Chapter 10 - An Open Abyss
The drive back to the Blackwood estate was shrouded in heavy, suffocating silence.
The rain had turned into a wet, slushy snow, the white flakes melting instantly against the bulletproof glass of the SUV. In the backseat, Victor sat beside Lily.
His large, calloused hand rested over hers on the leather seat. His thumb stroked the soft skin of her knuckles in a slow, rhythmic circle.
Neither of them spoke about the jet that had taken off into the stormy skies over Lake Michigan twenty minutes ago. Neither of them spoke about the sudden, complete silence that had settled over the Montigue empire.
When they arrived at the estate, the wrought-iron gates were guarded by a dozen fresh soldiers in tactical gear. The perimeter had been completely re-secured.
Victor stepped out of the vehicle and extended his hand to Lily, helping her down with uncharacteristic gentleness.
They walked up the grand limestone steps together, entering the warm foyer.
The broken glass had been swept away. The marble floor was spotless, polished back to a pristine, mirror-like shine.
Standing at the top of the grand staircase was Dr. Evans, holding a freshly bathed, pajama-clad Ethan. The boy’s cast was covered in a soft cotton sleeve, and in his right hand, he clutched a plush velvet lion.
“Da!” Ethan yelled the moment he saw them.
Victor didn't wait. He took the stairs two at a time, taking his son from the doctor’s arms and crushing the toddler against his chest. Ethan buried his face into Victor’s neck, giggling happily, oblivious to the blood that had been spilled to keep him safe.
Lily followed slowly, her hand resting on the banister, watching the ruthless king of Chicago hold his entire world in his arms.
Victor turned toward her.
“He refused to sleep,” Dr. Evans said with an exhausted chuckle. “He kept pointing at the door and asking for his blanket. And for Lily.”
Victor stepped toward Lily, closing the distance between them on the landing. With Ethan resting securely on his left hip, Victor reached out with his right hand, his long fingers gently sliding behind Lily’s neck, tilting her face up toward his.
His thumb traced the line of her cheekbone.
“You’re safe now,” Victor whispered, his slate eyes reflecting the warm amber light of the chandelier. “Both of you.”
Lily looked into his eyes, feeling the raw, magnetic pull that had been building between them since the moment he shattered Serena’s empire.
“Is it over?” she whispered.
Victor leaned in, his lips brushing mere millimeters from hers, his breath warm against her mouth. “The Montigues are finished. Chicago belongs to us.”
Before his lips could touch hers, the heavy satellite phone in Victor’s interior pocket began to vibrate with a violent, urgent buzz.
Victor paused, his brow furrowing.
That phone had only one direct line. It was an encrypted frequency reserved exclusively for the Supreme Council of the Five Families in New York.
Victor pulled the phone from his coat, answering with a curt click. “Speak.”
A distorted, electronically scrambled voice echoed through the speaker, loud enough for Lily to catch the words in the quiet foyer.
“Blackwood. You eliminated the Montigue syndicate without prior authorization from the Commission.”
Victor’s jaw tightened. “Julian Montigue targeted my bloodline. The penalty was death.”
“The Montigues were under our protection, Victor,” the voice replied, cold, mechanical, and terrifyingly detached. “And you made a critical mistake. When you breached Julian’s private safe at the harbor, you overlooked the original birth registry for your late wife, Helena Valenti.”
Victor froze. Every muscle in his body went rigid as iron.
“What are you talking about?” Victor growled.
“Helena was not an only child,” the voice continued smoothly. “Eighteen years ago, a second child was born into the Valenti bloodline. A girl, hidden away in Michigan to protect her from the turf wars. A girl who carries the true, undisputed genetic claim to the entire Midwest territory.”
Lily watched Victor’s face drain of color—a sight she had never imagined possible.
The voice on the phone delivered its final, devastating blow.
“The girl has a birthmark over her right collarbone, Victor. Exactly like Helena’s. Her name is Lily Vance. And tomorrow morning, the Families are arriving in Chicago to claim their rightful queen.”
The line went dead.
A sudden, deafening clap of thunder rattled the glass dome above the foyer.
May you like
Victor slowly lowered the phone. His slate eyes, wide with a terrifying mixture of shock, realization, and possessive fury, locked directly onto Lily’s throat, where the collar of her coat had slipped slightly to reveal a small, crescent-shaped birthmark above her collarbone.
Ethan babbled happily between them, reaching out his tiny hand to grasp Lily’s fingers, completely unaware that the war for his empire had only just begun.
