Chapter 317: He Is Going To Kill All Of You

That was the first thought that penetrated Dimitri’s rage. Eve was alive and seemingly unharmed.

She was wearing the same clothes she’d worn to the office that morning. Her hair was pulled back. Her expression was controlled, almost resigned. Like she understood this was part of the game and she was going to navigate it with her full intelligence engaged.

"Eve," Mike said, moving closer to the monitor. "Jesus Christ, she’s..."

"She’s alive," Dimitri finished coldly. "Which is the only reason Dante still has a heartbeat."

The video showed Eve sitting on the bed for approximately ten seconds. Then a voice spoke from off-camera.

A woman’s voice.

"Hello, Dimitri."

Isabella.

Dimitri felt something dark and dangerous settle in his chest.

"It’s been a while," Isabella continued, her voice carrying a tone that mixed seduction with something harder. "I wanted to personally deliver this message because I think it’s important you understand exactly who orchestrated your downfall. It wasn’t just Dante. I was part of this. Every decision. Every plan. Every detail. I helped take the woman you love from you."

The camera panned, and Isabella came into view.

She was standing beside Eve, her hand resting on Eve’s shoulder in a gesture that was simultaneously proprietorial and threatening.

"You rejected me," Isabella continued, her voice dropping to something colder. "You chose her over me. Over the alliance with my father. Over everything we were supposed to be. And for six months, I’ve watched while Dante showed me what real devotion looks like. What a man who actually values me acts like."

Isabella’s hand moved from Eve’s shoulder to her hair, running fingers through it in a gesture that was clearly meant to be dehumanizing.

"So I helped him take her. And I’m going to help him keep her until you understand what it feels like to lose everything you care about."

The video cut to black.

Then a new video started.

This one showed Dante, sitting at a table, his expression absolutely assured of his power.

"Hello, Dimitri," Dante said, his voice carrying the cadence of a man who’d rehearsed these words carefully. "I’m sure you’re experiencing some strong emotions right now. Rage. Desperation. The knowledge that you underestimated me. That’s good. I want you to feel all of that."

Dimitri’s hands were clenched into fists so tight his nails were drawing blood from his palms.

"Eve is safe," Dante continued. "For now. She’s comfortable. She has food. She has water. She has everything she needs to survive. But her continued safety depends entirely on your next actions. Which is why I’m sending you these demands."

Dante leaned forward, his scarred face filling the screen.

"First demand: You surrender control of your empire to me. Every operation. Every territory. Every resource. Everything you’ve built belongs to me now. You’re finished in New York. Finished in New Jersey. Finished everywhere east of the Mississippi River."

Mike made a sound like a wounded animal.

"Second demand: You publicly acknowledge that I’m the superior power. I want a press conference. I want you to tell the world that Dante Romano defeated you. That you’re surrendering the city to superior tactical planning and superior force."

"This son of a bitch," Mike breathed.

"Third demand: You leave New York," Dante continued. "You take your woman, if I decide to return her alive, and you disappear. You go somewhere that I never have to see your face again."

Dante paused, and something like satisfaction crossed his features.

"You have seventy-two hours to agree to these terms. When those seventy-two hours are up, I start sending you pieces of your woman. Fingers first. Then we escalate from there. And with each piece I send, your time window to save her gets shorter."

The video cut to another angle showing Eve again.

"Just so you understand what you’re losing," Dante said from off-camera, "here’s your precious woman."

The camera zoomed in on Eve’s face.

She looked directly at the lens, and Dimitri could see the calculation happening behind her eyes. She was assessing. Planning. Refusing to give them the satisfaction of her fear.

"Tell me something," Eve said, her voice steady despite her situation. "When you’re done with this performance, when you’ve made all your demands, what happens? Do you think Dimitri is actually going to surrender his empire? Do you think he’s going to walk away quietly?"

"Silence her," Dante’s voice came from off-camera.

The video cut to black.

Then a final video segment appeared.

Eve was still on the screen, but now there were tears streaming down her face. Not from fear. From anger.

"He’s going to kill all of you," Eve said, her voice absolutely certain. "He’s going to find me. He’s going to take me back. And he’s going to make you understand what happens to men who touch what belongs to him."

"Enough," Dante said, and the video ended.

The monitor went dark.

Marco immediately pulled up the audio file.

Isabella’s voice came through the speakers.

"Dimitri, I wanted to add this message to Dante’s because I think it’s important you understand my role in this. I helped plan the extraction. And I’m here with Eve right now, making sure she understands exactly what your rejection of me cost her."

Isabella paused, and Dimitri could hear the satisfaction in her voice.

"You had a choice," Isabella continued. "You could have married me. You could have united our families. You could have had everything. But instead, you chose her. And now she’s paying the price for your arrogance."

Another pause.

"Dante offered me something you never could, Dimitri. He offered me devotion. Real devotion. The kind where a man would burn down the world to keep you by his side. So I’m staying with him. And I’m going to watch while he breaks you completely."

The audio file ended.

Marco immediately pulled up the text file.

It contained a list of demands written out in excruciating detail:

DIMITRI VALENTINO - SURRENDER TERMS

By order of Dante Romano:

IMMEDIATE TRANSFER OF ALL ASSETS: Every business operation, every territory, every resource under Dimitri Valentino’s control shall be transferred to Dante Romano. Failure to comply will result in escalating harm to the hostage.