Chapter 390: Angela

"You’re facilitating," Luca echoed, and there was something heavy in his voice now. "Let’s not pretend there’s a difference."

Dante felt something twist in his chest.

Luca was right. There was no difference. Dante was giving the order that would lead to Eve’s death. Dante was selecting the weapon that would be used against her. Dante was participating in murder the same way The Covenant was participating, just one step removed.

"How do we approach Angela?" Dante asked, pushing past the moral weight because he had to.

"Carefully," Luca said. "She’s intelligent. She’ll understand what she’s being asked to do. She’ll know that refusing means consequences. But we need to frame it in a way that gives her the illusion of choice."

"How?" Dante asked.

"You tell her it’s an intelligence operation," Luca said. "You tell her The Covenant is developing a weapon, and they need information about Dimitri’s woman to create leverage. You tell her she’s gathering intelligence, not facilitating murder. Most of that is even true."

"And when The Covenant actually kills Eve?" Dante asked.

"By then, Angela will understand her role in it," Luca said. "She’ll have spent two weeks building a relationship with Eve, learning her vulnerabilities, understanding her patterns. She’ll know exactly what she contributed to. And she’ll have to live with that."

"Unless she’s the one who actually does it," Dante said quietly.

Luca nodded slowly, understanding the implication.

"The Covenant might want her to be the hand that strikes," Luca said. "They might want her to poison Eve, drug her, arrange an accident. They might want her to be the actual mechanism of death, not just the facilitator."

Dante felt ice settle in his stomach.

He’d just selected a woman to potentially become a murderer. He’d just put Angela on a path that would either lead to her becoming complicit in assassination or, more likely...becoming the person who actually executed it.

"Call her in," Dante said. "Tonight. I need to speak with her."

***

Angela arrived within an hour, dressed professionally despite the early morning summons. She was smart, she’d understood immediately that being called to Dante’s office this early meant something significant had shifted.

She sat across from Dante, her posture perfect, her expression carefully neutral.

"I have a special assignment for you," Dante said without preamble. "High priority. High stakes. And I need to know right now whether you’re willing to do it."

"Of course," Angela said. "What do you need?"

Dante studied her for a moment, taking in the eagerness in her voice, the readiness to please, the unquestioning loyalty that made her dangerous to employ for this kind of work.

"I need you to get close to someone," Dante said. "A woman named Eve. She’s Dimitri Valentino’s woman. She moves through Manhattan’s social scene, high-end shopping, charity events, the kind of spaces you’re already familiar with."

"How close?" Angela asked.

"Intimate," Dante said. "Friend close. Confidant close. The kind of person she depends on, trusts completely, would never suspect of having ulterior motives."

Angela’s expression shifted slightly, understanding that this wasn’t a simple intelligence operation.

"What’s the end goal?" Angela asked carefully.

"Information gathering," Dante said, which was technically true, even if incomplete. "We’re developing a comprehensive picture of Dimitri’s vulnerabilities. His woman is part of that picture. We need to understand her routines, her security protocols, her movements, her relationships. Eventually, we may need more direct access."

"More direct access," Angela repeated. "You mean you might need me to facilitate something."

"Possibly," Dante said. "I won’t know until The Covenant provides further instruction."

Angela was very still now, processing exactly what she was being asked to do.

"And if I refuse?" she asked.

"Then someone else does it," Dante said. "But you understand what that means. It means you’re no longer useful to me. It means you’re a security risk. It means consequences."

Angela nodded slowly, accepting the threat for what it was—not dramatic or violent, but absolute.

"How much time do I have?" Angela asked.

"Two weeks," Dante said. "To get close to her. To establish yourself as essential. To position yourself for whatever comes next."

"That’s aggressive," Angela said.

"Yes," Dante agreed.

Angela was quiet for a long moment, and Dante could see the calculation happening behind her eyes. The understanding that she was crossing a line. The understanding that accepting this assignment meant complicity in something darker and more permanent than anything she’d done before.

"Okay," Angela said finally. "I’ll do it."

And that was when Dante understood the true weight of what he’d just done.

He’d taken a woman who’d worked for him loyally, who’d trusted him, who’d been useful and capable and intelligent, and he’d turned her into a weapon. He’d positioned her to become a murderer. He’d set her on a path that would either lead to her blood on her hands or her body in the ground.

All because The Covenant had demanded it.

All because Dante had no choice.

"Good," Dante said. "Luca will help coordinate your access to Eve’s circles. He’ll provide cover stories, legitimate reasons for you to be in the same spaces. Starting tomorrow, you’re a fashion consultant who’s just moved to New York and is building a client base. You’ll be recommended to Eve through social channels. The rest is up to your ability to build the relationship."

"And the timeline for whatever comes next?" Angela asked.

"The Covenant will provide that," Dante said. "Once you’re in position, once you’ve established access, they’ll give you instructions. You follow those instructions exactly."

Angela nodded, understanding perfectly that there was no room for hesitation or deviation once this began.

She stood to leave.

"Angela," Dante said, stopping her at the door.

She turned back.

"Understand what you’re participating in," Dante said. "I need you to be completely certain before you commit to this."

"I’m certain," Angela said. "I work for you. This is what you need. I’ll do it."

She left.

And Dante was alone in his office again, understanding with absolute clarity that he’d just crossed a threshold that separated him from being a man running an operation from being a man complicit in murder.

The Covenant had manipulated him perfectly. They’d used his vendetta against Dimitri to position him as their tool. They’d given him orders he couldn’t refuse and were now responsible for death that wouldn’t exist without his cooperation.

He wasn’t the distraction anymore.

He was the architect of Eve’s murder.

And there was no taking that back.𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂