Chapter 3 - The quiet passenger
The sleek, armored black SUV glided smoothly through the bustling streets of Manhattan, heading north toward the private Moretti estate in the Hudson Valley. Adrian sat in the spacious back seat, his tailored brown suit perfectly pressed, his intense gaze fixed on the passing skyline. Beside him, strapped into a luxury leather car seat, sat Lily. She had not spoken a single word since handing him the envelope in the study. She just held her cream-colored stuffed bunny, her small fingers tracing the blue ribbon tied around its neck.
Adrian had orchestrated their departure flawlessly, telling Victoria he had sudden syndicate business to attend to. He knew better than to leave the child in the mansion with his fiancée. The warning from Maya echoed endlessly in his mind.
Why did your mother tell you to come to me, Lily? Adrian asked quietly, his voice gentle, trying not to frighten the child.
Lily looked at him, her large, sad eyes welling with tears. She didn't speak. She just pulled the bunny tighter against her chest, burying her fair face into its soft ears. Adrian sighed quietly. He possessed the power to crush rival mafia families, but he had no idea how to comfort a terrified four-year-old girl.
They arrived at the heavily guarded estate by mid-afternoon. Maya Reyes was already waiting in the grand foyer, holding a thick leather briefcase. The confident female attorney looked unusually pale.
Take Lily to the garden solarium, Adrian instructed his most trusted enforcer. Make sure she has whatever she wants to eat. Do not let her out of your sight.
Once the child was safely away, Adrian led Maya into the estate’s private library, locking the heavy doors behind them. He pulled the brass key with the blue tag from his pocket and tossed it onto the glass table. What did you find, Maya?
Maya opened her briefcase, pulling out a stack of encrypted surveillance photos. Adrian, Claire didn't just run away five years ago. She has been investigating the Moretti family's legitimate holding companies. She was tracking the pharmaceutical acquisitions your fiancée's family orchestrated before your engagement.
Adrian frowned, his sharp jawline tightening. Victoria's family brought immense legitimate wealth to our syndicate. It was a merger of power. What does that have to do with Claire?
Maya took a deep breath. Adrian, Claire’s letter asked who Lily's father was. You assumed it was a rhetorical question. It wasn't. The timeline of Lily's birth aligns perfectly with the month Julian died in that car crash. Everyone thought Claire disappeared because she was grieving your brother. But I think she disappeared because she realized Julian’s death was not an accident. And she was pregnant with his child.
Adrian felt the air leave his lungs. Julian. His younger brother, the heir to the family's legitimate operations, had died five years ago in a horrific, fiery crash. Victoria had been engaged to Julian first. After his death, the families insisted the merger continue, and Victoria had seamlessly pivoted her affections to Adrian.
May you like
Lily is my niece, Adrian said, the words heavy and cold.
Maya looked down at the brass key. Yes. And if Victoria knows that an heir to Julian's half of the empire is alive, she will do whatever it takes to eliminate her. That key opens a storage locker that holds Claire's proof. But Adrian, Victoria’s men have already been asking questions downtown. She knows Claire reached out to you. The hunt has already begun.
