Chapter 170
Chapter 170
“You’re still pouting?” Nico scoffed from across the room, nursing a glass of something expensive, like he hadn’t just backhanded her two nights ago. His tone was smug, almost bored, “It wasn’t even that hard, Victoria. Don’t act like I broke your jaw.”
Victoría didn’t respond.
She stood by the window, one leg crossed over the other, smoking slowly lipstick smudged slightly on the filter. Her silence made him shift in his seat, but his arrogance didn’t fade.
“I had to remind you who’s in charge,” he continued, swirling the drink in his hand. “You were spiraling. Business is falling apart. That little pet project of yours–Aria–she’s gone. The auction’s blown. And now, everyone’s walking away. We lost millions, Victoria.”
He said it like it was her fault..
She let the smoke leak from her lips in a long, slow exhale.
“I said something wrong?” he asked, standing up now, his sleeves rolled up and top buttons undone like he was trying too hard to look dangerous:
“You think you’re the boss of me now?” Victoria finally said, voice calm, deceptively soft.
“I’ve always been the boss, baby,” Nico said, stepping closer. “You were just the mouthpiece. I made the calls. You made the noise.”
Another pause. Victoria didn’t flinch. Just dropped the cigarette to the floor and crushed it beneath her heel.
Then she turned to face him.
Gun in hand.
A sleek black cold pistol. Aimed right between his eyes.
Nico froze.
Victoria smiled–just a little. “Try being the boss now, you arrogant bastard.”
He raised both hands, taking a slow breath. “You’re not going to shoot me.”
Her finger toyed with the trigger. “A part of me really, really wants to.”
“You kill me, you lose your last ally.”
Victoria arched a brow. “Ally?” She let out a bitter laugh. “You stopped being that the moment you laid your hands on me.”
He shifted, jaw clenching. “I said I was sorry.”
“No, you didn’t. You said I was going crazy. Like this was my
fault.”
He dropped his arms, slowly, gauging her mood. “What do you want, Victoria?”
She lowered the gun–barely. Just enough to keep/him on his toes. “A reset.”
Nico blinked. “A what?”
“I’m done playing your second. I’ve been cleaning up your messes while you play pretend alpha.” She circled him now, not rushing. “But lucky for both of us, I’ve got something better.”
“Better than what? Another fake auction? Another attempt to rattle Dominic?”
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Victoria’s eyes narrowed. “Dominic’s already cracked. You saw him. He would have sacrificed an entire piece of his empire for that girl. She’s his soft spot.
“And?”
“And soft spots are leverage.” She stopped in front of him again, meeting his gaze. “But we’ve been going about this all wrong.”
Nico didn’t respond, but the look in his eyes said he was listening now.
“She’s not just a distraction,” Victoria said, low and sharp. “She’s a legacy. Aria Fletcher. The last of a bloodline that once held half the Syndicate’s assets.”
He frowned. “We tried using her. It didn’t work. Dominic always shows up.”
“That’s because we’ve been using her body. I want the other thing now.”
“What thing?”
Victoria leaned in. “The inheritance. The hidden one.”
Nico scoffed. “That’s a myth.”
She tapped his chest lightly with the barrel of the gun. “No. It’s not. Gabriel Fletcher wasn’t just the Ghost Banker. He left a vault. Accounts. Codes. Documents worth more than we’ve ever touched. And guess who’s the key?”
Nico didn’t speak,
“She doesn’t even know where to look yet,” Victoria said, stepping back. “But I have people digging. I found someone who used to work for her father. He kept records. Letters. Pieces of the map.”
Nico narrowed his eyes. “And you didn’t tell me because…?”
“Because I don’t trust you,” she replied bluntly. “But I need someone to move pieces while I work the shadows. You’re good at getting things dirty. And right now?” She smiled coldly. “We need dirty.”
“And if I say no?”
She lifted the gun again, just slightly. “Then I remind you why you don’t say no to me.”
His mouth tightened. He hated her. Hated how much she always seemed one step ahead.
“Fine,” he muttered. “But if this backfires-”
“It won’t,” she cut in.
He looked at her like he didn’t believe a word.
Victoria smirked, eyes gleaming with fresh hunger.
“The new plan,” she said, “is simple.”
She leaned close, her breath cold against his cheek.
“We’re going to find the Fletcher vault. And this time… we’re not stealing Aria.”
“We’re stealing everything she’s meant to inherit.”
Nico frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Victoria didn’t even blink. “Then I’ll talk slow so you can keep up.”
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Chapter 170
She moved toward the desk in the corner, opened a drawer, and pulled out a folded map–old, yellowed at the edgest. She tossed it onto the table between them. “This is one of three pieces. A vault doesn’t just mean a safe under a floorboard. The Fletchers were smarter than that.”
Nico crossed his arms, still unconvinced. “You really think this thing exists?”
“I know it does. Offshore accounts. Unregistered properties. Gold, crypto, antique bonds, even art–Gabriel Fletcher was the Ghost Banker for a reason. He hid the kind of wealth that doesn’t fluctuate with market crashes. The kind of wealth you kill kingdoms for.”
Nico’s gaze flicked to the map. “So you found part of it. And what? You think you can get to it before Dominic?”
Victoria looked up sharply. “We have to.”
He snorted. “You know that man doesn’t sleep, right? If there’s even a whiff of Fletcher gold out there, he’s already put half of Florence and New York on high alert.”
She rolled her eyes. “And?”
“And,” Nico continued, “it means you’re late to the game.”
“I’m not,” she said firmly. “Dominic has eyes. But eyes don’t always see what they’re supposed to. His weakness is Aría. He’s so wrapped up in her that he can’t separate what’s strategy from what’s personal anymore.”
Nico leaned forward slightly. “You think he won’t chase us down if we get close?”
Victoria smirked. “He’ll be too busy trying to keep her alive.”
That shut him up for a moment.
She tapped the map. “Gabriel didn’t leave his fortune in one place. It’s scattered–split into keys, phrases, land. I have someone tracking the first location. Spain. A vineyard estate bought under a false identity. Hasn’t been touched in years.”
Nico raised a brow. “A vineyard?”
“He liked poetic hiding spots,” she said. “Old–world charm. No digital trace. That property has a cellar that doesn’t show on the original blueprints. Guess what it leads to?”
He stared at her.
“A vault.”
Nico shook his head, laughing bitterly. “So this is it now? A treasure hunt?”
“It’s legacy theft,” she corrected. “And it’s bigger than Aria. Or Dominic. Or even the Syndicate.”
“You sure Dominic hasn’t already sent someone?”
“Oh, he has.” Her eyes gleamed. “And that’s why I hired someone who’ll get there faster. Someone who knows the land. We just need one key. One vault. Then the rest comes spilling open like a dam.”
Nico rubbed his jaw. “You realize what happens if we touch that money, right? Everyone in the underworld–hell, even governments—will come for us.“.
“Exactly,” Victoria said. “Because everyone wants what the Fletchers built.”
She stepped closer, voice dropping low. “That inheritance isn’t just wealth. It’s power. It’s control. Offshore codes, dirt on the Syndicate, silent shares in tech firms, pharmaceutical pipelines, it’s the kind of fortune that buys more than safety. It buys empires.“.
“And Aria?” Nico asked,
Victoria’s smile turned sharp. “She can either die… or disappear. I don’t care. She’s not the goal. She’s just the key.”
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Chapter 170
Nico’s lips twitched. “Dominic’s going to burn the world down if you touch her again.”
“Then I guess we better find the vault before he lights the match.”
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