Chapter 6 - You Are Mine Now
The words shocked me.
Not because they were romantic.
Because Adrian sounded like a man who had finally decided he was done running.
By sunrise, three of his warehouses had been attacked.
One accountant was missing.
A security guard had been killed.
And Blake had vanished.
Victor Moretti sent a message.
COME TO THE DOCKS.
BRING THE LEDGER.
ADRIAN KNEW IT WAS A TRAP.
He also knew that ignoring it would get more people killed.
“I’m coming,” I said.
“No.”
“I have the copied ledger.”
“You're staying here.”
“I am not a package.”
“You are the target.”
“I am also the reason they haven't killed you.”
He looked at me.
“What?”
I opened the old file.
The black bird symbol wasn't just a mark.
It was a code.
The symbol identified members of a hidden financial network.
My mother had been part of it.
Lucia had been part of it.
Gabriel had discovered it.
And somehow, the same mark had been placed on me when I was a baby.
The ledger wasn't only a list.
It contained account numbers.
Those accounts were tied to trusts.
One trust was in my name.
I stared at the papers.
“This isn't about me knowing where the ledger is.”
“No.”
“They want access to money.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Enough to start another war.”
We arrived at the docks before sunrise.
Victor stood near the water.
He was older than I expected.
Silver-haired.
Elegant.
He didn't look like a monster.
That's what made him frightening.
“Adrian.”
“Victor.”
Victor looked at me.
“So this is the girl.”
Adrian stepped between us.
“She's not part of this.”
Victor smiled.
“She's the center of it.”
He revealed that my mother had placed money into a trust before she died.
The trust could only be accessed by me.
But it wasn't money she had stolen.
It was money stolen from Victor.
She had hidden it as insurance.
Victor wanted it back.
I said,
“My mother wouldn't steal from innocent people.”
Victor laughed.
“Your mother wasn't innocent.”
I refused to believe him.
Then he showed me a recording.
My mother talking to Blake.
She said,
“If anything happens to me, move the money to Isabella's name.”
I looked at Adrian.
He was watching me.
I realized what the recording meant.
“My mother expected to die.”
Victor nodded.
“She knew Blake planned to kill her.”
“Then why didn't she go to the police?”
“Because half the police were on my payroll.”
“Why did she trust Blake?”
“She didn't.”
Victor smiled.
“She used him.”
That explained everything.
My mother had been trying to protect me.
She had hidden the trust.
She had placed the evidence where no one would think to search.
And she had instructed Gabriel to protect me.
Then Blake betrayed her.
Victor reached for his gun.
Adrian's men raised theirs.
For a moment, the entire dock froze.
Then a second vehicle arrived.
Blake stepped out.
He was holding a folder.
Inside was the final copy of the ledger.
Adrian stared.
“You had it.”
“I had many things.”
Blake looked at me.
“You were always the key.”
“You killed my uncle.”
“Yes.”
My stomach turned.
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel refused to tell me where your mother hid the accounts.”
“And you thought I'd know.”
“I knew eventually you'd lead me to them.”
Adrian stepped forward.
Blake pulled a gun.
“Stop.”
Everything went still.
Blake looked at Adrian.
“You don't understand the girl you're protecting.”
He looked at me.
“She has Romano blood.”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“What?”
“Her father was your father's half-brother.”
Adrian shook his head.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
I stared.
“I am what?”
Blake smiled.
“The Romano family and the Moretti family are connected by blood.”
Victor looked furious.
“Enough.”
Blake continued.
“You were never supposed to know.”
Then he aimed at me.
Adrian moved.
A shot fired.
Chaos erupted.
I fell.
Someone grabbed my arm.
I screamed.
Adrian tackled Blake.
Security rushed forward.
Victor disappeared into the confusion.
When everything stopped, Blake was on the ground.
Adrian stood over him.
His suit was torn.
Blood covered his shoulder.
I ran to him.
“You're hurt.”
“I'm fine.”
“You're bleeding.”
“I've had worse.”
He looked at me.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded.
He pulled me close.
Then he whispered,
“You are mine now.”
My heart stopped.
He immediately corrected himself.
“Not because I own you.”
I looked into his eyes.
“Because?”
“Because I choose you.”
I smiled through tears.
“And I choose you.”
The moment lasted only seconds.
Then sirens approached.
Police.
Federal agents.
Victor had escaped.
But Blake was in custody.
The ledger was recovered.
And the war had changed.
The federal agents took the evidence.
For the first time, the network began collapsing.
May you like
But Victor remained free.
And he knew exactly where we lived.
