The next morning, Alberto's phone rang while we were reviewing the evidence files.
He glanced at the screen and his expression hardened. "It's Marcus Delroy."
"Tyron's second-in-command? Why is he calling you?"
"Because I've been cultivating him for months." Alberto answered, putting it on speaker. "Delroy."
"Barella." Marcus's voice was tense. "We need to talk. About Mrs. Poltort."
I froze, but Alberto's face remained impassive. "What about her?"
"Tyron thinks you have her. He's planning to hit three of your warehouses tonight unless you return her."
"And if I don't have her?"
"Then he'll assume you killed her, and this becomes a full-scale war." Marcus paused. "Which, between you and me, might not be the worst thing."
Alberto's eyes met mine. "Interesting perspective for a second-in-command."
"Let's just say recent events have made me reconsider my loyalties. Tyron's becoming unstable. Paranoid. He's convinced everyone is plotting against him."
"Is he wrong?"
Marcus laughed darkly. "No. But he doesn't need to know that yet. Look, I'm calling because I want to make a deal. You help me take over Tyron's organization, and I'll make sure you get what you want."
"Which is?"
"Revenge for your sister. I know what Tyron did to her. I was there."
The temperature in the room dropped.
"You were there," Alberto repeated, his voice deadly quiet.
"I didn't pull the trigger. But I didn't stop it either. That's something I have to live with." Marcus's voice was heavy. "Let me make it right."
"How?"
"Meet me tonight. The old shipping yard on the east docks. Midnight. I'll bring Tyron's personal files, the ones he keeps hidden. Bank accounts, blackmail material, everything. In exchange, you give me proof that Hixia has been stealing from him."
Alberto looked at me, raising an eyebrow in question.
I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote: It's a trap.
He nodded but spoke into the phone. "How do I know you won't bring Tyron's entire army?"
"Because if I wanted you dead, I'd have told Tyron where your safehouse is. The one in the Marino district."
My blood ran cold.
"You've known where I am?"
"For three days now. I have someone inside your organization, Barella. Just like you have someone inside Tyron's." Marcus's voice held a hint of amusement. "We're not so different, you and I."
"What do you want, Marcus? Really?"
"I want Tyron gone. I want his empire. And I want to survive the transition." He paused. "And I want Mrs. Poltort alive. She's carrying Tyron's heir. That baby is valuable leverage."
Alberto's hand clenched into a fist. "She's not for sale."
"I'm not buying. I'm proposing an alliance. She testifies against Tyron, I take over his organization, you get your revenge, and she gets her freedom. Everyone wins."
"Except Tyron."
"Except Tyron," Marcus agreed. "So? Do we have a deal?"
"I'll think about it."
"Don't think too long. Tyron's planning something big. And from what I'm hearing, it involves the wine cellar and a very permanent solution to his wife problem."
The line went dead.
I stood up, pacing the room. "We can't trust him."
"I know."
"He could be working with Tyron. This could be a trap to draw you out."
"I know that too." Alberto closed his laptop. "But he's right about one thing. Tyron is planning something. If Marcus knows about the wine cellar threat, then it's already in motion."
"Mrs. Chen warned me about that yesterday. Hixia suggested it to Tyron."
"Your claustrophobia." Alberto's jaw tightened. "She's trying to break you completely before killing you."
"She won't get the chance."
"No, she won't." He stood and walked to the window, looking out at the city. "But we need to accelerate our timeline. If Marcus is telling the truth about having someone inside my organization, then we're not as safe here as I thought."
"So what do we do?"
Alberto turned back to me. "We go to the meeting. But on our terms."
"That's insane."
"Maybe. But Marcus has something we need. Those personal files could be the final piece we're missing. And if he's serious about turning on Tyron, we can use that."
"And if he's not? If it's an ambush?"
"Then we'll be ready." Alberto pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. "I'm bringing twenty of my best men. Snipers on the surrounding buildings. Escape routes planned. We go in prepared for war."
"I'm coming with you."
"Absolutely not."
"Alberto—"
"Morry, you're pregnant and you've been starved for days. You're not going anywhere near that meeting."
"It's my revenge too," I said sharply. "My life he destroyed. I deserve to be there."
"You deserve to survive this." Alberto's voice softened. "Please. Let me handle the dangerous parts. Just this once."
I wanted to argue, but the exhaustion hit me suddenly. He was right. I wasn't strong enough yet for a confrontation.
"Fine," I said. "But you wear a wire. I want to hear everything."
"Deal." He walked over and placed his hands on my shoulders. "I promise you, Morry. When this is over, you'll get your chance to face them both. But right now, I need you safe."
"Why?" I asked quietly. "Why does it matter so much to you?"
Alberto's dark eyes searched my face. "Because somewhere between rescuing you from that basement and watching you refuse to break, you stopped being just a tool for revenge."
"Then what am I?"
He stepped closer, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "Someone worth protecting."
The air between us charged with something I wasn't ready to name.
Before I could respond, his phone buzzed with an incoming message.
He glanced at it and his expression darkened. "It's from my contact inside Tyron's estate. Hixia just ordered the wine cellar prepared. And she's telling everyone you'll be found dead by morning, an apparent suicide."
"She's moving fast."
"Because she knows we have evidence. Marcus must have told her I helped you escape." Alberto's voice turned grim. "Which means Marcus is definitely working both sides."
"So the meeting tonight—"
"Is definitely a trap." He smiled coldly. "Good thing I excel at turning traps against their makers."
He pulled up a map on his laptop, marking positions around the shipping yard.
"Here's what we're going to do," he said. "We're going to give them exactly what they want. A meeting, a confrontation, a chance to eliminate me."
"And then?"
"And then we're going to show them what happens when you underestimate Morry Vaslus and Alberto Barella."
For the first time since my wedding anniversary, I felt something other than fear or rage.
I felt hope.
"Let's destroy them," I said.
Alberto's smile was sharp and dangerous. "With pleasure."
