Chapter 2: The Billionaire’s Hidden Enemy
Adrian Duca had spent his entire life believing one thing:
Trust was a weakness.
But Vincent Rizzo had proven him wrong.
Because the man who had tried to kill him was not an enemy standing outside his empire.
He was the man standing beside him.
The penthouse remained frozen after the gunshot.
Vincent’s body lay motionless beneath the broken glass.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Except Cara Jenkins.
She stood near the marble fireplace, staring at the phone inside her apron.
The recording was still playing.
Elena’s voice echoed through the room.
"We already have her brother."
Those words hit Adrian harder than the bullet he had just avoided.
“Toby Jenkins,” Adrian said quietly.
Cara looked at him.
The coldness in his eyes had changed.
Not disappeared.
Changed.
Because for the first time, the most feared man in New York was not thinking about revenge.
He was thinking about a seventeen-year-old boy who had been dragged into his war.
“Where did they take him?” Adrian asked.
Cara shook her head, tears threatening but refusing to fall.
“I don’t know.”
“You said Elena signed him out.”
“Yes.”
“And you know nothing else?”
Cara clenched her fists.
“I only know that my brother is sick. I know he was scared. I know I trusted the hospital to protect him.”
Her voice cracked.
“And now he’s gone because someone wanted to hurt you.”
The entire room went silent.
Adrian stared at her.
Most people who stood in front of him begged.
Threatened.
Lied.
Cara did none of those things.
She blamed herself.
And somehow, that angered him more.
“Find him,” Adrian ordered.
His security team immediately moved.
“Every camera in Mount Sinai. Every vehicle leaving the hospital. Every person who accessed the private elevator.”
He looked at his head of security.
“And find Elena.”
The man hesitated.
“Boss… Elena Rizzo is still officially your fiancée.”
Adrian’s expression turned terrifying.
“She stopped being that when she put a child in danger.”
Two hours later, Adrian’s private intelligence room revealed the first truth.
Elena had not acted alone.
The security footage showed her entering Mount Sinai with two men.
Not Duca employees.
Rizzo family soldiers.
Cara watched the footage beside Adrian.
Her face turned pale.
“That’s Vincent’s people.”
Adrian nodded.
“But Vincent was only following orders.”
Cara looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Adrian zoomed in on Elena’s face.
“She wasn’t afraid.”
The image showed Elena walking through the hospital hallway.
Calm.
Confident.
Prepared.
“She knew exactly what she was doing.”
Cara swallowed.
“Then who was she working for?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
Because the truth was already becoming obvious.
Someone powerful enough to control Vincent.
Someone powerful enough to manipulate Elena.
Someone who wanted Adrian Duca dead.
The screen suddenly flashed.
A new message appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
Adrian opened it.
A photo loaded.
Cara gasped.
It was Toby.
Alive.
Sitting in a dark room.
A medical oxygen tube connected to his face.
Below the picture was one sentence.
YOU SAVED HIS LIFE. NOW SAVE YOURS.
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
The phone rang.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
“Adrian Duca.”
“Who is this?”
“A man cleaning up a mistake.”
Adrian looked at Cara.
“What mistake?”
The voice laughed.
“The mistake of letting a maid become a hero.”
The call ended.
For the first time in years…
Adrian Duca felt something close to fear.
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Because whoever had taken Toby knew everything.
And they knew Cara mattered to him.
