Chapter 6 - The Shadows Strike Back
Sofia’s arrogant smirk instantly dissolved into sheer horror. She stared at the small silver device in Adrian’s hand as if it were a venomous viper.
“You... you set me up?” she stammered, stumbling backward until she hit the window frame.
“I didn't need to set you up, Sofia,” Adrian said with chilling indifference. “You walked into my trap the second you posted that photo from the steakhouse. I allowed you to think you were winning because rats only show their entire nest when they believe the lion is bleeding to death.”
He snapped his fingers, and Marcus stepped forward, confiscating her phone and purse before roughly escorting her out of the penthouse. Her muffled screams echoed down the corridor until the heavy double doors clicked shut, leaving an oppressive silence in their wake.
Adrian turned toward me, his shoulders dropping slightly as the mask of Chicago's most feared mobster cracked. For all his ruthless power, he looked exhausted, the dark circles under his eyes revealing days without sleep.
“Claire,” he began, his voice rough and stripped of bravado. “Now you know everything. The debt, the vasectomy, the setup. I never touched her. I have never looked at another woman since the moment you walked into that ballroom four years ago. But if you still want that divorce... if the blood on my hands is too much for your conscience... I will sign the papers. I will release the Bennett debts unconditionally. You can take half my fortune and walk away clean.”
My heart twisted painfully. Three years of marriage hadn't been built entirely on a lie; the love he showed me in the dark was real, but the foundation was rotten with secrets and violence.
Before I could form a response, the piercing shriek of shattering glass tore through the penthouse.
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A high-caliber sniper round tore through the reinforced window, obliterating the crystal chandelier above our heads. Adrian’s reflexes were instantaneous. With a ferocious roar, he launched his entire body across the room, tackling me hard against the marble floor just as a second bullet embedded itself into the wall where my head had been resting seconds earlier.
“Rossi!” Adrian barked into his lapel radio, shielding my trembling body with his broad back. “All units, initiate lockdown! The perimeter is breached!”
