Chapter 3 - The Price of Betrayal
The rain over Lake Michigan had turned into a full-blown thunderstorm by the time Adrian arrived at an abandoned shipping warehouse near the Calumet River.
The air inside the warehouse was thick with the scent of rust, damp concrete, and fear. In the center of the vast, empty floor, tied securely to a heavy steel chair beneath a single, harsh halogen light, was Marcus Vance.
The high-priced attorney’s pristine custom suit was torn and stained with sweat. His glasses were missing, and his face was pale with a terror that no amount of legal maneuvering could save him from.
Nathan Briggs stood in the shadows, his arms crossed over his chest.
Adrian walked slowly into the circle of light. He didn't carry a weapon. He didn't need one. His presence alone was enough to make Vance choke on a sob.
"Adrian... please," Vance gasped, his voice trembling. "It’s not what you think. I was forced—I had no choice!"
Adrian stood directly in front of him, looking down at the man who had been his family's trusted legal advisor for over a decade. "You had a choice, Marcus. You chose to take Vitucci’s money. You chose to forge my signature on divorce papers. And you chose to send my pregnant wife into hiding, unprotected, while a cartel of butchers hunted her."
"I didn't know she was pregnant!" Vance screamed, his chest heaving. "I swear to God, Adrian, I didn't know! Vitucci told me he just wanted her out of the picture so you would be distracted, so you would make a mistake! He said he wouldn't hurt her!"
Adrian bent down, his face inches from Vance's. The scar on his temple, a souvenir from a past encounter with Vitucci’s men, pulsed in the harsh light. "Do you know what happens to a man who betrays the Moretti family, Marcus?"
"Please... Adrian, I have a family—"
"So did I," Adrian whispered, his voice dangerously calm. "And you spent eight months trying to destroy it. Where is Dominic Vitucci?"
Vance swallowed hard, tears streaming down his face. "He’s... he’s at the luxury high-rise on Wacker Drive. The penthouse. He’s planning a final strike. He knows Emma is back with you. He has a mole in your security detail, Adrian! That’s how he knew she was at the clinic!"
Adrian slowly straightened up. He didn't look surprised. "I know."
He turned his back on Vance, walking toward the exit. "Nathan. Clear the mole in our ranks. Make it quiet. And as for Marcus... call the federal authorities. Hand them the offshore accounts we uncovered this morning. Let them know he is willing to testify against Vitucci in exchange for protective custody."
Vance blinked in disbelief. "You're... you're letting me live?"
Adrian stopped at the edge of the light, not turning around. "Death is too easy, Marcus. You are going to spend the next thirty years in a maximum-security prison, looking over your shoulder every single day, wondering which of my contacts is going to walk into your cell with a shiv. That is the price of your betrayal."
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As Adrian stepped out into the rainy night, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was the head of his estate's medical team.
"Mr. Moretti," the doctor’s voice was urgent. "You need to get back to the estate immediately. Mrs. Moretti's blood pressure has spiked again, and she’s starting to experience early contractions. We need to prepare for an emergency delivery."
