Chapter 5 - The Bullet Meant for MeThe third bullet never reached me.
Neither did I.
By sunrise, her kitchen had transformed into a command center.
Two laptops.
Three phones.
Corporate files spread across the table.
And me in the middle of it, wearing borrowed sweatpants and trying to understand how I had accidentally become one of the most financially powerful women in Chicago.
Rebecca slid a document toward me.
“This is the Northstar operating agreement.”
“I’ve seen it.”
“You’ve seen the signature page.”
Fair point.
She tapped paragraph fourteen.
“Read that.”
I did.
Then reread it.
“Northstar cannot be transferred without my approval.”
“Correct.”
“Not even Adrian can sell it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he deliberately gave you control.”
That didn’t fit.
Adrian controlled everything.
Restaurants.
Cars.
Security.
Vacation itineraries.
Which neighborhood we lived in.
He always claimed it was about safety.
Yet somehow he had given me control of nearly four hundred million dollars?
Rebecca leaned back.
“Adrian was twenty-nine when Carlo died.”
“I know.”
“He inherited the criminal side of the family whether he wanted it or not.”
“He wanted it.”
“You sure?”
I remembered nights Adrian came home looking exhausted rather than triumphant.
The argument we once had when I asked why he didn’t simply walk away.
His answer had been strange.
Because if I walk away, someone worse takes my chair.
At the time I called it arrogance.
Now I wasn’t sure.
Rebecca continued.
“Northstar was his alternative.”
“To crime?”
“To the Vale family itself.”
I looked up.
“He intended to leave?”
“Eventually.”
“You knew?”
“I knew he wanted legitimate companies strong enough to replace the money his organization depended on.”
“And he never told me.”
“No.”
The old hurt returned.
“All Adrian ever does is decide what I’m allowed to know.”
Rebecca’s gaze softened slightly.
“Yes.”
No defense.
No excuse.
I appreciated that.
“What happens if I dissolve Northstar?”
Rebecca nearly dropped her coffee.
“You could.”
“Would it hurt Adrian?”
“Financially?”
“Yes.”
“Severely.”
“How severely?”
“Northstar pays for most of his legitimate operations. Payroll. Properties. Shipping infrastructure. Security contracts.”
I stared at the figures.
“Could it destroy him?”
Rebecca considered.
“Not destroy.”
“Then what?”
“Force him to choose which empire he wants.”
That sentence stayed with me.
At eight fifteen, Rebecca received a secure message.
She read it.
Swore quietly.
“What?”
“Adrian’s people found your doctor.”
My stomach turned.
“Is she okay?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you swearing?”
“Because someone paid a nurse in her office twenty-five thousand dollars for copies of your test results.”
My blood went cold.
“Who?”
“Shell company.”
“Victor?”
“Probably.”
Probably was not comforting.
Rebecca opened another file.
“There’s something else.”
She turned the laptop.
An amendment.
My eyes went over the legal language without understanding.
“Explain it.”
“If you die while pregnant with Adrian’s biological child, Northstar goes into trust for that child.”
“That makes sense.”
“Keep reading.”
I did.
Then stopped.
Trustee: Victor Salvatore Vale.
My chair scraped backward.
“No.”
“Elena—”
“No.”
My hands instinctively covered my stomach.
“Why is his uncle in control?”
“The language traces back to an asset agreement created by Carlo Vale.”
“Can we change it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“You sign a new estate structure.”
“Do it.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“Now?”
“Now.”
“Elena, this is nearly four hundred million dollars.”
“And someone is apparently willing to kill me for it.”
I stood.
“So yes. Now.”
She studied my face.
“Who do you want as trustee?”
The answer surprised even me.
“Myself.”
“You can’t administer after death.”
“Then create whatever structure means no Vale controls my child.”
Rebecca nodded slowly.
“We can do that.”
An hour later, I signed seventeen documents.
My hand shook only once.
At the end, Rebecca placed the final page aside.
“Done.”
“What happens if something happens to me?”
“Your child’s trust will be managed by three independent fiduciaries. No Vale family member can control or sell the assets.”
For the first time since leaving home, I breathed deeply.
Then the doorbell rang.
Rebecca froze.
Nobody moved.
The bell rang again.
She reached beneath the table and removed a handgun.
I stared at her.
“You keep that in your kitchen?”
“I represent unpleasant people.”
Fair.
Rebecca checked the security monitor.
Then cursed.
“What?”
She turned the screen.
Adrian stood outside.
Alone.
No guards.
No coat.
His dark hair messy from the wind.
I hadn’t seen him look that disordered in years.
My heart betrayed me again.
“Don’t let him in.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“Your choice.”
The bell rang.
I walked toward the front hall.
Stopped behind the locked door.
“What do you want?”
Silence.
Then Adrian’s voice.
“You.”
My throat tightened.
“That stopped being enough last night.”
“Elena.”
“Go away.”
“I know about Victor.”
“So do I.”
A pause.
“You know?”
“I know more than I did when I was your obedient little wife.”
“You were never obedient.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
Almost.
Adrian continued.
“Someone compromised your doctor.”
“I know.”
“I need to get you somewhere secure.”
“No.”
“Please.”
The word shocked me.
Adrian Vale did not say please.
Not even to judges.
“I’m not going back to the penthouse.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
“Then where?”
“Anywhere you choose.”
I rested one hand against the door.
“You walked out.”
Silence.
“I know.”
“Four seconds, Adrian.”
“I know.”
“I told you we were having a child and four seconds later another woman called, and you chose her.”
“I thought she was in danger.”
“And what did you think I was?”
Silence.
Safe.
That was the answer.
Because Adrian always believed I would remain exactly where he left me.
I closed my eyes.
“I spent six years waiting for you to choose me before someone else needed you.”
“Elena—”
“I’m done waiting.”
His voice dropped.
“I’m sorry.”
Tears burned my eyes.
The apology I had wanted for years came after I no longer trusted it.
“I’m filing for divorce.”
Nothing.
For several seconds, I wondered if he had left.
Then:
“No.”
I laughed.
“You don’t get to reject my divorce.”
“I know.”
His voice sounded rough.
“That wasn’t what I meant.”
“What did you mean?”
“I meant no, because I don’t want to lose you.”
I pressed my forehead against the door.
“Then you shouldn’t have spent years teaching me how little space I occupied in your life.”
I stepped away.
“Goodbye, Adrian.”
“Elena.”
I turned.
“There’s something you need to know about Serena.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She knew you were pregnant.”
My entire body went cold.
“Before you told her?”
“Before anyone should have known.”
I looked toward Rebecca.
She had gone very still.
Adrian continued through the door.
“I think Serena is working with Victor.”
Rebecca mouthed, Don’t open it.
I didn’t.
Then Adrian said something that made both of us stop breathing.
“And I think she knows where you are.”
A crash shattered the rear window.
Rebecca screamed my name.
I dropped.
A bullet tore through the wall where my head had been.
Adrian hit the front door from the outside.
“Elena!”
Another shot.
Rebecca grabbed my arm.
“Basement. Now!”
The second bullet blew apart the lamp.
I ran.
Behind us, the front door exploded inward.
Adrian entered with a gun in his hand.
May you like
And for the first time in my life, I was relieved to see the monster everyone else feared.
Because tonight, someone worse was hunting me.
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