Chapter 10 - The Dinner Party Trap
Three days later, an elegant, black-tie charity gala at the Grand Meridian Hotel served as the city’s premier social event of the season. Alexander insisted Megan attend by his side, not as a hidden secret, but as the brilliant director of his Foundation and the undisputed queen of his world.
Dressed in a sweeping, midnight-blue silk gown that caught the chandelier light, Megan walked down the grand staircase with her hand resting securely in the crook of Alexander’s arm. Flashbulbs popped from the press corps lining the perimeter, capturing the rare, public emergence of the city's most feared kingpin alongside the woman who had quietly tamed him.
"You look breathtaking," Alexander murmured near her ear, his hand tightening protectively against her waist as they stepped onto the ballroom floor for the opening waltz.
"I feel like a target," Megan replied, though a small smile touched her lips as she leaned into his steady embrace.
"Let them look," Alexander said softly, his dark eyes scanning the perimeter with razor-sharp precision. "Every eye in this room knows that anyone who touches you answers directly to me."
Midway through the evening, while Alexander was momentarily cornered by the city’s district commissioner regarding a port development grant, Megan stepped toward the terrace doors to catch a breath of cool night air. The glass patio doors opened to a quiet, moonlit garden overlooking the harbor.
"It’s quite a transformation, isn't it?"
Megan froze. A tall, impeccably dressed man stepped out from the shadows of the stone colonnade. His silver-streaked hair and cold, calculating grey eyes radiated an old-world menace that made her blood run cold.
"Viktor Vance," Megan said, her voice dropping into a defensive chill.
"Ah, the famous Megan Collins," Vance smiled, though his eyes remained dead and calculating. "The woman who managed to do what fifty federal indictments couldn't—soften Alexander Pellagrini. Tell me, does he still sleep with one eye open, or does he trust you enough to let his guard down completely?"
Megan didn't step back. The fear that once paralyzed her was replaced by the fierce, protective maternal instinct that had kept Lily alive through chemotherapy. "If you think you can use me to get to him, you've made a fatal mistake."
Vance chuckled, stepping closer. "We shall see, my dear. Empires built on blood always crumble from within."
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Before Vance could take another step, a heavy hand gripped his shoulder with enough force to bruise bone. Alexander stood beside them, his face an expressionless mask of pure, unadulterated terror for anyone on the receiving end.
"If you ever speak to her again," Alexander whispered, his voice dangerously low, "you won't live long enough to regret it."
