The girl nodded, her chest puffing out with a newfound sense of purpose.

The Game of Shadows

For the next week, Silas became an actor in his own life.

  • He kissed Isabella, knowing she was counting the days until his death.

  • He fed Caleb false information about a “Mexican shipment” to see how fast it reached his rival, Julian Sterling.

  • Every night, Maya brought him the memory card from her button-camera.

The footage was a roadmap of betrayal. He watched Isabella and Caleb in the garden, planning a “car accident” during the honeymoon in Tuscany. He heard Caleb reporting to Julian Sterling, promising that the Thorne empire would be theirs within a month of the wedding.

The Final Move: Pier 7

The wedding was magnificent—white roses, hundreds of candles, and a guest list that included Julian Sterling himself. Silas stood at the altar, looking at the woman who planned to bury him.

But the plan shattered when Leo Moretti whispered in his ear: “They took the girl.”

Sterling had snatched Maya as insurance. Silas didn’t hesitate. He abandoned the wedding, the trap, and the guests. He took his loyalist soldiers to Pier 7.