Chapter 2 - The House ArrestWithin minutes, the entire Moretti estate was sealed tighter than a federal penitentiary. Heavy iron gates locked shut across the twenty-acre perimeter; motion sensors blinked furiously across the security consoles, and forty armed guards took up positions along the stone walls.
Adrian stood in the small staff quarters, watching Dr. Michael Grant tend to Claire Bennett. Claire was slowly regaining consciousness, her eyes fluttering open with a look of sheer terror as she realized where she was—and who was standing at the foot of her bed.
"Mr. Moretti..." Claire gasped, trying to sit up, her voice raspy and weak. "I... I didn't mean to disturb you. Lily, I told you—"
"Quiet, Claire," Adrian commanded, his voice dropping into that low, velvet baritone that made hardened criminals shake. "You were poisoned. Or drugged. Michael found traces of a central nervous system depressant in your blood. A sedative you didn't prescribe."
Claire’s breath hitched. She looked at Lily, who was fast asleep on the small cot beside her, clutching her stuffed rabbit.
"Victor Kane," Adrian said flatly, leaning over the edge of the mattress. "Your daughter told me that name. Explain it to me before I tear this city apart looking for him."
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Claire closed her eyes, tears spilling over her lashes. "Victor isn't just a businessman, Mr. Moretti. Before I came to work here... I was his corporate archivist. I found the financial ledgers proving he laundered cartel money through Moretti-front shipping lines to frame you for federal racketeering. When I tried to run with Lily, he hunted us down. He poisoned my coffee tonight to silence me... and to get to the encryption keys I hid."
Adrian’s jaw tightened until the bone cracked. Kane hadn't just infiltrated his house; he had weaponized an innocent mother and child to destroy him from within.
