Chapter 9 - THE FINAL BETRAYAL
The attack came when we least expected it.
It wasn't the Ashfords.
It was someone from inside the Hail family.
A group of soldiers who felt betrayed by my decision to give up the ports.
They were led by my cousin,
Victor,
who had always been hungry for my seat.
They attacked the Chelsea house at three in the morning.
The sound of gunfire shattered the silence of the night.
Wesley and I fought them off in the hallway,
while Mave and Posie hid in the safe room.
"You're weak,
Garrett!"
Victor shouted,
his voice echoing in the marble corridor.
"You've traded our future for a woman!"
"I've traded a war for a life!"
I shouted back,
firing my weapon.
I saw Victor fall,
a bullet in his shoulder.
But there were too many of them.
Wesley was hit in the leg.
I was pinned down behind a sofa.
Just as they were about to breach the safe room,
a new sound filled the air.
The roar of engines.
A fleet of Ashford SUVs pulled into the driveway.
Dominic and his men burst through the front door,
guns blazing.
They cut through Victor's men like a scythe through wheat.
By the time the smoke cleared,
Victor and his soldiers were either dead or in handcuffs.
Dominic walked up to me,
holstering his weapon.
"I told you I'd guarantee their safety,"
he said.
"And I don't like it when people mess with my business partners."
I stood up,
shaking.
"Thank you,
Dominic."
"Don't thank me,"
he said.
"Just make sure the paperwork for the Queens territory is on my desk by morning."
He turned and walked out,
leaving me in the wreckage of my home.
I ran to the safe room and opened the door.
Mave and Posie were huddled in the corner,
shaking with terror.
I pulled them into my arms,
feeling the warmth of their bodies.
"It's over,"
I whispered.
"It's really over."
Mave looked at me,
her eyes wide.
"Who were they?"
"They were the past,"
May you like
I said.
"And they're never coming back."
