Chapter 6 - Shadows and Steel
The tension inside the Kane syndicate had reached a boiling point.
By afternoon, Adrian had dispatched his most loyal enforcer, a towering brute named Viktor who answered only to the Kane bloodline, to conduct a secret investigation into Marcus’s private accounts and communications from three years prior.
Inside his private study, Adrian stood by the glass window overlooking the courtyard. Behind him, Claire sat on the sofa while Sofie colored in a brand-new coloring book on the coffee table.
"You suspect him, don't you?" Claire asked softly, breaking the silence.
Adrian didn't turn around immediately. "Marcus is my half-brother. My father took him in when his mother passed away. He always felt second best. He always believed he deserved the throne."
"If Elena’s baby died," Claire realized aloud, "the Kane bloodline ended with you. And if something happened to you... Marcus would inherit everything."
Adrian turned around, his jaw clenched tight. "When Elena was killed, I lost my mind. I withdrew from the business. I handed control of the daily operations to Marcus because I didn't care anymore. He got everything he wanted... until yesterday."
Suddenly, the encrypted phone on Adrian’s desk buzzed violently. He picked it up.
"Speak," Adrian commanded.
"Boss," Viktor’s deep voice echoed through the speaker. "We pulled the offshore bank records from three years ago. Two days after Elena’s accident, a payment of five million dollars was transferred from an anonymous account in Switzerland to a shell company owned by Marcus."
Adrian’s eyes darkened into pitiless obsidian. "Where did the payment originate?"
"The Vancroft family," Viktor reported grimly. "Marcus made a deal with your rivals. They took out Elena’s escort car, and Marcus ensured your extraction team swept the scene under the rug. He was paid to destroy your family from the inside."
A heavy, suffocating aura filled the study. Adrian didn't yell. He didn't smash anything. The silence that settled over him was far more terrifying than rage.
"Viktor," Adrian said softly. "Where is Marcus right now?"
"He left the estate twenty minutes ago with six of his personal guards, sir. He claimed he was going to inspect the perimeter, but satellite tracking shows his vehicles heading toward the old warehouse district near the docks."
Adrian looked at the clock on the wall. It was 5:00 PM. Dusk was falling over the city.
"He knows the walls are closing in," Adrian said quietly. "He’s going to move before I can execute him."
Suddenly, the estate’s primary alarm system shrieked through the hallways. Red emergency lights began flashing along the ceiling corridors.
The heavy steel security shutters over the study windows began to slam shut automatically.
Claire jumped up from the couch, pulling Sofie into her arms as panic surged through her. "What’s happening?!"
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Adrian moved with incredible speed. He pulled a heavy silver handgun from his desk drawer, racking the slide with a sharp, metallic clack.
"Marcus didn't run," Adrian said, his voice cold and steady as iron. "He brought the Vancrofts here."
