Chapter 6 - The Empire in the ShadowsThree weeks passed.
To the underworld, the Vale organization looked stronger than ever. The attempted coup by Grant Mercer and Roland Pierce was quietly scrubbed from the history books, dismissed as a minor internal dispute handled with typical Vale efficiency. Grant was serving a life sentence in a max-security federal penitentiary where even the guards didn't speak his name, and Roland was stripped of his law license, his wealth, and his freedom, rotting in a federal holding cell.
Adrian sat in his study, the room dark except for the amber glow of a desk lamp.
He hadn't slept more than three hours a night in twenty-one days.
On his desk sat a thick stack of legal documents—divorce papers drafted by Elena’s high-powered divorce attorney, demanding complete custody of the unborn child, a massive financial settlement, and a restraining order keeping Adrian five hundred feet away at all times.
He had signed every single page. He didn't contest a single clause.
If giving her freedom and absolute safety was the only way to protect her and their child from the monsters in his world, he would pay that price, even if it meant tearing his own heart out.
Suddenly, his secure satellite phone buzzed.
It was Malcolm Reed.
"Boss," Malcolm said, his voice unusually tense. "You need to look at the security feeds from the New Haven medical clinic."
Adrian sat up straight. "What happened?"
"Elena was there for her twelve-week checkup twenty minutes ago. But she didn't leave alone."
Adrian’s blood ran cold. "Who was with her?"
"Dante Moretti."
The name hung in the silent room like a death sentence.
Dante Moretti—head of the Moretti family, Adrian’s most ruthless rival, and the man who had ordered the Whitmore Road ambush.
"Dante’s men intercepted her vehicle outside the clinic," Malcolm said rapidly. "They didn't hurt her, but they forced her into a black van. They’re heading north toward the old Moretti estate on the coast of Maine."
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Adrian didn't hesitate. He slammed the phone down, grabbed his holster, and sprinted out of the study.
The war wasn't over. It had only just begun.
