Chapter 20 - THE COLD HORIZON|
Dawn broke over Manhattan, painting the rain-slicked city in brilliant shades of gold and purple.
The Cole threat was completely neutralized. Victor was in federal custody, his empire seized, and his daughter permanently silenced in exile.
Adrian and I walked hand in hand along the quiet edge of Pier 17, watching the sun rise over the harbor.
"It's finally over," I murmured, leaning my head against Adrian's shoulder.
Adrian pulled me close, wrapping his heavy coat around us both to keep the cold ocean wind away.
"It's over," Adrian agreed softly, kissing the top of my head. "Now we build our life in peace."
Just then, Marcus walked up the wooden dock, his face unusually stiff. He held a sleek, unlabelled silver satellite phone in his gloved hand.
"Boss," Marcus said quietly, interrupting the moment. "A call just came through on the private overseas channel. It bypassed all our secure firewalls."
Adrian’s brow furrowed. "Who is it?"
"She didn't give a name," Marcus whispered, looking nervously at me. "She only said... 'Tell Adrian that Vanessa wasn't Victor's daughter. She was mine.'"
I froze. Adrian took the phone slowly, his face turning into a mask of sudden, icy tension.
He placed the phone to his ear.
"Who is this?" Adrian demanded coldly.
A low, haunting woman's laugh echoed through the speaker—a laugh that sounded terrifyingly familiar, yet older and far more dangerous than Vanessa's ever was.
"Hello, Adrian," a dark, velvety voice purred from thousands of miles away. "You put my daughter on a plane. Now... I am coming to New York to collect what your family owes me."
Click.
May you like
The line went dead.
Adrian lowered the phone, his gray eyes locking onto mine in the pale morning light. A new, far larger storm was brewing on the horizon—but this time, as I reached out and squeezed his hand tightly, I knew we would face the darkness together.
