Chapter 15 - The Gala of Wolves

To flush out the Lupo Family's leadership without triggering a gang war, Catherine decided to use her greatest weapon: her social standing. She announced a grand charity gala at the newly restored Sterling Manor, inviting the elite of New York, Boston, and Newport.

"If they want to take this house, they will have to face me in the light," Catherine said, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She wore a stunning black silk gown that contrasted beautiful with her short golden hair. Around her neck, the silver scar was visible—a badge of a woman who no longer hid from her pain.

Adrian stood behind her, looking immaculate in a tailored tuxedo. He slipped a small, ceramic knife into her evening clutch. "The Lupo Don is an old-world traditionalist named Viktor Lupo. He won't miss an event like this. He will want to see his prey before he strikes."

By nine o'clock, the ballroom of Sterling Manor was filled with music, laughter, and the clinking of champagne glasses. But beneath the luxury, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Adrian’s security detail, dressed as waiters and guests, monitored every entrance.

At midnight, a hush fell over the room as an older man with silver hair and a sharp, aristocratic face entered the ballroom. He walked with a heavy cane topped with a silver wolf's head. Viktor Lupo had arrived.

He walked straight toward Catherine, ignoring Adrian completely. He bowed over her hand, his lips brushing her skin. "A magnificent house, Miss Sterling. It looks almost identical to the home your father lost to me twenty years ago."

"My father lost nothing to you, Mr. Lupo," Catherine said, her voice cutting through the ballroom like steel. "And you are standing in a house that belongs to a survivor. You should leave before the foundation collapses on you."

Chapter1 6: The Trap at the Cliffside

Viktor Lupo smiled, a cold, predatory baring of teeth. "You have your father's pride, my dear. But pride doesn't stop a bullet. Look around you. Your husband's empire is a ghost. You think a few security guards can stop the tide?"

Lupo turned his back, walking toward the grand terrace that overlooked the dark ocean. Adrian signaled Marcus, and within seconds, the ballroom doors were quietly locked from the inside by their men, trapping Lupo's personal security detail in the crowd.

Adrian followed Viktor out onto the terrace, the cold Atlantic wind whipping his tuxedo jacket. "You made a mistake coming here alone, Viktor."

"I am never alone, Adrian," Lupo said softly, tapping his silver cane against the stone floor twice.

Suddenly, the security lights around the cliffs failed, plunging the terrace into pitch darkness. The sound of a helicopter engine roared to life from the ocean side, a massive searchlight cutting through the night, blinding Adrian.

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Masked mercenaries swung over the stone balustrade from tactical ropes, their weapons raised. But Adrian was already moving. He tackled Catherine to the floor as the terrace windows shattered in a hail of glass.

Amid the chaos, Viktor Lupo walked calmly toward the edge of the terrace, clipping himself onto a rescue line lowered by the helicopter. "The debt will be paid in blood, Adrian! See you at the finish line!"