Chapter 4 - The Rat’s TrapWithin an hour of leaving the Apex Trust building, the corporate house of cards Grant had spent three years building began to collapse. Roman’s network of financial auditors—men who operated with the efficiency of military intelligence—frozen every Mercer Logistics account across the Cayman Islands, Zurich, and Delaware.
We sat in the back of Roman’s armored bulletproof Maybach parked overlooking the East River, watching the sunset bleed orange and purple over the Manhattan skyline. My phone buzzed against the leather seat. It wasn't a text; it was a direct cellular call from Grant.
"Answer it," Roman said, keeping his eyes on the road ahead, his hand resting casually on the steering wheel. "Put it on speaker."
I swiped the screen and hit speaker mode. "Grant."
"What did you do?" Grant’s voice wasn't calm anymore. The sophisticated, untouchable corporate heir facade had completely shattered, replaced by the panicked screech of a cornered animal. "Every account in Zurich is locked! The board at Apex just dissolved my executive authority! Evelyn, you stupid, ungrateful bitch, what have you done?!"
"I stopped letting you own the rooms you hurt me in, Grant," I replied, my voice chillingly calm.
"I am going to hunt you down," Grant screamed, his voice cracking with hysteria. "I’m going to tear that estate apart brick by brick, and then I’m going to show your precious little mafia husband what happens when you cross a Mercer!"
Before I could answer, Roman reached over, tapped the speaker button, and spoke directly into the phone’s mic with terrifying stillness.
"Grant," Roman said softly. "I'm standing right here. And unlike your father, I don't wait for a stroke to clean house. I'll be waiting at the old South Street pier in one hour. Come alone, or I'll feed you to the harbor before midnight."
May you like
Roman hung up the call before Grant could sputter another threat. He looked over at me, his hard expression softening just a fraction. "Are you ready to watch your brother find out what real power looks like?"
"I've been ready for three years," I said.
