Chapter 190: Eve Found Out The Truth

"Exactly. If Dante thinks he’s listening to real conversations, real intelligence, we can manipulate what he hears. We can feed him information that helps us and hurts him."

"That’s... actually brilliant." Enzo leaned back. "But it requires Isabella to be completely in the dark. She can’t know she’s still being monitored."

"Which means your men removed the old devices but didn’t find the new ones."

Enzo’s eyes widened.

"You think he’s already replanted?"

"I know he has. That’s what I would do. Let you think you’ve won. Let you remove the devices you can find. And immediately install new ones you won’t find." Dimitri’s smile was cold. "Dante’s smart. He’s not going to let Isabella go dark just because we found his first attempt."

"Then we need to sweep her apartment again. More thoroughly."

"No. We let the new devices stay active. We let Dante think he’s listening. And i use Isabella to feed him exactly what we want him to hear."

Enzo processed this.

It was ruthless. Manipulative. Used Isabella as an unwitting pawn.

But it was also strategically sound.

"Okay," Enzo said. "But we need to be careful. If Isabella figures out what we’re doing...."

"She won’t. Because she doesn’t know she’s still being monitored. As far as she’s concerned, your men found all the devices and she’s safe."

"And what about the man she’s sleeping with? If he’s Dante’s inside source?"

"Then we identify him." Dimitri pulled up a secure messaging system. "I’m going to have Marco’s team in Rome conduct surveillance on Isabella’s apartment. Not to protect her, to identify everyone who visits her. Every person who comes through that door gets photographed, tracked, and investigated. We’ll find Dante’s inside man."

"And when we do?"

"We’ll decide if he’s more useful alive or dead."

The cold pragmatism of the statement didn’t escape Enzo.

This was the world they lived in.

Where people were assets or threats. Where loyalty was currency. Where Isabella was just another piece on the board.

"There’s something else," Enzo said. "The sophistication of these devices. The resources required to manufacture them. The technical expertise needed to deploy them. Dante Romano is operating at a level that suggests backing. Serious backing."

"You think he has outside support."

"I know he does. No regional mafia organization has this kind of technical capability. This is intelligence-agency-level surveillance. Which means Dante either bought it from someone, or someone gave it to him."

Dimitri went very still.

"Who would give military-grade surveillance equipment to a mafia boss planning revenge?"

"Someone with serious resources. Someone who wants you destabilized." Enzo stood, started pacing. "Dimitri, this isn’t just Dante acting alone. He has backing. Serious backing. And whoever’s supporting him has intelligence-agency-level capabilities."

"Which means this entire situation just got more complicated," Dimitri said quietly.

"Exactly. Because you are not just dealing with a vendetta anymore. You are dealing with organized, well-funded, sophisticated opposition."

For a long moment, neither spoke.

Then Dimitri said: "We continue as planned. We identify Dante’s inside man close to Isabella. We figure out exactly what resources he has. And we prepare for the possibility that this is bigger than we thought."

Enzo nodded slowly.

"Okay. I’m with you. But Dimitri, you need to be careful. Dante’s smart. And if he has the kind of backing these devices suggest...."

"Then l’ll need to be smarter." Dimitri’s voice was absolutely final. "Which is why i don’t fail."

***

Enzo left Dimitri’s penthouse at 2:17 AM, his mind racing.

The surveillance devices. The Romano connection. The sophistication that suggested backing.

And Isabella....poor, broken Isabella, was at the center of it all without even knowing.

Being used by Dante. Being manipulated by whoever she is currently fucking.

Enzo pulled out his phone, stared at Isabella’s contact.

He should warn her.

Should tell her that she was still in danger.

But Dimitri was right.

If they warned Isabella, she’d change her behavior. And Dante would know they’d discovered his surveillance.

Better to let her think she was safe.

Better to use her ignorance as a strategic advantage.

Even if it meant leaving her vulnerable.

Enzo got in his car, drove through empty New York streets, and tried not to think about what that said about him.

***

POV: EVE

Eve came home at 6:47 PM, exhausted from back-to-back client meetings.

She’d texted Dimitri that she’d be late, but apparently he’d already started his evening meetings anyway.

The penthouse was quiet when she entered.

Nonna was in the kitchen, making dinner.

"Dimitri?" Eve asked.

"In his office. With Marco. They have been speaking for hours." Nonna’s expression was worried. "Something serious, cara. His face when Marco arrived....very dark."

Eve felt unease settle in her stomach.

Dimitri had been secretive lately. Distant. The same way he’d been before she’d discovered he’d been shot.

The same way he always got when he was lying to her.

Eve dropped her bag, moved quietly down the hallway toward his office.

The door was slightly ajar.

And through it, she heard voices.

"....accelerated timeline," Marco was saying. "James infiltrates in seventy-two hours. Once he’s inside The Covenant facility, we’ll have approximately two weeks to gather intelligence before they release the bioweapon."

Eve froze.

Marco: "What’s our play?"

"James infiltrates. Gathers intelligence. In the meantime, we identify Dante’s inside man. Figure out exactly what resources he has. And prepare for what’s coming."

"And Eve?"

A pause. Then Dimitri: "Eve doesn’t know. She won’t know. Not until this is over."

Eve felt her entire body go cold.

The Covenant. The organization that killed his mother. The one he’d supposedly told her everything about.

The one he was keeping from her.

Again.

Eve pushed open the door.

***

POV: DIMITRI

Dimitri looked up from his desk to find Eve standing in the doorway.

Her face was pale. Her eyes were hard.

And she’d heard everything.

"What did I tell you about lying to me again?" Her voice was absolutely ice.

Dimitri stood slowly.

"Eve...."

"Don’t." She held up a hand. "Don’t you dare try to explain. Do you remember what I told you would happen if you ever lied to me again?"