Chapter 4 - Shadows in the Syndicate
By nightfall, the estate had been turned into an armed garrison. Four additional sentries patrolled the perimeter lawn, and Owen stationed himself outside the master bedroom.
Inside the upstairs suite, Mara sat on the edge of the king-sized bed. A doctor—a quiet, older woman bound by Adrian’s strict non-disclosure agreements—had already visited, checked the baby's heartbeat, and confirmed that both mother and child were healthy, despite Mara’s chronic stress and overheating.
Adrian had watched every second of the ultrasound from the doorway, his eyes never leaving the grainy black-and-white screen showing the rhythmic flutter of a tiny heart. He hadn't said a word to the doctor, but his face had been pale.
Now, it was midnight. The bedroom door opened, and Adrian walked in carrying a tray with warm broth and sliced fruit.
"Eat," he said, setting the tray on the nightstand.
"I'm not hungry," Mara said, looking out toward the dark ocean waves crashing against the cliffs.
"The doctor said you lost four pounds over the past month because you were restricting your meals to keep the pregnancy hidden," Adrian said, his voice quiet but unyielding. "You need to eat."
Mara glanced at the food, then at him. He had rolled up his sleeves, revealing the corded muscle of his forearms and the dark ink of old tattoos from his youth. "What did you do to Eli?"
"Nothing." Adrian sat on the armchair across from her. "He's still in the lodge. His mother was brought to a secure apartment in Westchester. Whoever hired the boy gave him five thousand dollars and a disposable phone with an encrypted app."
"Do you know who it was?"
"Julian Vance," Adrian replied casually, naming his fiercest rival in the coastal freight trade. "Vance has been testing my shipping lines for six months. He thought that if he took me out over the Atlantic, the council would divide my territory before my will could even be read."
Mara shivered. "And now Vance knows the boy failed."
"Vance doesn't know anything yet," Adrian said, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Because as far as the city is concerned, my plane took off on schedule."
May you like
Mara snapped her head toward him. "What?"
"Grant took the jet to Maine with an empty cabin," Adrian explained calmly. "Everyone thinks I'm three hundred miles away in Bangor, unavailable until morning. If Vance thinks his tracker worked, he'll make his next move tonight."
