Chapter 4: Blood on the Ice
Phut! Phut!
Two silenced shots echoed across the windy deck. But it wasn’t Matteo who fell.
Marco had emerged from the opposite side of the helipad, firing two precise rounds into Victor Russo's shoulder. The silver-haired mafia boss dropped his weapon, screaming in agony as he collapsed onto the wet tarmac, the black briefcase sliding away from his grip.
"Father!" Vivian shrieked, dropping to her knees beside him.
The helicopter pilot, realizing the job was busted, immediately cut the engines and raised his hands through the cockpit window.
Matteo walked forward, his boots clicking heavily against the wet deck. He picked up the black briefcase, popping the latches. Inside lay the twelve-million-dollar diamond necklace, but woven into the velvet lining was a microfiche film—the missing ledger that Thomas Carter had died to protect.
Matteo closed the case and looked down at Vivian, who was weeping over her bleeding father.
"The wedding is officially canceled, Vivian," Matteo said coldly. "Marco, tie them up and put them in the lower hold. We hand them over to the federal authorities the moment we dock in Juneau. The Russo family is finished."
As his men dragged the shouting Russos away, Matteo turned back to Lena. She was standing near the edge of the railing, the cold Alaskan wind blowing her dark hair across her face. She looked exhausted, but for the first time in ten years, her shoulders were relaxed. The truth was out. Her father’s murderers were going to pay.
Matteo walked over, standing beside her as the ship continued its slow journey through the icy waters.
"It’s over, Lena," he said quietly. "Your father has his justice."
Lena looked up at the towering mafia boss. "And what happens to me now? I'm still just a maid on a ship owned by your associates."
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Matteo looked down at her, his expression softening into something entirely uncharacteristic for a man of his background. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gold key, placing it gently into her hand, wrapping his large, warm fingers over hers.
"You're not a maid anymore, Lena," Matteo murmured, his eyes locking onto hers with a strange, intense heat. "You’re the keeper of the Romano keys now. And if you’ll let me... I’d like to show you what a real partnership looks like."
