Chapter 2 - Shadows of the EstateThe Vale Manor stood on the outskirts of Lake Forest like a Gothic fortress, surrounded by iron gates and ten-foot stone walls. For thirty years, it had been the throne room of Lorenzo Vale, my grandfather—the man who had built our empire on blood, extortion, and strategic political alliances.
I slammed the heavy oak doors open, my footsteps echoing through the cavernous marble foyer.
"Adrian!" My grandfather's voice drifted from the grand library.
I pushed the doors open. Lorenzo sat in his high-backed leather chair near the fireplace, a glass of thirty-year-old scotch in one hand and a cigar in the other. Across from him sat Camille's father, Arthur Hart, a senator whose spotless political record was funded entirely by Vale money.
"You're late for the venue review, grandson," Lorenzo said, without looking up from his papers. "Arthur and I were just discussing the security protocols for the cathedral."
"Where is the file?" I demanded, walking straight up to his desk and slamming my hands onto the mahogany wood.
Lorenzo slowly set his glass down, his dark eyes narrowing behind his gold-rimmed glasses. "Control your temper, Adrian. You are an adult, not a child throwing a tantrum. What file?"
"The file on Maya Brooks," I snarled. "The file you forged four years ago to make me believe she stole forty million dollars from our offshore accounts."
Arthur Hart shifted uncomfortably in his chair, clearing his throat. "Lorenzo, perhaps I should leave..."
"Stay, Arthur," Lorenzo commanded coldly. Then he turned back to me. "Maya Brooks was a nobody. A penniless orphan with a pretty face who tried to climb her way into a dynasty. I dealt with her the way I deal with all parasites."
"She was pregnant!" I shouted, the sound rattling the crystal decanters on the side table. "She was carrying my children! Triplets, Grandfather! I saw them today in Grant Park!"
For a fraction of a second, Lorenzo’s eyes flickered with a raw, unexpected shock. But just as quickly, the old man swallowed it down, his face hardening back into stone.
"Triplets?" he repeated, his tone icy. "And you believe they are yours? A woman like that could have slept with half of Chicago after she left."
"They have my eyes!" I yelled, stepping closer. "They have the Vale jaw! They look exactly like I did at three years old! Don't lie to me! Did she come here four years ago? Did she come to this house asking to see me?"
Lorenzo took a slow puff of his cigar, blowing the gray smoke into the space between us. "She came here looking for a payout. She thought carrying a bastard child would buy her a ticket into the Vale family. I had my security throw her off the property, and I threatened to end her life if she ever approached you again. I did it to protect you, Adrian. To protect this family."
"You robbed me of my children!" I roared, grabbing the edge of the mahogany desk. "You let me live in hell for four years thinking the only woman I ever loved was a traitor!"
"She was a distraction!" Lorenzo snapped, standing up, his cane thudding loudly against the Persian rug. "Look at you! You were ready to throw away three generations of power for an art student! Camille Hart brings us the Senate! She brings us legitimacy! Maya Brooks brings you nothing but weakness!"
"Maya gave me a family!" I spat back. "And you sacrificed them for a political merger!"
"I sacrificed nothing!" Lorenzo boomed. "And if you know what's good for those bastards, you will finish your engagement to Camille, marry her next month, and leave Maya Brooks in the gutter where she belongs!"
The implicit threat in his words made my blood run cold. He was threatening my children. My three-year-old son and daughters.
"If you or any of your men go near Maya or those kids," I said, my voice dropping into a dangerous, deadly whisper, "I will burn this entire empire to the ground. I will hand every account, every ledger, and every name over to the FBI. Try me, Grandfather."
Lorenzo stared at me, his eyes wide with disbelieving rage. He had built me into his perfect heir, a ruthless commander capable of running a multi-billion-dollar underworld syndicate. He had taught me how to destroy my enemies—and now, he was realizing he had taught me too well.
I turned on my heel and walked out of the library.
As I reached the grand hallway, a shadow stepped out from the conservatory. It was Camille. She was leaning against a marble pillar, a cruel smirk playing on her red lips.
"He's right, you know," she murmured as I tried to walk past her. "You can't protect them, Adrian."
I stopped in my tracks. "What do you know, Camille?"
"I know that four years ago, your grandfather didn't act alone," she purred, taking a step toward me, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Who do you think provided the fake bank records that made Maya look like a thief? My father's office has access to international banking networks. We made sure you would hate her. We made sure you would throw her away."
May you like
My hands clenched into tight fists, the knuckles turning white. "You set her up."
"We saved you from ruin," Camille corrected smoothly, adjusting her ring. "And now, you're going to marry me. Because if you don't, my father will pull his political protection from your family, and your grandfather will make sure Maya and her three little mistakes vanish off the face of the earth. You have a choice to make, Adrian. Play the loyal groom, or watch your little family suffer."
