Chapter 4

The man nervously shoved his phone into my hands.

I dialed a number without a second's hesitation.

"Bring the cash to The Obsidian Vault," was all I said before hanging up. "You have thirty minutes."

Twenty grueling minutes dragged by in stifling silence. The clock was ticking down. Only ten minutes remained.

Unable to sit still any longer, Lila abruptly stood up from the booth.

"I can't believe we're actually entertaining this pathetic bluff. What kind of gutter trash can scrape together that kind of cash?"

She rolled her eyes, glaring at the manager.

"Vince, get your muscle over here. No one is suicidal enough to cross the Rainer family for her. Let's stop wasting everyone's time."

On Vince's signal, four towering bouncers stepped forward, boxing me in.

I raised a single hand, my gaze locked and icy.

"Back off. There are still ten minutes on the clock."

Lila let out a sharp, grating laugh.

"You know what? If a bag of money actually walks through those doors before the clock runs out, I'll gorge myself on that raw steak and crawl out of this club barking on all fours!"

A cold smile crept onto my lips. "Make sure you remember that."

"Oh, everyone here is my witness!" Lila shouted, turning to the crowd with a theatrical spin. "I swear on it!"

The room erupted into rowdy laughter, anticipating the grand finale of my humiliation.

With the deadline closing in, Beau Lombard—a bloated, red-faced capo slouched at a nearby table—lost whatever little restraint he had left.

Reeking of cheap cigars and liquor, he reached out and grabbed my bare shoulder.

"Get your filthy hands off of me." I smacked his grip away.

Beau chuckled, rubbing his stubbled chin as his eyes grazed over my ruined gown like a starving predator.

"Not bad, Kai. Since you're officially tossing her out, you mind if I get first dibs?"

Kai leisurely swirled the whiskey in his glass.

"Once she defaults on the bill, she becomes public property. Do whatever you want with her."

I stared at the man whose empire I had built from nothing.

"Kai. Is humoring Lila really worth burning it all down?" I asked.

Kai merely scoffed. He stood up, closing the distance between us, and forcefully pinched my chin between his fingers.

"I just need to drill a simple fact into your head, Elara. Without the Rainer name, you are a complete nobody. A disobedient wife needs to be broken so she remembers her place."

I trembled—not from fear, but from a volcanic rage. He released my face, strolling back to the chair with a heavy, dismissive sigh.

"My patience has expired," he murmured.

That was the only green light they needed. The surrounding mob bosses discarded their last shreds of decency, grinning wildly as they closed the circle around me.

"Hold her down!" Lila shrieked at the guards. "Don't let her move!"

The two massive enforcers lunged, twisting my arms behind my back.

I thrashed against their iron grip, my eyes locking onto Kai.

He just watched, lounging like a king on a throne untouched by the squalor.

Three years. I had wasted three years of my life believing this arrogant parasite could actually give me a quiet, happy future.

"Stop glaring at me like a victim, Elara," he drawled, his voice devoid of remorse.

"This is a hard lesson, but you needed it. You actually believed you could throw your weight around this city just because you shared my bed. Tonight, you learn exactly where you stand."

The fat, greedy capos howled with laughter, their grubby fingers reaching out to tear the remaining fabric of my dress.

I fought like hell, committing every single leering face to memory.

"Burn this exact moment into your minds," I hissed, my voice dripping with pure, lethal promise.

"Because in less than two minutes, every last one of you is going to bleed for this."

Lila spat in disgust. "Tear her clothes off! The time is up! No more—"

CRASH!

The massive, reinforced doors didn't just swing open—they were blown violently apart, the sheer force shaking the walls.

A flood of elite tactical operators clad in pitch-black combat gear poured into the lounge.

Before a single Rainer guard could unholster a weapon, the strike team moved with terrifying, surgical brutality, sweeping the legs out from under the bouncers and pinning them to the floor with assault rifles aimed squarely at their skulls.

In a matter of seconds, the entire room was fully neutralized. The rowdy crowd of mobsters froze in absolute, breathless terror.

Then came the rhythmic, echoing click-clack of stilettos against the floor.

Raven Hale strode into the light.

As the supreme enforcer of the continent's largest underground financial trust and the most feared executioner of the Voss, Dons who ruled entire states trembled at the mere mention of her name.

Gripping a heavy briefcase, Raven swept her emotionless gaze past the stunned crowd until it locked on me.

She stepped up. Then, right in front of me, she sank into a perfect, reverent bow.

"Miss Seraphina Voss. I have brought the cash. I deeply apologize if I kept you waiting."