PROLOGUE

"Stop kidding. Three million dollars for this trash? Are you fucking high?”

The shout ricocheted through the cavernous meeting hall, slicing the silence into jagged pieces. The man stood with his fists planted on the polished mahogany table, his face red with fury, his veins bulging as if ready to burst.

His voice grated against the calm like a blunt blade.

But the man he was shouting at didn't so much as blink.

Gabriel Marquez sat in his high-backed chair as though the throne had been carved for him and him alone. His posture was immaculate, every line of his body etched with discipline. He didn't lean forward or flinch back — he sat perfectly still, legs crossed at the knee, shoulders broad beneath the crisp lines of his tailored suit.

He radiated wealth, power, and control — not the noisy, desperate kind men liked to flaunt, but the quiet, suffocating kind that bent the air itself. Even silence became his weapon.

And right now, silence was all he gave.

The furious client, flushed and sweating, took Gabriel's composure as arrogance. But the men in black standing behind their master knew better. They'd been at his side long enough to feel the storm that churned beneath his stillness. Their shoulders stiffened, jaws clenched. A few even stepped forward, their eyes narrowing, their hands twitching at the thought of tearing the disrespectful bastard apart where he stood.

But Gabriel didn't allow chaos unless he willed it.

Without breaking eye contact, he lifted one hand — a single, effortless motion — and his men froze mid-step. He hadn't raised his voice, hadn't spoken a word, but the gesture carried more weight than any command could.

Obedience was immediate. They returned to their positions, silent statues again, though fury burned in their eyes.

The client, oblivious to how close death had brushed his skin, smirked at the gesture, mistaking it for leniency. Mistaking Gabriel's mercy for weakness.

“1.5," the man snapped, leaning forward with a smug tilt of his chin. "And we are done."

The silence stretched thin, taut like a wire.

And then came the sound.

A low, dark chuckle slipped from Gabriel's throat, deep and unamused. The kind of laugh that didn't lighten a room — it darkened it. His lips curved slightly, but there was no humor in his eyes, only ice.

“I don't do charity," Gabriel said, his voice smooth as velvet, sharp as steel. "Three point five. Non-negotiable."

The words landed with finality. His tone carried no room for argument.

But the client was a fool.

He blinked, his smirk faltering, his pride wounded. "You—are you fucking kidding me?" His voice cracked, pitched too high in disbelief. "I'm offering you a deal, and you—"

Gabriel didn't respond. He didn't need to. His silence was a cage, forcing the other man to rattle against its bars until he strangled himself with his own noise.

That was Gabriel Marquez's gift — the art of restraint. He'd learned long ago that words were cheap, that loudness was for the weak. True power didn't scream. It whispered. It waited. And when it struck, it struck like lightning, too fast for the eye to follow.

The client didn't know he was already dying.

Gabriel leaned back slightly, adjusting the cuff of his suit, the glint of his watch catching the dim light. He looked as though he were bored, as though the entire exchange was beneath him.

And perhaps it was.

For Gabriel Marquez wasn't just another cartel lord clawing for power. He was the power. His empire stretched across Europe like veins of steel, pumping life into governments, law enforcement, and corporations alike.

Others trafficked in shadows; Gabriel turned shadows into empires. His weapons weren't just contraband — they were coveted brands, each crafted with precision, each stamped with the Marquez seal. His merchandise carried weight, not because it was illegal, but because it was his.

And what bore his name could never be touched.

The law didn't dare touch him. The government didn't dare cross him. Because Gabriel didn't work against them — he worked with them, fed them, owned them. Politicians, judges, border patrols — all bought, all loyal, all his.

Gabriel Marquez wasn't above the system. He was the system.

And still, this man thought he could shout. Bargain. Challenge.

Desperation made men reckless. Recklessness made them stupid.

The client's eyes darted, his temper rising with every second of Gabriel's unshakable calm. "Four million!" he barked suddenly, a manic grin spreading across his face. "And your wife for a night!"

The words hung in the air like poison.

And for the first time, Gabriel moved.

Slowly, deliberately, he lifted his head. His eyes locked on the man with a gaze that burned hotter than fire, colder than ice. Ocean blue turned storm-black, rage hardening them into steel.

The client froze, but only for a heartbeat. Then, emboldened by the reaction, he pressed further, chuckling darkly, too proud of his provocation to stop.

"Well, I heard you married Silva's second daughter. Elena, wasn't it? She was famous for her beauty. Perhaps we could—"

BANG.

The sound was deafening in the silence.

The man's head snapped back, a perfect hole splitting his forehead. Blood spurted in a crimson arc, staining the polished table before his body slumped lifelessly to the floor.

For a moment, there was nothing but the echo of the gunshot, vibrating through marble and bone alike.

Gabriel lowered his weapon with the same calm he had raised it. No hesitation. No regret. Only the stillness of a man who had done what needed to be done.

The air was heavy, thick with death. His chest rose and fell once, twice, the faintest tremor of fury lingering in the steady rhythm of his breathing.

He stared at the corpse, at the blood pooling beneath it, at the pathetic shell of a man who had dared to speak her name.

Elena.

The only crown he had ever chosen. The only weakness he had ever allowed himself.

The man had wanted to provoke him. He had succeeded. But he hadn't understood the cost.

Gabriel's voice, when it came, was low and deadly. "Feed him to the dogs."

The guards behind him smirked, pleased. They moved forward at once, dragging the carcass away, their boots thudding against the marble floor.

Gabriel rose from his seat, every inch of him a towering storm. His aura crackled with danger, with dominance, with fury still simmering beneath the surface.

He was feared by all. Obeyed by all. Untouchable by all.

And yet — one woman's name had undone him. One woman had the power to turn his silence into fire, his calm into murder.

Elena Silva. His wife. His possession. His obsession.

The world could mock him, betray him, even challenge him — and Gabriel Marquez would laugh. But let another man breathe her name, and he would burn the earth down to ash.

For she was the only thing he could not share.

The only thing he could not bargain.

The only thing that was truly his.

And God help the man who forgot it.

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