Chapter 16
Dominic sat in the back of his heavily armored black sedan, watching the rain streak down the tinted glass. Thomas Vance sat beside him, typing rapidly on an encrypted tablet.
"We tapped her burner phone, boss," Vance reported quietly, handing the tablet to Dominic. "She took the bait. She’s meeting the Chicago operatives at Battery Park to hand over the biometric overrides."
Dominic did not look surprised. He had anticipated Vivienne’s betrayal the moment Thorne revealed her involvement. She was a creature of absolute ambition, vicious behind her flawless smile. She couldn't accept defeat gracefully; her pride would always compel her to reach for power, even if it meant making a deal with a rival syndicate.
"She thinks she is playing a grand game of chess," Dominic murmured, staring at the audio waveform on the tablet. "She doesn't realize she isn't even a player. She is just the board."
"Do we intercept her at the garage?" Elias asked from the front passenger seat, turning back to face his boss. "If Chicago gets those codes, they can bypass our security grid at the shipyards."
"Let them have the codes," Dominic commanded softly, a dangerous, tactical brilliance flashing in his dark eyes.
Vance stopped typing, looking up in confusion. "Boss? Those containers hold over fifty million dollars in untraceable bearer bonds. If Chicago accesses them—"
"If Chicago accesses them, they will trigger the silent containment protocols I had you install yesterday morning," Dominic interrupted seamlessly. "Vivienne’s biometric codes are outdated. When Chicago inputs them at Pier 42, the system will accept them, but it will lock down the entire pier, trap them inside the shipping yard, and send an immediate alert to our strike teams. Vivienne is delivering the Chicago syndicate directly into a steel cage."
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Dominic looked out the window at the glowing skyline of Manhattan. He had not survived the brutal underworld by reacting to his enemies; he survived by manipulating them into destroying themselves.
"Let Vivienne hand over the drive," Dominic ordered, his voice flat and absolute. "Once the exchange is made, detain her. She violated the terms of her surrender. I want her brought to the docks. She needs to watch exactly what happens to the people who try to steal my crown."
