Chapter 2 - Judgment in the Cellar
The air beneath the estate was cold and smelled of damp stone, sea salt, and aged oak barrels.
Iron sconces illuminated the vaulted corridor leading to the reinforced private holding rooms carved directly into the seaside cliff.
Standing inside the center chamber, flanked by two armed guards, was Mason Vale.
He had lost his tailored coat, his silk tie hung loose around his neck, and his face was slick with terrified sweat.
When the heavy iron gate creaked open and he saw Adrian step into the light, Mason let out a ragged, defensive laugh.
"Adrian! What the hell is this?!" Mason shouted, trying to puff out his chest.
"Dante dragged me out of my bed like a common street thief! My father is already on his way from Boston for the quarterly port meeting!"
Adrian didn't answer right away. He walked to the center of the room, motioning for me to remain by the doorway.
Mason’s eyes darted past Adrian and landed directly on me.
His jaw dropped in disbelief as he noticed the dark bruise on my face, followed by an ugly, frantic sneer.
"Are you serious?!" Mason barked, pointing a shaking finger at me.
"You hauled your own cousin down here because of some twenty-dollar maid who tripped in the courtyard?!"
The words had barely left Mason’s mouth when Adrian moved with terrifying, instantaneous speed.
Adrian's fist slammed into Mason’s jaw with the force of a battering ram, sending the younger man crashing violently onto the stone floor.
Mason cried out, clutching his bloody mouth, coughing onto the cold flagstones as he scrambled backward in pure horror.
"You broke my house rules," Adrian said, standing over his cousin, not a single hair out of place.
"Rule number one: No man lays an uninvited hand on anyone in this house. Rule number two: You never touch a woman under my protection."
"She’s just a cleaner!" Mason wept, spitting blood onto the rocks. "Her father was a degenerate gambler who owed our collectors forty-eight grand!"
"Her father is dead," Adrian replied with chilling finality, pulling a silk handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his knuckles.
"Her debt has been paid in full by my personal account as of ten minutes ago. Which means, Mason, you didn't strike a indebted maid."
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Adrian turned his head slightly, his dark gaze locking onto mine across the shadows.
"You struck a woman who reports directly to me. And for that, you lose your share in the Black Harbor terminals."
