Chapter 5 - The Silent Guard
By six o'clock that evening, Victor was back in his private suite on the thirty-second floor.
The heavy blackout curtains were drawn shut against the city lights. The penthouse was dead quiet, save for the faint sound of rain beginning to fall against the glass windows once again.
Victor sat on the edge of his massive king-sized bed in his shirt sleeves. On the nightstand beside him sat the crystal water pitcher—filled now with clean, pure water supplied directly by Dr. Thorne.
The heavy oak door of his bedroom opened quietly.
Sophia Carter stepped into the room, holding a freshly laundered stack of white linen towels. She looked terrified, her hazel eyes darting nervously toward the dark corners of the grand master suite.
"Mr. Moretti?" she whispered.
Victor looked up. Without the manicured act of defeat he had put on in the boardroom, his face was sharp, iron-hard, and completely focused. The dark shadows beneath his eyes were still there, but his gaze was clear, cold, and deadly.
"Is she sleeping?" Victor asked softly.
"Yes," Sophia said, stepping closer. "I put Lily down twenty minutes ago. Mr. Moretti... there are three security guards standing outside in the private elevator lobby. They aren't your usual men. They're Julian’s personal detail."
"I know," Victor said flatly. "He’s locking down the perimeter. He wants to make sure I don't leave this penthouse tonight."
Sophia set the towels down on the dresser, her hands trembling violently. "What are we going to do? If he realizes you aren't drinking the water—"
"He won't realize it until it's too late," Victor interrupted smoothly. He reached into his coat pocket hanging on the chair, pulled out a heavy envelope, and passed it to her. "This contains fifty thousand dollars in cash, two passports, and deeds to a small farm estate in Vermont under a private shell company."
Sophia stared at the envelope, then at Victor. "What is this?"
"Insurance," Victor said, his voice dropping into a rare, gentle tone. "If anything goes wrong tonight—if a single shot is fired on this floor—you take Lily, step into the private service elevator behind the kitchen, and use the keycard tucked into that envelope. It leads directly to the subterranean parking garage where Dr. Thorne is waiting with a car."
Tears overflowed from Sophia’s eyes. "Mr. Moretti... you don't have to do this alone. Call the police, call your loyal men—"
"In my world, Sophia, we do not call the police to settle business within the family," Victor said coldly. "And my loyal men need absolute, undeniable proof before they will turn their guns on my cousin. Tonight, Julian will provide that proof himself."
Sophia looked at him for a long moment, seeing the immense, solitary weight this man had carried for three years—poisoned by his own blood, surrounded by wolves, holding on to his empire through sheer, terrifying willpower.
"She saved you, didn't she?" Sophia asked softly. "My little girl."
Victor looked down at his desk in the outer office, where a battered paper storybook about a blue bear still rested on top of his multi-million-dollar intelligence files.
"She gave me back my mind, Sophia," Victor said quietly. "Now go back to your room. Keep the door locked. No matter what you hear tonight, do not come out until I open the door myself."
Sophia nodded, pulled the envelope against her chest, and walked out of the room, closing the heavy oak door behind her with a soft, final click.
Victor turned off the bedside lamp.
May you like
The room fell into absolute, pitch-black darkness.
Victor did not lie down. He sat back against the headboard, pulled his Sig Sauer P320 from his holster, laid it flat against his thigh beneath the dark velvet bedspread, closed his eyes, and waited for the man with the gold watch.
