She Came to Surprise the Mafia Boss on His Birthday, but the Woman in His Shirt Called Him Her Boyfriend

Marcus stared at Sophia for a long, tense minute, warring between his absolute loyalty to Adrian and the undeniable tactical truth of her argument. If Dante Russo wanted them dead, a cabin in the woods was a coffin waiting to be nailed shut.

Finally, Marcus pulled an encrypted burner phone from his tactical vest.

“You have two minutes,” Marcus growled, dialing a sequence of numbers before handing the phone to her. “Make it fast.”

The line rang twice before a sharp, elegant voice answered. “Who is this?”

“It’s Sophia Bennett,” she said, keeping her voice steady.

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end. “You are incredibly foolish for calling me. If my brother traces this—”

“He won't,” Sophia interrupted. “Valentina, I know why Dante is really hunting me. It’s not about the engagement. It’s about the Miami weapons shipment from two years ago.”

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the line.

“Adrian bypassed your father’s ports,” Sophia continued quickly. “He used my legitimate art logistics company to smuggle the crates. Dante thinks I was in on it. He thinks I’m a high-level operative for the Moretti family.”

“And are you?” Valentina asked, her voice turning to ice.

“I was completely blind,” Sophia admitted, the bitter taste of the truth burning her tongue. “But I have the decrypted manifests. I have the proof of Adrian’s betrayal. If Dante kills me, those files automatically upload to the FBI, and both your family and Adrian’s burn to the ground.”

Valentina cursed softly in Italian. “What do you want, Sophia?”

“I want a sit-down with Dante. I want to trade the files for my life, and my freedom from Adrian.”

“Dante doesn't do sit-downs with civilians. He’ll just torture the decryption codes out of you.”

“Then we force a public parley,” Sophia proposed, her mind racing. “The Manhattan Charity Gala is tomorrow night. Every major syndicate boss, politician, and socialite will be there. Adrian has to attend to keep up appearances with your father. Dante won't risk a bloodbath in front of the mayor and the press.”

“You want to walk into a ballroom filled with both Moretti and Russo soldiers?” Valentina asked, sounding genuinely impressed. “You are either incredibly brave or entirely suicidal.”

“I’m desperate,” Sophia corrected. “Can you get me past the security at the door?”

Valentina was silent for a long moment. “I will leave a VIP credential at the service entrance under the name Clara Rossi. But Sophia... once you are inside, you are on your own.”

The line went dead.