Chapter 3 - Blood on the Marble
Roman was waiting by the front gates when Corinne’s sedan screeched up the long, curving driveway of the estate.
He tore the car door open, his eyes widening in pure horror when he saw her slumped over the wheel.
"Corinne!" he roared, pulling her into his massive arms with an intensity that rattled through his entire body.
"Ribs... broken," she managed to whisper, fighting the black spots dancing across her vision. "It was... a setup."
Roman carried her inside the mansion like she weighed nothing, shouting furious orders that shook the chandelier overhead.
Matteo Carver, his head of security, rushed in behind them, locking down the compound's perimeter gates within seconds.
The family doctor arrived under armed escort, taping her fractured ribs and administering heavy painkillers while Roman paced the floor like a caged panther.
"Who did this to you?" Roman demanded, his knuckles white as he knelt beside the large bed in the Wolf Room.
Corinne looked at him through a haze of pain, recognizing the absolute terror hidden beneath his cold rage.
"It was Everett's men," she whispered, her fingers curling weakly into his linen shirt. "He knew I went through the invoices."
Roman closed his eyes for a long moment, a muscle twitching violently beneath the scar along his jawline.
He had raised Everett like a younger brother after his uncle died; the betrayal cut down to the bone.
"I gave him everything," Roman said, his voice dropping into a deadly, gravelly register. "I gave him his life."
"He doesn't want your handouts anymore, Roman," Corinne said, wincing as she tried to shift against the pillows. "He wants your throne."
Matteo burst through the bedroom door, his face pale and his tactical weapon drawn.
"Boss, we have breaches at the front gate," Matteo announced urgently. "Three black SUVs just rammed the perimeter."
Gunfire cracked in the distance below the marble floors, rattling the antique glass in the bedroom windows.
Everett wasn't waiting to be audited; he had mobilized a strike team to wipe out Roman in his own fortress.
"We go down the escape tunnel now," Roman commanded, reaching out to lift Corinne from the mattress.
"No," Corinne said, pushing his hands away with surprising strength despite her broken ribs.
Roman froze, staring at her in utter disbelief. "Corinne, they are armed. You cannot fight them."
"He came for your safe, Roman," Corinne said, pointing toward the bronze wolf above the mantle. "He wants the offshore ledger."
"He will kill you to get it," Roman snarled, terrified for her life.
May you like
Corinne grabbed his collar, pulling his face down to hers. "What do you need from me?"
"Trust me," she whispered fiercely. "Step behind the wall and do not fire until I say the word."
