Chapter 7 - The Day Mason Gave Up Everything He Had BuiltMason called every senior lieutenant.
Every executive.
Every lawyer.
Every person tied to his organization.
He sat at the head of the table.
Then he placed the ledger down.
“This ends today.”
Silence.
One man stood.
“You can't dismantle this.”
“I can.”
“You'll lose everything.”
Mason looked at him.
“That is the point.”
He turned over the files.
Names.
Accounts.
Properties.
Operations.
Murder records.
Bribery.
Corruption.
Everything.
He handed it to federal investigators.
Within forty-eight hours, arrests began.
Men who had once feared Mason vanished.
Companies collapsed.
Properties were seized.
The Vale empire ended.
Mason's legitimate holdings survived.
His criminal empire did not.
The newspapers called it the biggest underworld collapse in Portland history.
Claire never cared about the headlines.
She cared about Mason.
He moved into a small house.
No guards.
No armored cars.
No mansion.
Just a kitchen.
A garden.
A spare bedroom.
The first night, he looked around.
“It's quiet.”
Claire smiled.
“You hate quiet.”
“Not anymore.”
She kissed him.
He touched her stomach.
She smiled.
“Yes.”
His eyes widened.
“You're pregnant?”
She nodded.
He laughed.
Then cried.
Then laughed again.
“I thought I'd lost you.”
“You almost did.”
“I won't again.”
She looked at him.
“Don't promise.”
“What?”
“Show me.”
May you like
He nodded.
“I will.”
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