Chapter 6 - Shadows of the Moretti Cartel
The attack at the gala signaled open war between the Costa syndicate and the Moretti cartel.
Security around Tessa was multiplied tenfold.
She was moved directly into Gabriel’s private penthouse estate atop Costa Tower.
Living in such close proximity stripped away their professional barriers.
She learned his habits.
He took his espresso black with a single dash of cinnamon.
He slept only four hours a night.
He had a deep scar running along his left shoulder blade—a relic from an assassination attempt when he was twenty-one.
One evening, while working together in his private study, Tessa noticed a crest carved into his signet ring: a silver hawk clutching a blood-red rose.
Tessa stared at the crest, a sudden wave of deja vu washing over her.
“What is that symbol?” she asked softly.
Gabriel looked down at the ring.
“It is the Costa family crest. It has represented our bloodline for over two hundred years.”
Tessa touched her own collarbone unconsciously.
“My mother used to draw that exact symbol in the margins of her books,” Tessa murmured. “When I was a little girl, she wore a pendant with a hawk and a rose. She told me it was a symbol of an old promise.”
Gabriel’s eyes sharpened.
“What was your mother’s name?”
May you like
“Elena,” Tessa replied. “Elena Lynn. But she died in a car accident when I was seven. I was raised in foster care.”
Gabriel’s expression became utterly unreadable, a storm brewing behind his dark irises.
