Chapter 6 – [THE DEADLY ALLIANCE]

Nico stared at the address hidden inside my father’s watch.

“This is the address of the Volkov family’s private club,” Nico said, his jaw locked tight.

I looked at my mother, who looked just as confused. “Mom, how did that get in Dad’s watch?”

“I don’t know, Hannah,” she said, her voice shaking. “The men who broke in… one of them tore through the bedroom. He must have hidden it there before Nico’s men arrived.”

Answer one: Veronica wasn’t acting alone. She was colluding with Nico’s biggest rivals, the Volkovs. The $240,000 she stole wasn’t just to pay off Arthur’s debts—it was to fund a hit on Nico.

Open two: Why would a Volkov hitman hide their own address in my father’s watch? Were they leaving a trap, or a breadcrumb?

“They want me to come to them,” Nico said grimly. “Veronica thinks she’s untouchable now that she’s under their protection.”

“You can’t go,” I pleaded. “It’s a suicide mission.”

Nico looked at me, then down at Leo, who was clinging to my mother’s leg. “They tried to kill my brother. They tortured my nephew. They threatened your mother, Hannah. I am ending this tonight.”

Nico ordered his men to pack my mother and Leo into the armored SUV. “We’re taking you back to the Chicago compound. It’s a fortress. You’ll be safe there.”

On the ride back, Leo sat next to me, tracing the edge of the silver rosary in his hands. He suddenly tugged on my sleeve and pointed to the crucifix.

He pressed a tiny, almost invisible button on the back of the cross.

A hidden compartment popped open.

Inside was a microscopic memory card.

“Nico,” I breathed, handing it to him as he drove.

When we reached the compound, Nico plugged the card into his secure laptop. We huddled around the screen.

It was a dashcam video from his brother’s car, the night of the crash.

The video showed the dark, rainy highway. But the audio was what froze our blood.

We heard Nico’s brother arguing with a woman in the passenger seat. Veronica.

“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m letting you marry Nico,” his brother’s voice shouted. “I know you’re leaking our routes to the Volkovs! I’m telling him everything tonight!”

“No, you aren’t,” Veronica’s voice hissed.

There was a struggle. The sound of a steering wheel jerking. And then, the sickening crunch of metal as the car plunged off the bridge.

Nico slammed the laptop shut. His eyes were devoid of all mercy.

Suddenly, the compound’s perimeter alarms began blaring. Red lights flashed through the windows.

A guard burst into the room, bleeding from his shoulder.

“Boss! It’s the Volkovs. And they brought her.”

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