The air inside the rooftop lounge had shifted.
The sweet perfume of expensive wine and honeyed cigars could no longer cover the electric tension curling like smoke between them. Fabian Di Neri stood with one hand tucked into his coat pocket, the other holding the stem of a wine glass he still hadn't tasted. Across the marble floor, Alberta Contadino moved like a blade hidden in velvet — all grace, all danger.
"You summoned me," she said, her voice a smooth cut against the music. "Or should I be flattered this wasn't a bullet to the head?"
Fabian allowed himself a thin smile — the kind that never touched his eyes."You're too valuable for that. For now."
Alberta tilted her head, studying him like a curious cat might study a dying bird. "And if I prove less useful?"
"Then you'll find the bullet merciful compared to what waits."
There it was: the first spark — flaring in the space between threat and flirtation.
Alberta laughed softly, a sound like silk tearing. "Charming."
Fabian set the untouched wine down on the table. "Walk with me."
Without waiting for her response, he turned and moved toward the private elevator. She followed, her heels tapping a deliberate rhythm on the polished floor. It wasn't obedience. It was curiosity. And in this world, curiosity was often more dangerous than loyalty.
The ride down was silent.
Fabian could feel Alberta's gaze tracing the sharp lines of his profile, weighing him, measuring him. He said nothing. He had learned long ago that silence was more unsettling than any threat.
The doors slid open into the underground level — a private garage filled with vehicles that could outrun both the law and death itself. Fabian led her past gleaming machines toward a black SUV idling in the corner.
"Where are we going?" Alberta asked, slipping into the passenger seat without hesitation.
Fabian started the engine. "A test."
The vehicle roared to life and shot into the night.
The city of Genoa was different at this hour — stripped of its tourist charm, revealing the bones of an old beast still gnashing its teeth in the dark. Fabian drove without speaking, cutting through alleys and backroads that didn't exist on official maps.
After twenty minutes, he stopped near the old docks.
Abandoned warehouses loomed like broken teeth against the moonlight. The scent of salt, rust, and old blood filled the air.
"Get out," he ordered.
Alberta stepped out, smoothing her coat against the cold. Her heels crunched on gravel, but her stance was calm, steady.
Fabian admired that, silently.
He led her toward a small warehouse, guarded by two of his men — both armed, both grim. They nodded as Fabian approached, pulling open the heavy doors to reveal a scene that reeked of desperation.
Inside, a man knelt, wrists bound, blood staining the collar of his shirt. His head lolled upward at their approach, revealing a face Fabian recognized — a mid-level lieutenant who had traded loyalty for a quick payday with the Montaldo family.
Fabian stopped a few feet away, hands clasped behind his back.
"This," he said without looking at Alberta, "is Luca Ventresca."
The man whimpered, coughing blood onto the cracked floor.
"He sold our cargo routes to Montaldo. Cost us two shipments. Twelve men dead."
Fabian turned now, his dark eyes landing on Alberta. "He's yours."
Alberta arched an eyebrow, unbothered. "And what do you expect me to do?"
Fabian stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear."Show me who you are."
There was no hesitation.
Alberta moved toward Luca, her steps deliberate. She crouched down in front of him, studying him like a jeweler might study a flawed diamond. Luca flinched under her gaze.
"You betrayed your king," she said softly.
Luca sobbed, incoherent. Alberta reached into her coat and withdrew a small, slender dagger — the kind hidden in garters and evening gowns. It gleamed under the single bare bulb above them.
Fabian watched.
No flinch. No tremor.
Alberta tilted Luca's chin up with the tip of the blade.
"You had a choice," she whispered. "You chose wrong."
And with one swift, clean motion, she dragged the blade across his throat.
Luca spasmed, gurgled, and then collapsed, painting the concrete floor with his final regret.
Alberta wiped the blade delicately on Luca's shirt and stood, meeting Fabian's gaze without blinking.
"Was that satisfactory?" she asked.
Fabian's chest tightened — not with fear, not even with admiration — but with something colder.Recognition.
He had found a mirror.
"Welcome to the Empire Beneath," he said quietly.
They left the body for the scavengers.
As the SUV hurtled back into the city, Fabian studied Alberta out of the corner of his eye. She sat as if nothing had happened, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her expression serene.
"You've done this before," he said.
It wasn't a question.
Alberta turned her head slightly, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips."And you?"
Fabian gave a low chuckle, the sound more knife than laughter."I was born into it."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward — it was an understanding.
Two predators sharing the same hunting ground.
Later that night, Fabian stood once more on his rooftop, the city sprawling endless and glittering below him.
Alberta was still in the lounge, speaking with his consigliere, negotiating terms of their new alliance. Terms that would bind them together tighter than blood — or destroy them both if either faltered.
Fabian sipped the wine he had abandoned earlier, finally letting the burn roll down his throat.
The stars overhead were pale, distant things.
Much like salvation.
He heard footsteps behind him. He didn't turn.
"You're either very brave," Alberta said, her voice lilting with amusement, "or very stupid."
"To trust you?" Fabian asked.
"To stand with your back exposed."
Now he turned, meeting her gaze head-on. The city wind caught her hair, turning it into a black banner against the night.
"I trust," Fabian said slowly, "only in inevitability."
Alberta stepped closer, until the space between them crackled with something too raw to name.
"And what is inevitable, Mr. Di Neri?"
"You and me," Fabian said."War."
A beat.
"And?" she whispered.
Fabian reached out, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, his touch electric."And whatever comes after."
Their eyes locked.
Not enemies.Not yet lovers.
Something far more dangerous.
Co-conspirators.
Architects of a future soaked in both gold and blood.
Beneath the broken stars of Genoa, the first empire was born — not with a coronation, but with a dagger pressed to the throat of destiny itself.