Chapter 4 - THE OLD MORETTI
At 11:43 p.m., rain began falling over the abandoned Moretti shipyard.
Emily sat beside Adrian in the armored SUV.
Marcus stood outside in the darkness.
“You’re not going in alone,” Emily said.
“I am.”
“He told you to.”
“That doesn’t mean I listen.”
Emily stared at him.
“My son is in there.”
“I know.”
“Then stop acting like this is one of your business wars.”
Adrian looked at her.
“It isn’t.”
“This is worse.”
His voice softened.
“That’s why I need you to trust me.”
Emily laughed bitterly.
“You’re asking the wrong woman.”
“Why?”
“Because every man I ever trusted left.”
Adrian said nothing.
“My husband died owing money I didn’t know about.”
“My landlord threw us out.”
“My family stopped answering.”
She looked toward the dark warehouse.
“And now some billionaire crime family has my son.”
Adrian absorbed the insult without flinching.
“Fair.”
Emily looked at him.
He continued.
“But I’m still bringing Noah home.”
Marcus opened the door.
“Time.”
Adrian took the real flash drive and placed it inside his jacket.
Emily noticed.
“That’s not a copy?”
“No.”
“What if Victor destroys it?”
“I made three copies.”
“You did?”
Adrian glanced at Marcus.
“I’m not completely stupid.”
Marcus almost smiled.
Then Adrian rolled across the wet concrete alone.
A single overhead light burned inside the warehouse.
Victor waited beneath it.
He wore a long gray coat.
Two armed men stood behind him.
No Noah.
Adrian stopped ten feet away.
“Where is he?”
Victor smiled.
“You look terrible.”
“Where’s the boy?”
“You always were impatient.”
Adrian pulled out the drive.
Victor’s smile widened.
“There it is.”
“Boy first.”
“No.”
“Victor.”
“Drive first.”
Adrian stared at his cousin.
They had grown up in the same house after Victor’s father died.
They had played baseball together.
Fought together.
Buried Adrian’s father together.
Adrian had trusted him more than almost anyone alive.
“Why?”
Victor shrugged.
“Why what?”
“Why shoot me?”
Victor’s smile disappeared.
“Because you were going legitimate.”
Adrian laughed softly.
“That’s it?”
“You were going to destroy everything our fathers built.”
“Our fathers built a criminal empire.”
“They built power.”
“They built graves.”
Victor stepped closer.
“You got sentimental after your mother died.”
“You started talking about clean money.”
“Real estate.”
“Foundations.”
“Children’s hospitals.”
He sneered.
“You became weak.”
Adrian’s voice dropped.
“And yet you couldn’t kill me.”
Victor’s face tightened.
“The shooter missed.”
“No.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“You missed.”
Victor pulled a gun.
“Give me the drive.”
Adrian held it out.
Victor’s man approached.
Then Adrian asked one last question.
“Vanessa?”
Victor smiled again.
“She was easy.”
“Pretty.”
“Ambitious.”
“Afraid of getting old without being rich.”
“I told her to make you love her.”
Victor laughed.
“She did better than expected.”
Adrian’s eyes burned.
“And Damien?”
“A useful idiot.”
“He thought he was stealing your bride.”
“He had no idea she belonged to me first.”
Adrian’s chest tightened.
“So Damien doesn’t know?”
“Not enough.”
Victor took the drive.
“Now where’s Noah?”
Victor slipped the flash drive into his coat.
“You really care about that kid?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
He waved toward the darkness.
A van door opened.
Emily, watching through Marcus’s surveillance feed, gasped.
Noah was inside.
His hands were tied.
A small oxygen tank sat beside him.
He was crying silently.
Adrian’s entire body went cold.
“Let him go.”
Victor raised the gun toward Adrian.
“No.”
“Victor.”
“You should’ve died three years ago.”
He aimed at Adrian’s chest.
“This time I’ll do it myself.”
Then every light in the warehouse went out.
May you like
Gunfire erupted.
Emily screamed Adrian’s name.
