d57.NO ONE COULD APPROACH THE DYING, UNCONSCIOUS MAFIA BOSS — UNTIL HIS DESPERATE GUARD DOG PICKED A POOR NURSE...

Back inside the secure ICU room, Clara locked the heavy door from the inside. Titan instantly lay down across the threshold, his head facing the corridor, alert and unyielding.

Clara pulled the black leather notebook and the red flash drive out of her scrub pockets, setting them on the small stainless steel tray beside Adrian’s bed.

Adrian was still sleeping under the light sedative, his chest rising and falling in rhythmic synchronization with the monitor.

Clara opened the black notebook.

The first fifty pages were filled with detailed financial entries—offshore shell accounts, shipping manifests, construction permits, and legal defense funds. But as she flipped toward the middle of the book, the handwriting changed. It became jagged, hurried, written in red ink.

Names. Dozens of names.

Beside each name was a dollar figure, a date, and a specific designation: Paid, Pending, or Eliminated.

Clara’s breath hitched as her eyes scanned down the page.

Judge Robert Sterling — $250,000 — Paid.Senator David Vance — $500,000 — Paid.Chief of Police William Miller — $100,000 — Pending.

It wasn't just a ledger. It was a complete, ironclad map of political and judicial corruption spanning three states—the secret foundation upon which the Castellano empire stood.

And on the very last page, dated three days ago, was a single entry written in bold, heavily underlined script:

Julian Castellano — Transfer request denied. Account freeze authorized.

Below it, in Adrian’s distinct handwriting, was a short note:

He sold the north pier access codes to the Moretti family. He thinks I don't know. The buyout happens on Friday.

The truth hit Clara with sickening clarity.

Julian hadn't just tried to murder his brother over a family rivalry. He was executing a corporate takeover, liquidating the Castellano empire to pay off massive debts to a rival crime syndicate, and Adrian had found out three days ago. The attack on the mansion wasn't an unexpected breach—it was a rushed execution before Adrian could officially execute the account freeze.

The monitor beside the bed beeped.

Adrian’s eyes opened. He wasn't panicked this time. The sedative was wearing off cleanly, leaving his gaze sharp, focused, and crystal clear.

He looked at the black notebook open on the tray beside him, then looked up at Clara.

Slowly, painfully, Adrian reached up and pulled the oxygen mask down from his face. His voice was raspy, barely more than a whisper, but it carried absolute, commanding strength.

"You... found it," Adrian breathed, his throat dry.

"I found it," Clara said, leaning close, holding a plastic cup with a straw to his lips. "Your brother sold you out to the Moretti family."

Adrian took a small sip of water, his dark eyes blazing with cold, quiet fury. "I know."

"He has six armed men sitting at your front gate right now," Clara warned. "He's waiting for Dr. Harrison to declare you incapacitated so he can take legal power of attorney."

Adrian let out a dark, breathless laugh that ended in a wince of physical pain. "Julian always did... lack patience."

Adrian reached out, his weak fingers brushing against Clara’s wrist. "The drive... plug it into... the monitor terminal."

Clara looked at the red flash drive, then at the diagnostic monitor beside his bed, which was connected to the mansion's private fiber-optic network. She plugged the drive into the USB port.

The screen flashed. The heart rate interface minimized, replaced by a dark command prompt window. A prompt appeared:

ENTER MASTER AUTHORIZATION CODE.

Adrian looked at Clara, his eyes steady. "Type... Titan 1147."

Clara typed the characters onto the touch keyboard.

The screen instantly turned green. A progress bar appeared: