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The ink on the adoption papers was barely dry in the secret biometric vault fifty floors above the city, but the target was already painted. Vincent Crowe—the Wolf—did not know that his deepest vulnerability had just been digitized, sold, and weaponized before the boy, Leo, even woke up in the master suite. / Chapter 13 / 20

Chapter 13 - The Black ChoppersThe quiet serenity of the Cascade Mountains was shattered twenty minutes later by the deep, rhythmic thrum of heavy rotor blades cutting through the cloud cover.

Three matte-black military transport helicopters crested the ridge, bearing no insignia, their side doors sliding open to reveal heavily armed federal marshals alongside private Vanguard enforcers. They landed in a violent swirl of snow and pine needles just fifty yards from the lodge porch.

Vincent stepped out onto the porch, his long black overcoat billowing in the rotor wash. In his right hand, he held a customized tactical rifle, its barrel pointed casually at the ground. Behind him, the heavy oak door creaked open, and Leo peeked out, clutching his stuffed bear to his chest.

"Dad..." Leo whimpered.

"Go back inside, Leo. Lock the door. Do not look out the window," Vincent ordered, not breaking eye contact with the lead chopper.

A man in a crisp federal suit, flanked by four tactical operators, stepped forward through the snow. "Vincent Crowe! By order of the federal district court and the Department of Child Services, you are commanded to surrender the child immediately. Step away from the porch!"

Vincent didn't move an inch. "That boy has a father. And he isn't going anywhere."

"You don't have a choice, Crowe," the agent barked, raising a bullhorn. "Your empire is gone. Your accounts are seized. You are a pauper with a target on your back!"

Vincent let out a low, dark chuckle. "You think I built an empire for the money? You think paper and numbers made me the Wolf?"

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