A few minutes later, after our lovemaking in the shower, we dry each other gently and get dressed in comfortable clothes. We order room service that neither of us really wants, but force ourselves to eat.
We’re almost feeling normal when my phone rings.
It’s from my personal number and only one family has it, and my bestie, Susie.
I answer on speaker, with my heart already sinking.
No voice, just a video attachnt.
I open it. Tony’s already moving closer, watching over my shoulder.
The footage is from across the street through a high-powered scope or cara. Showing our penthouse and showing us earlier, before the shower, during our argunt.
Vincent’s voice overlays the images: "Nice place. Expensive, but glass walls make poor shields."
The cara zooms in, revealing intimate details of our space. Our bedroom, our living room. Everything.
"I can see everything, Katherine. Every movent. Every intimate mont."
Tony’s face has gone white.
"Tell Tony his security is amateur hour," Vincent continues, almost in a friendly tone. "Tell him I’ve been inside three tis. Once, while you two were... distracted this afternoon, and very passionate. Congratulations on making up, by the way."
My stomach turns. He watched us earlier when we-
"Three tis I’ve been inside," Vincent repeats. "And you never noticed, so here’s proof."
The video ends.
Tony’s already moving and searching. "Three things. He said three things."
We tear through the penthouse. thodically and desperately.
I find the first in the bathroom - my hairbrush has moved. I always leave it on the right side of the sink. It’s on the left now.
Tony finds the second - his watch on the nightstand. He always sets it to exactly match his phone. It’s thirty seconds off.
The third takes longer. Finally, Thomas notices the photo album on the bookshelf. His mother’s funeral, which is open to a specific page.
It’s a page showing Tony and him at the service.
Vincent chose that page deliberately.
"He’s been here." I can’t stop shaking. "While we were here, inside our supposed sanctuary."
Tony’s control is completely gone now. He punches the wall - once, twice, his knuckles splitting. Luca has to physically restrain him before he breaks his hand.
"We leave," Tony says through gritted teeth. "Right now. We find a new location. Sowhere he can’t find."
"There is nowhere he can’t find," I point out, trying to stay rational despite my terror. "He found this place, he found the brownstone. He’ll find wherever we go next."
"Then what?" Tony spins on , and I see desperation in his eyes. "What do you suggest, Katherine? Because I’m out of ideas that don’t involve locking you in a bunker."
Before I can answer, there’s an urgent knock.
Elliot’s voice: "Let in! Now! It’s important!"
Tony opens the door, and Elliot rushes in, his laptop in hand, and his face is pale.
"Don’t leave," he says imdiately, looking between us. "Either of you. I found sothing about Vincent."
"What?" Tony’s voice is sharp.
"He’s not working alone." Elliot’s fingers fly across his keyboard. "I’ve been tracking his communications. He’s partnered with soone. Soone with resources. Soone with a grudge against you both."
He turns the laptop around to show security footage. Vincent is eting with a woman - an older, elegant woman who is clearly wealthy.
My blood turns ice.
I know that face. I’ve seen it in newspaper articles, in society pages, in nightmares.
"That’s Marie Sterling," I whisper. "Victoria’s mother."
"Yes." Elliot nods, typing more. "She survived her daughter’s death. Blad you both. Went back to Europe, but she’s been planning, building resources, and she found Vincent."
More footage plays: Vincent and Marie in what appears to be an expensive restaurant, discussing sothing intently as money changes hands.
"She’s bankrolling his revenge," Tony says, his voice low.
"And providing more than money." Elliot pulls up financial records. "Safe houses across the city. Weapons, personnel. Everything Vincent needs to hunt you."
"Why?" The question bursts out of . "Victoria tried to kill us! She-"
"She was her daughter." Thomas’s voice is quiet. "And mothers don’t forgive the people who killed their children. No matter the circumstances."
Marie Sterling. The woman whose daughter died at EPL 18. Who we all shot, who blad us for everything.
She’s been planning this for over six months. Since the mont her daughter died.
"There’s more," Elliot says quietly. "She’s not just funding Vincent. She’s..." He trails off.
"What?" Tony demands.
"She’s offering a bounty. Five million dollars to anyone who brings her proof of your deaths." Elliot shows us a dark web posting that was professional and very detailed. "Every criminal in New York knows about it now. Every rcenary and every desperate person who needs money."
The room goes silent.
"We’re not just running from Vincent," I realize. "We’re running from everyone."
Tony pulls close. His arms around feel different now - not controlling, just... holding on. We’re both holding on.
"She wants both of you dead," Elliot confirms. "And she has the resources to make it happen. Vincent’s just the weapon she chose, but there will be others."
My phone vibrates with a ssage from an unknown number.
Hello, Katherine. My na is Marie Sterling. You killed my daughter. Now I’m going to destroy everything you love. Starting with Anthony, then that brother of yours. Then you. Slowly and painfully. While you watch everyone you care about die first. Sleep well, dear. Tomorrow, the real hunt begins. —MS
I showed Tony the ssage and watched his face go from fear to rage to cold calculation.
"We can’t run from this," he says finally. "Marie has too many resources and too many contacts. If we run, she follows, and if we hide, she finds us."
"So what do we do?" My voice is small.
Tony looks at Thomas, at Luca, at Elliot, then at .
"We stop running," he says. "We go on offense. We hunt them before they hunt us."
"That’s suicide," Luca protests.
"Maybe." Tony’s eyes are cold and hard. The mafia boss erging. "But I’m not spending the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. Waiting for Vincent, Marie, or the next threat. We end this. Now."
He looks at . "Together. As partners, if you’re willing."
I think about running, about hiding, and about spending years being afraid.
Then I think about Tony, about Elliot, about Thomas, Luca, and everyone I love being targets.
"Together," I agree. "We end this."
Marie Sterling wants a war?
She’s about to get one.
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