Page 81 of Revenge & Ruin

“I—”

But at that moment, my office doors burst open, and Dante frantically appears before us. Dante doesn’t burst into my officewithout reason. Whatever’s got him wound up is serious. And I’m not in the mood for bad news today.

He slams the door open, eyes sharp and panicked, which is enough to set my jaw tight.

“Teo, we’ve got a problem,” he says, breathless. “The casino?—”

“What?” I’m on my feet in an instant, trying to ignore the strange pit in my stomach.

“It’s on fire. A few guys ran out here to tell me before they called the department. I thought you’d want to know immediately.”

My mind goes razor-sharp in an instant. “How bad?”

“From the looks of it? Bad. It’s spread to the top floors already,” Dante replies, voice low, as if he can’t believe the words coming out of his mouth.

I grab my keys and push past Marco, who himself seems to be in a state of shock.

Dante follows closely at my side, and we’re in the car in seconds, speeding down the main boulevard toward the casino construction site. The telltale pillar of black smoke is already floating up on the horizon.

There’s only one explanation for this. This fire isn’t some random accident. Not when Isabella is missing.

“It’s Leon, isn’t it?” I say finally, the words a low, bitter growl. “That coward thinks this will stop me.”

Dante clenches his fists. “Wouldn’t put it past him. But why now? Why not wait until construction was complete?”

“He’s trying to burn me out,” I say, a little too defensively. “Catch me off guard. But he doesn’t know how far I’ll go if he wants to make this personal.”

The car screeches to a halt, and we step out into the street. The air is thick with smoke, and I can already see flames licking up the sides of the structure.

It’s worse than I expected. A crowd’s gathering, but I barely notice them. All I can see is the ruin of what was supposed to be mine.

Dante stands next to me, fists still clenched. “What’s the plan, Teo?”

I don’t answer right away. I let myself watch the flames, feel their heat, and let it feed the anger building inside me. This isn’t just a building on fire. It’s a declaration of war.

“We rebuild,” I say, my voice low but steady, “and we takeeverythingfrom him. If he wants to start this, he’ll see exactly what he’s up against. Call the others. I want this entire place scoped out before the cops start sniffing around.”

Dante nods, a dark gleam in his eye. “Good. They’re already on their way.”

There’s a sudden crash, and we both watch as a huge support beam falls through the wreck, causing the entire third floor to cave in on itself. I take a cautious step back, but as I do, I notice something flicker in the corner of my eye.

Two streets over, someone slips down an alleyway and out of sight. My jaw clenches, blood roaring in my ear.

“He’s still here,” I hiss as I take off.

My feet carry me after him. Each step feeds the anger until it’s an inferno inside of me. It’s no accident he’s here. He wanted to watch it burn, wanted to see my reaction, but he’s about to get more than he bargained for.

Dante is close on my heels, so I shout back at him, “Get everyone into positionnow.”

“You can’t go after him alone.”

“Then be fucking quick about it!” I snap as I sprint across the road, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic.

As I round the corner into the alley, Leon must hear my footsteps because he throws a glance over his shoulder, and theflash of recognition in his eyes says it all. He stops, hands up defensively, almost like he’s about to talk his way out of it.

But I don’t give him a chance.

I lunge at him, fists clenched, and he barely has time to react before I slam him against the alley wall. His back hits the bricks with a satisfying thud, and he grunts in pain, but his hands are quick.

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