Undressed By His Arrogance

Luca leaned in, squinting. "Issh... too grainy." He said it the way a mechanic complained about being given a broken engine to fix—annoyed but not intimidated.

"Have it enhanced," Winn said. "Find them."

Luca arched an eyebrow. "What’s your plan for them?"

"I intend to kill them...slowly."

A charged silence filled the room.

Luca let out a low, impressed whistle. "Look at you," he murmured. "Finally crossing over to the dark side." He chuckled. "I am impressed. What did they do?"

"They touched my woman."

"Ah," Luca said, sitting back. "That is dishonourable. Where I come from, a man’s woman is out of bounds." He snapped his fingers. "Untouchable." He nodded at the pictures. "Consider them found."

One of his men stepped forward to take Winn’s phone and forwarded the photos to another.

"I’ll need time to enhance the photos and get my people to track them down with the FBI’s facial recognition software," Luca explained. "We piggyback off their database all the time. They don’t know."

"I don’t care how you do it," he said. "Just do it."

Luca laughed under his breath, delighted by the ruthlessness in Winn’s voice. "Fine," he said. "I’ll let you know my price when it is done."

Winn nodded once and rose. Reese moved instantly, shadowing him.

As Winn strode toward the door, Luca called out, "Mr. Kane!"

Winn paused but didn’t turn.

"Are you sure you want to do this? When you kill someone, you lose every last shred of your humanity."

Winn’s voice came out quiet, cold, final. "When I find them, they’re going to wish they had never been born."

Then he walked out with a promise of violence that made even hardened killers shift in their chairs.

Because the last thing those attackers would ever see...

was a man who had nothing left to lose.

*****

Tom met Raphael at their usual bar. Raphael was already seated in their booth.

Tom took one look at him and knew—something was wrong. Raphael’s leg bounced under the table, his eyes darting toward the entrance. Tom slid into the booth, crisp suit immaculate.

"What do you want?" Tom asked the moment he sat down. He didn’t bother masking the irritation simmering beneath his calm exterior.

"Tom, you cannot still be mad at me," Raphael began, clutching his glass. "I didn’t know there was a tape, I told you that."

Tom let out a slow exhale. "You should have," Tom replied. "I do not tolerate incompetence. I like being two steps ahead. I do not like being shocked." His gaze sharpened. "If I had known about the tape, I would have gotten ahead of the situation."

"And now, the point of getting everything from the Orchards is slipping through my fingers because you also brought me a snake."

Raphael swallowed. His face paled. "I thought Sharona would be professional," he said. "She said she isn’t giving out any funds until she gets the Orchard fortune in its entirety. She doesn’t trust you."

Tom smirked. "Nobody trusts me," he said. "That’s why I win. That’s why they lose. She isn’t going to see me coming."

"But we have a problem," Raphael said, leaning in, dropping his voice.

"What?" Tom asked.

"Someone knows," Raphael whispered. He rubbed his palms against his pants, anxious. "Someone is digging. I didn’t mention your name, mostly steered them in Sharona’s direction, but..." He looked around the bar again. "The more they dig into Sharona, it won’t be long before they zero in on you."

"Damnit. I’ve got enough problems as it is," Tom spat. "What do they know?"

Raphael licked his lips nervously. "They know what Sharona does," he admitted.

"I think I have an idea who is investigating. I’ll handle her once and for all. Bitch is turning out to be a pest." His lips twisted into a dark grin. "Sharona missed once. I won’t."

"You think this is Ivy?" Raphael asked.

"Yes. She threatened me. I didn’t take her seriously." He scoffed. "What does the little girl know? But looks like she’s grown teeth."

Raphael shook his head quickly. "Tom, I really don’t think brute force will work here. If she’s digging, she’s talking to other people. If you move against her too fast, you’ll tip your hand. I think you should let this play out."

"That’s a terrible strategy. Letting things play out is what losers do. Watching from the sidelines? Not my style. I have a better idea."

A pause.

Then, with a smile that promised disaster: "An even better idea."

Raphael didn’t ask. Some ideas were better left unknown.

*****

Ivy was just about to leave the Everest estate to meet Eugene on Saturday night when Joey arrived unannounced. Ivy stood in the marble foyer wearing a short black dress, her hair pinned to one side, her makeup soft.

"Wow! Ivy! You look amazing," Joey blurted out, his eyes widening.

Ivy smiled politely, adjusting the strap of her purse. "Thank you. What are you doing here?"

"You need to see Winn," Joey said.

He looked... worried.

"What happened? Why?" Ivy asked. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"He has gone off the deep end," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "He hasn’t been to the office in days. He isn’t picking up his calls. I went to see him earlier and he’s barely speaking. He is constantly drunk."

Ivy’s breath stalled. A pulse of guilt stabbed under her ribs.

"I don’t understand," Ivy whispered. "What does it have to do with me?"

Joey stepped closer, lowering his voice. "He told me about the baby, Ivy."

Her heart clenched.

"He’s grieving," Joey continued. "And he won’t let anyone in. I’m thinking he will let you in. He shouldn’t do it alone."

Ivy felt her throat tighten. "I did it alone!" she snapped. "Don’t ask me to comfort him through something I barely survived myself."

"No, you didn’t do it alone. You had your uncle," Joey said gently. "Your mother. Your grandfather. You were surrounded by family. You had people to pull you back when you were drowning. Look around Winn. Who does he have?"