Karvel stood on the sidewalk outside his former hotel, his belongings at his feet and Leo's surveillance team maintaining their discrete positions around the area.A slow smile spread across his face as an idea began to form—one that would simultaneously solve his immediate housing problem and deliver a psychological blow to Leo Romano.If Leo wants to play games with my living situation, Karvel thought with dark amusement, then let's see how he reacts when I turn to someone he can't control.He hailed a taxi and loaded his belongings into the back seat, noting how the surveillance team scrambled to follow as the cab pulled away from the curb."Carter Industries headquarters," Karvel instructed the driver. "The executive building downtown."Twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped outside the gleaming skyscraper that housed Mariya's expanding business empire. Karvel gathered his belongings and approached the security desk in the marble lobby, where two guards immediately recognized him.

The alley fell silent except for the groans of Leo's battered security team as Mariya processed what she had just witnessed.Her ex-fiancé had just dismantled four professional thugs with the ease of someone swatting flies, then delivered a message that had left her husband visibly shaking.He spared Leo, Mariya thought, her mind struggling to reconcile this display of lethal capability with the man she thought she knew.He could have killed him, but he chose not to."Did you hear what he said?" Mariya turned to Leo, her voice carrying a bitter edge that surprised even herself."He thinks he's being merciful by not beating you up in front of your own men!"Leo was still pressed against the alley wall, his face pale with residual terror and growing humiliation."Mariya, that man is dangerous. More dangerous than we ever imagined.""Dangerous?" Mariya's voice rose with angry disbelief."He's pathetic! A bitter, vindictive man who can't accept that I moved on to someone better!"She's de

"Listen carefully, beautiful," Enzo continued with the confidence of someone who had never been denied anything he wanted. "I'm offering you the chance to become my lady. You'll live like a queen, wear the finest clothes, eat at the best restaurants. All you have to do is say yes.""I already told you I'm not interested," Vivian replied firmly, though her voice carried a note of growing anxiety. "I have an important business meeting to attend, and I need to leave immediately.""Business meeting?" Enzo laughed with condescending amusement. "Sweetheart, what kind of business could a pretty little thing like you possibly have that's more important than getting to know Enzo Torrino?"His lieutenant, Rocco Martelli, stepped closer with obvious menace. "Boss is being generous with his time, lady. Most women would be grateful for the attention.""Most women obviously have lower standards than I do," Vivian shot back, her patience finally beginning to fray.Enzo's smile disappeared at this pu

The Meridian Cinema's premier screening of "Midnight in Manhattan" had drawn Carson City's elite to its plush theater seats. The darkened auditorium buzzed with quiet conversations and the gentle rustle of expensive clothing as society's finest settled in to enjoy the evening's entertainment.Vivian and Sophia sat in premium seats near the center of the theater, sharing artisanal popcorn and expensive champagne while the opening credits rolled across the massive screen."I still can't believe you're investigating Karvel behind his back," Sophia whispered during a quiet moment in the film. "After what he did for me at the hospital, don't you think he deserves some trust?""Trust goes both ways," Vivian replied quietly, her eyes fixed on the screen. "If he won't be honest with me, then I'll find the truth myself."Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden flood of harsh fluorescent light that filled the theater like a lightning strike. The movie stopped abruptly as confused murmurs

The theater's atmosphere crackled with violent tension as Christopher Pemberton's broken form lay sprawled across the expensive carpet, his designer tuxedo torn and bloodstained from the savage beating.Enzo Torrino stood over his victim with satisfied brutality, his crew arranged around him like a pack of predators savoring their dominance."Now then, Miss Fairchild," Enzo called out with renewed confidence, "I believe we were discussing your future cooperation with my business ventures."Big Enzo Calabrese had built his reputation on intimidation and violence, and the systematic destruction of Christopher had served as the perfect demonstration of what happened to those who opposed him in Carson City.Sebastian Sterling's commanding voice cut through the chaos like a blade, immediately drawing every eye in the theater to his casual but imposing presence."Gentlemen," Sebastian announced with dangerous calm, "I do believe you're in the wrong theater. This screening is reserved for a