Chapter 9
The crackling fire in the ornate marble fireplace cast dancing, menacing shadows across Ethan’s angular face. Vanessa was backed entirely into the stone, her sculpted satin gown absorbing the heat of the flames. She was a woman cornered, her grand, manipulative design completely exposed and shattered by the frail woman sitting at the head of the table.
"You can't kill me," Vanessa whispered, her voice shaking with a desperate, manic edge. "If I die, the agreement I made with the Morettis dies with me. They will attack the city, Ethan. They will burn your empire to the ground."
"Do you think the Morettis can save you from my wrath?" Ethan asked, his voice remaining quiet, measured, and utterly devoid of mercy.
"They are already here!" Vanessa screamed, a hysterical, terrifying laugh escaping her throat. She pointed a manicured finger toward the heavy silk curtains covering the massive windows. "Did you wonder why the guests fled so quickly? I sent a text to Carlo Moretti the moment Lucy found that ring! His men have been waiting at the perimeter all night for my signal!"
Lucy gasped, taking a terrified step backward, her hand tightening on the grip of the gun she still held. Claire squeezed her eyes shut, pulling Ethan’s jacket tighter around her frail shoulders, preparing for the nightmare to begin again.
"Did you truly believe you could orchestrate a coup under my own roof?" Ethan asked. He didn't look toward the windows. He didn't flinch. His cold, observant eyes remained locked onto Vanessa’s panicked face.
"They have fifty heavily armed men outside your gates right now!" Vanessa gloated, tears streaming down her face, driven mad by the sheer terror of her impending doom. "If you surrender the southern territory to them, and if you let me walk out of here alive, they will let you keep your pathetic wife! It's a fair trade, Ethan!"
"Is trading my territory for a traitor’s life a fair bargain?" Ethan asked softly.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy, encrypted mobile phone. He didn't dial a number; he simply pressed a single button on the side of the device. The refined tattoos on his hands were perfectly steady.
"Are they waiting for a signal you will never send, Vanessa?" Ethan inquired, tilting his head slightly, the artistic neck tattoo shifting in the firelight.
"What did you just do?" Vanessa demanded, her manic confidence faltering instantly.
"Did you think I was entirely unaware of the rats scurrying in my city?" Ethan asked. "Do you believe the head of the Blackwell family does not notice when fifty heavily armed men park outside his estate?"
May you like
Before Vanessa could answer, a deafening explosion rattled the crystal chandeliers above them. The sheer concussive force of the blast shook the ivory-paneled walls and rattled the gold-rimmed porcelain on the tables. The sound of heavy, suppressed automatic gunfire erupted in the distance, echoing through the sprawling grounds of the mansion.
"Did you invite the wolves into my home, Vanessa, only to discover I had already locked the gates behind them?" Ethan asked, a dark, terrifying smile finally breaking across his face.
