Chapter 6 - The Safehouse
Forty-eight minutes later, the modest suburban house was dark, but the kitchen was illuminated by the harsh overhead light. Ellie had finally fallen back asleep on the living room sofa, exhausted by the strange excitement of the night, wrapped in a thick wool blanket with her stuffed rabbit clutched to her chest.
In the kitchen, Adrian and Cassia sat across from each other at the small wooden table. Corey had arrived twenty minutes earlier, summoned by a cryptic text from Cassia, and now stood by the counter with a cup of black coffee in his hands, watching Adrian like a hawk.
“The two men you caught,” Corey said, breaking the heavy silence. “Who were they?”
Adrian didn't look at Corey; his eyes remained fixed on the ceramic coffee cup sitting untouched between his hands. “Viktor’s men. A splinter faction from the East Coast syndicate. They’ve been sniffing around old contacts in Chicago, trying to rebuild their network after Graham Harlow’s organization collapsed.”
Cassia’s shoulders tightened. “They know about me because of my father?”
“Not just your father,” Adrian said, finally lifting his gaze to meet hers. “They know that someone in Harlow’s inner circle walked away with the primary ledger—the one containing every financial transaction, every shell company, and every bribe paid over a decade. They think you have it.”
Cassia stared at him, bewildered. “I don't have any ledger. I burned everything I found in my father’s study before I left.”
“They don't know that,” Adrian replied calmly. “They only know you vanished the same week the records disappeared. To them, you’re the key to billions of dollars in hidden assets and leverage over half the city’s political elite.”
Corey slammed his coffee cup onto the counter, the ceramic clattering sharply against the laminate. “So what? We’re just sitting ducks here? If Viktor’s men found them tonight, others will be here tomorrow!”
“They won't,” Adrian said, his voice dropping into that absolute, unshakeable authority that had once made Cassia fall in love with him.
Corey scowled. “And how can you be so sure of that?”
“Because those two men are currently tied up in the trunk of my car, on their way to a private facility fifty miles outside the city,” Adrian said smoothly. “By morning, Viktor will have received a very clear, very final message about what happens when his people step onto this street.”
Cassia stared at him, a chill running down her spine. The old Adrian was back—the ruthless, untouchable boss who controlled the shadows of Chicago. But looking at him now, knowing what she knew, the fear was different. It wasn't just fear of what he could do to others; it was the terrifying realization that this man—this dangerous, lethal force of nature—was her daughter's father.
“You can't stay here, Cassia,” Adrian said, his tone softening as he looked back at her. “Neither of you can. The moment Viktor realizes those two scouts didn't report back, he’ll send a clean-up crew.”
“And go where?” Cassia asked bitterly, her frustration finally boiling over. “Run to another city? Change our names again? Live looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives? I spent five years building a normal life, Adrian. I’m not running anymore.”
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“You won't be running,” Adrian said, standing up slowly from the table. He walked over to where she sat, towering over her chair, casting a warm, protective shadow across her shoulders. He reached out, his large, warm hand hovering for a second before gently brushing a stray lock of hair away from her forehead. “You’ll be moving into my estate. Where no one—not Viktor, not anyone else on this earth—will ever touch you or Ellie again.”
Cassia’s breath hitched. She looked up into his grey eyes, seeing a promise so absolute, so fierce, that it terrified her down to her very soul.
