Chapter 6 - Shadows from New York
The interrogation in the basement vault yielded results by sunrise. Vance had cracked under Marco’s systematic questioning, revealing that he had been recruited three months earlier by an operative working for the Genovese syndicate out of New York. The plan had not been to physically harm the children permanently, but to create a sustained medical crisis that would force Adrien to leave his Lake Forest stronghold and travel to a private hospital in downtown Chicago—where an ambush was waiting.
Adrien stood in his private study on the third floor, staring out at the mist rising from Lake Michigan. Marco stood beside his desk, holding a red leather dossier containing intelligence reports.
"The New York boss, Vincent Moretti—your uncle—is pushing for control of the Midwestern distribution routes," Marco reported. "He used Vance because he knew you wouldn't suspect an internal security breach during a medical emergency involving the infants."
"My uncle underestimates me," Adrien said coldly. "He thinks my grief over my wife's death made me weak. He thinks my children are leverage."
"What are your orders, boss?" Marco asked. "We can mobilize three tactical units to Manhattan by tonight."
"No," Adrien said, turning around. "If we hit New York directly, it starts an open warfare that puts this estate at risk. We play this surgically. We let Vincent believe his plan is working."
At that moment, Sophie entered the study, carrying a small drawing sheet and a box of crayons. She walked past Marco without fear and placed her drawing on Adrien’s glass desk.
Adrien looked down at the paper. Sophie had drawn a large house with red lines running through the roof, and at the bottom of the page, a tall black car with three small dots inside it.
May you like
"What is this, little one?" Adrien asked softly.
"The men in the big black car were standing by the gate this morning," Sophie said casually, selecting a blue crayon from her box. "They had bright buttons on their coats that clicked like the clock."
