Chapter 2

ELIAS

“Sir, you have to understand—the stocks are plummeting. We need to do something about it, and fast.” 

I tuned out the voice of the financial manager. 

I hadn’t even wanted him in this board meeting, but somehow the rat managed to weasel his way in. I wasn’t in the mood for any of this. In reality, all of this—the real estate holdings, the casinos—was just a façade. A convenient mask for my true kingdom.

The mafia empire my family had built over the last sixty years. 

There were more pressing matters to attend to in that world. And though this company was the perfect front for our darker dealings, I was growing increasingly sick of pretending to care about its surface-level issues. 

Rising from my chair, I turned to my second-in-command, Cathan, and gave him a single look—one he immediately understood. 

He addressed the board without missing a beat. “Mr. Montgomery will ensure these matters are resolved. For now, he has urgent business elsewhere.”

“So, the fact that stocks are crashing isn’t urgent enough?” a voice challenged from across table. 

Both Cathan and I turned, our gazes—his col green, mine deep brown—locking on the senile old man with cataract clouded eyes.

Our silence said more than words ever could. The man shrank back in his seat like the rodent he was. 

The years have definitely made me soft. My younger self would be disappointed at my show of restraint.

I left the boardroom, tuning out whatever diplomatic assurance Cathan offered behind me. I just needed space. Silence.  

Forty years and I was already tired. Tired of the weight of all the responsibilities I’d been carrying since my father died when I was eighteen. And as much as my little sister constantly reminded me, she wanted nieces and nephews to spoil, I couldn’t care less.

Love only gets you burned. And after what happened last time, I’ve made it a point to never go near that flame again.

A soft knock—Cathan’s signature rhythm—came at the door. I allowed him in and he stepped into the room with a serious expression.

“You know we need to act, Don,” he said, resting his hand on the back of the seat opposite me.

“And you damn well know who’s behind this,” I replied sharply. “What do you want me to do? Walk into that boardroom and tell them that our family’s oldest rival has gotten too close—close enough to tank the company and use their bloodlust to try and end me? Is that what you want Cathan?”

He met my gaze, voice even. “You know that’s what I’m saying, Don,” he said finally taking a seat. “But we have to act quickly. If stocks keep falling, our front—and the sharks are already circling. All they need is a drop of blood and the work is done.” 

He paused, his tone turning grave. “We can’t afford that. You know this very well.”

I couldn’t argue with him there. He wasn’t wrong. 

Besides the casinos scattered throughout Chicago—especially Allure—this real estate firm was our most efficient tool for laundering and expansion. I couldn’t let Horacio, that sniveling old man, destroy it all. 

“Well, you are the expert,” I gestured to him. “We both know you’re better at this than me.”

“Well,” he smirked faintly and pulled out his sleek black laptop from seemingly nowhere, some strands of his black hair falling loose from the bun he’d tied it in. 

“I’ve already devised a plan. A damn good one actually, now that I think about it more deeply.”

I couldn’t help but smile faintly. I’d brought out his strategic, nerdy side again. 

As my closest friend and consigliere, he was the only person I truly trusted. With my secret. With my life

He launched into details of his plan. I listened to him, nodding along, until his phone rang, the sound cutting through the air.

He answered it quickly, and I saw the change in his expression.

“I’ll deliver the message,” he said coldly, then ended the call.

He slid his phone back into his pocket, face night.  

“And?” I asked, raising a single brow at his disgruntled expression. 

“It’s that pesky journalist. He’s asking for an audience with you,” he said with a sneer.

John Davis.

Lead reporter at the Daily News, and an incessant pain in my ass.

He’s been tailing me and anyone connected to me, sniffing around for anything that could unravel our operation.

He should consider himself lucky he’s still alive. The only reason he’s breathing is because of the company that protects him. And I’ve done everything possible to stay clear of the media.

“I assume you know the drill,” I said, standing from my chair. I needed to see my sister and her husband—warn them about this relentless bastard.

Cathan gave a single nod, already knowing what I meant.

“Let him wait. Give him nothing. And if he pushes too far… tell security to escort him out.”

Message understood.

Now, time to see the woman I once shared a womb with—before the past caught up to us all.