CLAIMED BY THE MAFIA DON

Chapter 9: The FBI

-

The words didn't make sense at first.

FBI. Arrested. Tomorrow.

My hand was still on Damian's arm, but my fingers had gone numb.

"What did he say?" Damian repeated, his voice low. Only for me.

I looked up at him. The dining hall was empty now. Just us, and the long table that still smelled like cigars and threats.

"He said... the picture he took on the bridge... is with the FBI. He said you will be arrested by tomorrow."

For one second, Damian's face didn't move. Then his jaw locked.

He didn't shout. He just pulled out his phone.

"Leo. Check the perimeter. Now. And get me eyes on Luca — where is he, who did he call in the last 48 hours. If he breathed near a fed, I want to know."

He hung up and looked at me.

"You believe him?"

"I don't know," I whispered. "But why would he lie? He lost today. This is his revenge."

Damian grabbed my waist and pulled me against him. His forehead touched mine.

"Listen to me, Elena. If the FBI had anything real, they would have come already. Luca is bluffing."

"But what if the photo shows your gun? The one you had on the bridge that night?"

He went still.

Because I was right. That night on Brooklyn Bridge, after he beat Luca, he had pulled his gun. If Luca caught that on camera...

Damian's phone rang. Leo.

"Boss. We have a problem. A black SUV. No plates. Parked across the street for two hours. Two men inside. Suits."

My blood ran cold.

Damian smiled. That scary, beautiful smile.

"Good. Let them watch. Elena, go upstairs. Pack one bag. Just passports, cash from the safe, and that black dress. We are leaving tonight."

"Leaving? Where?"

"To my private house. Upstate. No one knows about it. Not even Marco. If Luca wants to play FBI, I will show him how a Rossi plays."

He kissed me hard. His hand slid to my tattoo on my thigh, over his initials.

"D.R. Remember whose you are? No FBI takes what is mine."

I ran upstairs, heart beating like a drum. Behind me, I heard Damian say into the phone:

"And Leo — bring gasoline and a lighter to the dining hall. If they want evidence, we give them ashes."

The war for the crown was over. The war for survival just began.

---