Chapter 2 – The Offer No One Refused

The black Lincoln stopped without a sound.

The rear door opened before Sable reached for the handle.

"No driver?" she asked.

The man in the front seat never turned around.

"Mr. Vega values privacy."

The city lights disappeared behind tinted windows as they crossed the river toward the oldest district in town.

Twenty-five minutes later, the car rolled through towering iron gates into an estate hidden behind ancient stone walls.

No guards shouted.

No dogs barked.

Security cameras followed every movement.

The silence felt far more dangerous.

Inside, Dante Vega was waiting.

Not in an office.

In a greenhouse.

He stood among rows of white orchids, trimming dead leaves with a pair of silver scissors.

"You came."

"You paid my brother's future."

"I paid a debt."

Sable frowned.

"I never worked for you."

"You saved my life."

She crossed her arms.

"So now you're buying mine?"

For the first time, Dante smiled.

"No."

He handed her a thick file.

"I'm offering you a job."

Inside were photographs.

Politicians.

Judges.

Business executives.

Every face connected by handwritten notes.

"They're stealing from me," Dante said calmly.

"I don't care."

"I know."

He stepped closer.

"That's exactly why you're qualified."

Sable looked him straight in the eye.

"I don't work for criminals."

"Neither do I."

She laughed.

"You're the Mafia."

"I'm a businessman."

"And those men?"

"They traffic children through charities."

Her smile disappeared.

Dante opened another folder.

Bank transfers.

Medical records.

Photos of missing teenagers.

The evidence was impossible to ignore.

"I need someone," he said quietly, "who still believes some people deserve saving."

Sable looked at the pictures again.

One girl's bracelet matched the one Eli's rehab roommate used to wear before disappearing six months earlier.

Suddenly...

This wasn't Dante's war anymore.

It had become hers.