Chapter 5 - THE MAN GABRIEL TRUSTED
Nobody moved.
Nico looked at Paige.
Then Gabriel.
Then at the weapon in his own hand.
“You think it’s me.”
Paige said nothing.
Gabriel did.
“Put the gun down.”
Nico’s jaw tightened.
He placed it on the table.
Then pushed it toward Gabriel.
“If you believe I betrayed you, use it.”
The two men stared at each other.
Years existed in that silence.
Wars Paige knew nothing about.
Funerals.
Secrets.
Blood.
Gabriel did not touch the weapon.
“Why did Kevin say your name?”
“He didn’t.”
Paige frowned.
Nico moved toward the computer slowly.
“Play it again.”
She did.
Nico watched Kevin’s mouth.
“Enzo.”
Gabriel’s face hardened.
“Enzo Moretti?” Paige asked.
Gabriel’s uncle.
His father’s younger brother.
The family attorney.
The man who had handled every legal problem Moretti Logistics had faced for twenty years.
Nico nodded.
“Two syllables. En-zo.”
Paige replayed the clip.
He was right.
Relief crossed Gabriel’s face so briefly most people would have missed it.
Nico did not.
“You thought it was me.”
“I considered it.”
“Good.”
That surprised Paige.
Nico picked up his gun.
“If you hadn’t, I’d think you were getting stupid.”
Gabriel almost smiled.
By noon, they had a plan.
The Moretti Foundation gala was forty-eight hours away.
Canceling it would alert Matteo and Enzo.
So Gabriel intended to attend.
Paige hated the idea.
“That is the exact event where they plan to kill you.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re going?”
“Yes.”
“That’s insane.”
“Probably.”
She folded her arms.
Gabriel looked at her.
“What?”
“You’re not going alone.”
“No.”
“You keep saying that word like it works on me.”
“It should.”
“It doesn’t.”
Nico muttered, “She has a point.”
Gabriel gave him a lethal stare.
Paige attended the gala.
She wore a black dress Elena sent over.
When she descended the penthouse stairs, Gabriel was waiting.
He forgot to speak.
That frightened Paige more than any compliment could have.
“Well?”
His eyes moved slowly over her.
“You look…”
She waited.
“Dangerous.”
Paige smiled.
“I was hoping for beautiful.”
“That too.”
The words came quietly.
Neither moved.
Then Nico cleared his throat.
The gala occupied the grand ballroom of a Fifth Avenue hotel.
Hundreds of politicians, executives, donors, and men with carefully concealed criminal histories filled the room.
Gabriel’s hand remained at Paige’s lower back.
“You’re staring,” she whispered.
“At exits.”
“Sure.”
“At threats.”
“Of course.”
“And occasionally at you.”
Her heartbeat betrayed her.
Across the ballroom, Matteo approached.
He was handsome in a polished, effortless way Gabriel was not.
Gabriel looked built for war.
Matteo looked built for campaign posters.
“Paige Winslow,” Matteo said. “The famous honey girl.”
She nearly choked.
Apparently the story had traveled.
Gabriel’s hand tightened slightly against her back.
Matteo noticed.
His smile changed.
“Careful, cousin. Employees can become expensive.”
Paige answered before Gabriel could.
“So can cousins.”
Matteo laughed.
“I like her.”
“I don’t care.”
The orchestra began.
Matteo disappeared into the crowd.
Paige whispered, “He hates you.”
“Yes.”
“He also keeps touching his left cuff.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“You noticed?”
“He’s done it six times.”
Nico moved discreetly.
Minutes later he reported that Matteo’s cuff link contained a wireless transmitter.
Something was about to happen.
Then the ballroom lights dimmed.
A video began on the enormous screen.
Gabriel appeared.
The warehouse photograph.
Then bank records.
Forged transfers.
Audio recordings.
Guests began murmuring.
The presentation painted Gabriel as a thief and murderer.
Matteo stepped onto the stage.
His expression was perfectly horrified.
“My family deserves the truth.”
Gabriel remained still.
Paige understood.
This was not an assassination.
It was an execution of reputation.
Police entered through the ballroom doors.
A federal investigator approached Gabriel.
“Gabriel Moretti, we have a warrant for your arrest.”
Cameras flashed.
Matteo smiled.
Then Paige stepped forward.
“Before you arrest him, you should probably know the evidence is fake.”
Everyone turned.
Her hands shook.
Her voice did not.
She explained the digital signature construction.
Repeated pixel patterns.
Metadata inconsistencies.
Manipulated timestamps.
The investigator hesitated.
Paige connected her laptop to the ballroom system.
Side-by-side images appeared.
Real.
Forged.
Real.
Forged.
Matteo’s smile disappeared.
Then Paige displayed the hidden financial trail.
It ended with a corporation registered to Matteo.
Gasps spread through the room.
Gabriel looked at her with something she had never seen before.
Pride.
Matteo turned toward an exit.
Nico blocked him.
Then a gunshot exploded.
People screamed.
Gabriel shoved Paige down.
A second shot struck the chandelier above them.
Glass rained across the floor.
Gabriel covered Paige with his body.
“Stay down.”
She felt warmth against her hand.
Blood.
“Gabriel.”
He looked at her.
The blood was coming from his shoulder.
May you like
Across the ballroom, Enzo Moretti lowered a pistol.
And aimed again.
