Part 13
Back in Chicago, the rain had turned into a freezing, miserable mist over the dark waters of Lake Michigan.
Inside an abandoned shipping container at the edge of the industrial docks, a single lightbulb flickered violently.
The nanny, Elena, sat tied to a heavy steel chair.
Her face was bruised, her expensive clothes torn, her eyes wide with a primal terror as she looked at the man standing in front of her.
Adrian Romano did not look like a man who had been shot a few hours ago.
His coat was draped over his shoulders, his white shirt pristine despite the bandage beneath it.
He stood perfectly still, his eyes two pools of absolute darkness.
"I gave you a home, Elena," Adrian said, his voice a quiet, lethal purr that cut through the sound of the wind outside. "I paid for your mother’s medical treatments in Italy. I trusted you with the only thing in this world that matters to me."
Elena wept, her body shaking violently. "Mr. Romano, please... they forced me. They have my brother. Volkov... he told me if I didn't put the toxin in the humidifier, they would send me his hands."
Adrian didn't blink. "And so you chose to sacrifice my son to save your blood."
"I didn't think it would kill him! They told me it would just make him sick! Just enough to keep you away from the estate!"
Adrian walked over to the table and picked up a heavy, black ledger—a duplicate of the one Volkov had stolen, but empty.
"Who gave them the security codes, Elena?" Adrian asked softly. "You didn't have access to the vault grid. You didn't have the encryption keys for the outer gates."
Elena swallowed, her breath hitching. "I don't know... I swear I don't know!"
Adrian leaned down, his face inches from hers. The scent of tobacco and blood radiated from him.
"The Volkov syndicate is powerful, but they are clumsy," Adrian whispered. "They couldn't have bypassed my outer defense without a ghost inside my house. Give me a name, Elena. Or I will ensure your brother receives the rest of your body piece by piece."
Elena’s eyes rolled back in terror. She realized there was no mercy in this room.
Adrian Romano wasn't a businessman tonight. He was the devil demanding his due.
"It was... it was Marco," she choked out, the name escaping her lips in a desperate gasp. "The head of your estate security. He’s been working with Volkov for six months. He’s the one who gave them the schedule. He’s the one who cut the backup generators."
Adrian stood up slowly.
His face didn't register surprise. It didn't register anger.
It was the terrifying calm of a predator that had just located its prey.
Marco. His most trusted captain. The man who had stood beside him at his wife’s funeral.
Adrian turned to the guards waiting at the door.
"Find Marco," Adrian ordered, his voice devoid of any human emotion. "Do not kill him. Bring him to the warehouse. I want him to watch as I tear down everything he thought he bought with my money."
He stepped out of the shipping container into the freezing mist, pulling his phone from his pocket.
He dialed a secure number.
"Hector," Adrian said when the line connected.
May you like
"Yes, boss."
"The leak goes deeper than we thought. Double the perimeter guard at the Sanctuary. If anyone approaches, even my own men... eliminate them on sight."
