Chapter 9 - The First Threat
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It was past two in the morning. Rain lashed against the massive windows of Adelaide’s office. The estate was eerily quiet, the only sound the rhythmic clicking of her keyboard.
She was deep into the encrypted files of Mateo’s highest-ranking men, cross-referencing their recent offshore deposits with the exact dates her father had finalized his fake tech trades.
Suddenly, the screen flickered.
Adelaide frowned, reaching for the mouse. Before she could click, the heavy oak door to her office clicked shut, the deadbolt turning with a sharp clack.
She spun around in her chair.
Standing in the shadows near the doorway was a man. He wore a dark suit and leather gloves, holding a suppressed handgun. Adelaide recognized him immediately. It was Silas, one of Mateo’s trusted enforcers who guarded the west wing of the estate.
“You’re digging too deep, Mrs. Moretti,” Silas said, his voice a low, gravelly whisper. He raised the weapon, pointing it directly at her chest. “My boss said you were smart. He just didn't realize you were this fast.”
Adelaide’s blood ran cold, but her mind remained razor-sharp. “Who is your boss, Silas? Who paid you to pull the trigger?”
“Doesn't matter,” Silas sneered, taking a step forward. “They’ll just think it was a home invasion.”
Before Silas could pull the trigger, the glass window behind him shattered violently.
Mateo didn't use the door. He had climbed the stone exterior of the balcony in the pouring rain. He crashed through the heavy pane glass like a demon, tackling Silas to the floor before the enforcer could even turn around.
The gun fired wildly, the bullet burying itself into the ceiling.
Mateo was a force of pure, unadulterated violence. He disarmed Silas in a second, shattering the man’s wrist with a sickening crack. He hauled Silas up by the throat, pinning him against the wall, his eyes completely black with murderous rage.
“You walked into my wife’s office,” Mateo roared, drawing a heavy combat knife from his belt.
Adelaide scrambled from her chair. “Mateo, wait! Don't kill him! We need him to talk!”
Mateo stopped, the blade inches from Silas’s eye. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving, the violence radiating from him in waves. But at Adelaide’s voice, the monster paused.
May you like
He looked at her, his eyes softening just a fraction. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she breathed out, her heart hammering. “But he knows who the rat is.”
