Chapter 10 - Sweeping the Board
The interrogation did not take long. Pain has a way of stripping away every shred of aristocratic pride.
"It was the Syndicate Director!" Matteo wept, pressing his forehead against the bloodied marble. "He’s in New York! He promised me your territory if I eliminated you before the quarterly summit! He has buyers waiting for the harbor docks!"
Adrian stepped back, his expression entirely devoid of emotion.
"Silvio," Adrian said.
"Yes, Boss?"
"Put Matteo in the back of his own luxury sedan. Drive it to the bottom of the river near the commercial docks. Make sure his phone is pinging the New York exchange when it sinks."
"Consider it done."
Silvio and two operators hauled the sobbing, bleeding traitor out of the room, leaving a long, dark streak of crimson on the floor that the morning sun would soon reveal.
Uncle Carlo sat motionless at the table, his breath coming in slow, measured rasps. He looked at Adrian, then down at his own hands, knowing that any wrong movement would result in the same fate.
"You handled it well, Adrian," Carlo said quietly, his voice hoarse. "The family will stand behind you."
"The family will stand where I tell them to stand, Carlo," Adrian answered coldly. "And if anyone in the commission so much as sneezes without my permission, I won't just kill them. I will erase their names from the registry."
Carlo nodded submissively, stood up, and left the room without another word.
Adrian walked down the silent hall back to the library. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
Grace was sitting on the rug, Lily asleep with her head in her mother's lap, exhausted by the night of terror. Grace looked up, her red-rimmed eyes filled with dread, expecting the worst. In her world, powerful men rarely left witnesses, even innocent ones.
"Mr. Moretti..." Grace whispered. "Please. We won't say a word to anyone. We'll leave the country. We'll disappear."
Adrian stopped and looked at the sleeping child. The crescent scratch on the glass flashed in his memory.
"You're not leaving, Grace," Adrian said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "As of tonight, you are no longer the maid. You are the estate manager. Lily’s education will be paid for—the finest academies in Switzerland or London, wherever she chooses."
Grace gasped, tears spilling freely down her cheeks. "Why? Why would you do that for us?"
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"Because in a house filled with men who swore blood oaths to protect me, a little girl with an eye for detail was the only one who actually cared enough to notice when my world was out of place," Adrian said softly. "I protect those who protect me."
***
