Chapter 5 - The Reckoning
Adrian didn't call the police. He called his private security team.
By the time Adrian stepped out onto the front steps of his brownstone, three black SUVs had already pulled up, blocking David Vance’s sports car against the curb. Four burly, uniformed security operatives had David pinned against the hood of his own car before he could take another step toward the door.
I watched from the second-floor window, holding my breath as Adrian walked slowly down the stone steps.
“Let go of me!” David screamed, thrashing against the guards’ grip. “Do you know who I am?! My father will destroy you, Kane!”
Adrian stopped two feet away from David, placing his hands back into his pockets. He looked down at the writhing man with an expression of supreme disgust.
“Your father is currently on a plane to London trying to salvage his offshore liquidity,” Adrian said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Because an hour ago, I purchased sixty percent of your family firm’s outstanding debt from Deutsche Bank. Your father no longer owns Vance Development, David. I do.”
David froze, his red, drunken eyes widening in horror. “What... what did you say?”
“You came to my home, threatened the woman I love, and woke up her child,” Adrian continued, taking a step closer, leaning into David’s face. “You thought you could bully Nora because she was alone. But she is never going to be alone again.”
Adrian signaled the head security officer.
“Take him to the precinct,” Adrian ordered cold-bloodedly. “File charges for felony trespassing, terroristic threats, and breach of the restraining order we executed two hours ago. Make sure the District Attorney knows that if David Vance gets bail before Monday morning, I will personally fund his opponent’s judicial campaign.”
“Yes, Mr. Kane,” the guard nodded, dragging a weeping, pathetic David into the back of a security vehicle.
Adrian stood on the sidewalk for a moment, watching the SUVs drive away into the night. Then, he adjusted his cuffs, turned around, and walked back up the steps into the brownstone.
When he walked into the living room, I threw myself into his arms.
He caught me instantly, wrapping his arms around my waist, lifting me off my feet and holding me tight against his chest. I buried my face in his neck, breathing in his comforting scent.
“Is it over?” I whispered. “Is he really gone?”
“He’s gone, Nora,” Adrian promised, kissing the side of my head softly. “He will never touch you, speak to you, or come within a mile of you or Mia ever again. I swear it on my life.”
He set me down gently, holding my face in his hands.
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“Now,” Adrian smiled, a beautiful, genuine expression that lit up his sharp features. “Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?”
I laughed, a rich, happy sound that surprised even myself, and pulled his lips back down to mine.
