Chapter 7 - THE CRUMBLING EMPIREAs Adrian was hauled to his feet, thrashing and screaming curses that would make a sailor blush, the rest of his syndicate began to unravel like a cheap sweater.
Capos were shouting over one another, pointing fingers, trying to cut deals with federal agents on the spot. Politicians were frantically deleting emails on their phones while agents calmly confiscated them as evidence. The glittering, untouchable Moretti empire was evaporating before our eyes, reduced to ash in a matter of minutes.
Adrian’s mother, matriarch Elena Moretti Senior—whom the child in my arms was named after—pushed through the crowd from the VIP lounge, her face twisted in absolute fury.
"You vile, treacherous little bitch!" she shrieked, lunging toward me with clawed fingers. "You ruined everything! You destroyed generations of power because of a petty grudge!"
Before she could reach us, a female federal marshal stepped between us, pushing the old woman back with firm authority.
"Step back, ma'am, or you'll be joining your son in the back of a squad car," the marshal warned coldly.
I looked down at the screaming matriarch, feeling a profound, liberating sense of peace wash over me.
"I didn't destroy your family, Eleanor," I said quietly, speaking over the chaos of the room. "Your family was built on rotten wood and stolen blood. It was bound to collapse the moment someone refused to look away."
Adrian was dragged past me toward the heavy oak doors, his face bruised from the floor, his eyes burning with a hatred so intense it could have melted steel.
"I will get out!" he screamed, straining against the marshals holding his arms. "Do you hear me, Victoria? I own this city! When I get out, there won't be a hole deep enough for you and that bastard child to hide in!"
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I didn't blink. I didn't flinch. I just looked down at the tiny baby sleeping peacefully against my chest, completely unfazed by the roaring chaos around her.
"She's not a bastard, Adrian," I whispered softly as he was hauled through the doors. "She's the sole heir to what's left of your name. And I'll make sure she never has to learn how to spell it."
