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She saved the East Coast’s most feared crime boss—then he found her father’s signature on her skin. / Chapter 3 / 6

Chapter 3 - THE TRIPLE CROSS

Hook: The stepmother thought she inherited the throne—until the dead man's daughter walked through the door.

The safehouse elevator doors forced open. Silas, Adrian's trusted bodyguard, walked in with three armed men. But he didn't raise his gun to defend Adrian.

He pointed it directly at Adrian’s chest.

"I'm sorry, Boss," Silas said, though his face showed no remorse. "Elena offered me fifty percent of the shipping docks. You're too stubborn. You don't want the empire to expand into the dark web. She does."

Adrian didn't flinch. "I built this family on loyalty, Silas. You think Elena will let you live once I'm gone? You're a loose end."

"I'm a loose end with a massive bank account," Silas sneered. "Kill them both. Make it look like a rival hit."

Before Silas's men could pull their triggers, Mara stepped sideways, utilizing the shadows of the red emergency lights. She fired two quick, precise shots. The two men behind Silas collapsed, hit perfectly in the shoulder joints, dropping their weapons.

Adrian reacted instantly, diving forward and sweeping Silas’s legs out from under him. The heavy bodyguard crashed to the floor. Adrian stood over him, pressing the barrel of his gun to Silas's forehead.

"Who else?" Adrian demanded. "Who else did Elena buy?"

"Everyone," Silas choked out, blood pooling from his busted lip. "The whole council. They think you're weak, Adrian! They think you're soft because you won't deal in human trafficking. Elena promised them billions!"

"Where is she?" Mara asked, stepping forward, her gun still trained on the door.

"The Manhattan Trust," Silas gasped. "She went to intercept the vault. She knows your father left something there. She’s going to blow the vault and take the decryption key by force!"

Adrian looked at Mara. "If she gets that key, my family's empire is destroyed, and you're as good as dead."

"Then we go to the bank," Mara said.

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The notification light on my phone blinked a furious, rhythmic amber. Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six missed calls. Ryan’s texts were no longer polite; they were mutating into panicked, all-caps demands. “Mom is crying hysterically. The bank is threatening default. What kind of monster cuts off a widow? PICK UP THE PHONE.”

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Adrian shot Silas in the kneecap, ignoring his screams. "Keep him alive for the cleaners," Adrian told his remaining loyal guards who had just arrived at the scene. He turned to Mara, a dark, dangerous spark of admiration in his eyes. "You're surprisingly good under pressure, Mara Bell."

"I had a very demanding father," she replied.

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