A Mafia Heiress Poured Ice Water Over the Waitress—Then Her Brother Asked for the Waitress’s Employment File

The docks at Pier 44 were desolate, shrouded in a thick, freezing fog that rolled off the dark water. The stench of salt and dead fish filled the air.

My cab pulled up a block away.

"I ain't going closer, lady," the driver grunted. "This area belongs to the Rossi syndicate."

The Rossi syndicate. The Perrys' biggest rivals. My blood ran cold.

"Wait here," I said.

"I told you not to get out," Leandro’s voice snapped in my ear.

"She's walking into a trap," I whispered back, ignoring his order. I slipped out of the cab, the cold wind biting through my thin silk dress.

I crept behind a row of rusted shipping containers, my stilettos completely impractical for the wet, uneven concrete. Up ahead, Stella’s black town car was parked with its headlights off.

Stella was standing under a flickering streetlamp, shivering violently in her velvet gown, clutching a heavy leather briefcase to her chest.

Footsteps echoed from the fog.

A man emerged. It wasn't a street thug. It was Russo. Arthur Perry’s lieutenant.

"You brought the money?" Russo asked, his voice echoing in the damp air.

Stella held up the briefcase, her hands shaking so badly she almost dropped it. "Yes. Two million. Now give me the video, Russo. If my father sees it..."

"Your father is a dying old man," Russo sneered, pulling a flash drive from his pocket. "He doesn't have the stomach for this business anymore. And your brother is too busy playing bodyguard to a waitress to see what's happening right under his nose."

My breath hitched. It was an inside job. Russo was betraying the Perrys.

"Just give it to me!" Stella screamed, lunging for the drive.

Russo backhanded her. The crack of his palm against her face was sickeningly loud. Stella collapsed onto the wet pavement, the briefcase spilling open. Stacks of cash scattered across the concrete.

"You stupid junkie," Russo spat, pulling a gun from his jacket and pointing it at her head. "There is no video. But there is going to be a tragedy tonight. The tragic suicide of the Perry heiress."

I didn't think. I tapped my earpiece three times.

Three taps. Danger.