."
His jaw clenched. The grip on my face tightened for a dangerous second.
"Now," I continued softly, "shall we talk about my price?"
Dante stared at me. I saw the exact moment his murderous rage fractured into something else—a dark, calculating intrigue. A woman with nothing had just walked into his fortress and held a knife to his only weakness.
Slowly, deliberately, he released my jaw. He took a single step back, his eyes raking over me, assessing the weapon I truly was.
