Chapter 7 - THE NEGOTIATION
Dominic Ashford was a man built like a mountain,
with eyes that had seen too much blood.
He walked into the penthouse foyer with Coraline by his side.
She was no longer wearing her wedding gown.
She was wearing a sharp,
red power suit.
"Garrett,"
Dominic said,
his voice like a landslide.
"You've cost me a lot of money."
"And you've cost my daughter her dignity."
I stood in front of Mave and Posie,
my hand on the hilt of the knife hidden in my waistband.
"The merger was a business arrangement,
Dominic,"
I said.
"It wasn't a suicide pact."
"It was a promise,"
Coraline spat.
"A promise you broke for this...
person."
She pointed a manicured finger at Mave.
"Careful,
Coraline,"
I warned.
"She's the mother of my child."
Dominic looked at Posie,
who was hiding behind Mave's legs.
"The child is a Hail,"
he noted.
"And the Hails are our enemies."
"They don't have to be,"
I said.
"I'm willing to negotiate."
"Negotiate?"
Dominic laughed.
"What could you possibly offer me that is worth more than the alliance?"
"The West Side ports,"
I said.
The room went silent.
The ports were the crown jewel of the Hail empire.
They controlled fifty percent of the shipping in the city.
"You'd give up the ports for a woman?"
Dominic asked,
his eyes narrowing.
"I'd give them up for peace,"
I corrected.
"I want a full release of all Ashford claims."
"I want a guarantee of safety for Mave and Posie."
"And I want Coraline to stay away from my family."
Coraline looked at her father,
her eyes wide.
"Dad,
no!
We can't let him win!"
Dominic ignored her.
He was a businessman first.
"The ports are worth a lot of money,
Garrett."
"But the blood debt is higher."
"I want the ports,"
"and I want the territory in Queens."
I hesitated.
The Queens territory was where Mave had lived.
It was where my father had started the business.
"Fine,"
I said.
"But if one Ashford soldier sets foot on my property again,"
"the deal is off."
"And I will burn every ship you have in those ports."
Dominic nodded.
"We have a deal."
He turned to Coraline.
"Let's go."
"But Dad!"
"I said let's go,"
he roared.
As they walked out,
Coraline looked back at me.
"You'll regret this,
Garrett."
"One day,
you'll realize that love is a luxury you can't afford."
I didn't answer.
I just watched them leave,
knowing that I had just signed away half my empire.
But as I looked at Posie,
May you like
who was now reaching for my hand,
I knew it was the best deal I had ever made.
