Chapter 7 - The Trap Closes
The boardroom went dead silent. Every eye in the room shifted instantly from Adrian to Marco.
Marco’s face lost all its color. The slick, confident veneer cracked, revealing the panicked animal underneath.
"This... this is a forgery," Marco stammered, taking a step back as two of Adrian’s enforcers blocked the exit doors. "Adrian, you can't believe—"
"You brought him to them," Adrian said. His voice wasn't loud. It was terrifyingly calm. "You gave Travis the address. You hoped he would cause enough chaos to force the council to strip my authority, or better yet... you hoped he would eliminate Camille and the girls so I would be permanently destabilized."
"It's business!" Marco screamed, lunging for his jacket where a concealed pistol rested.
He didn't even clear leather.
Adrian moved with blinding, explosive speed. He grabbed Marco by the throat, slamming him down onto the heavy mahogany boardroom table with a force that cracked the wood and sent coffee cups shattering across the floor.
Marco gasped for air, his hands clawing at Adrian’s wrists. "Adrian... please... family—"
"You forfeited that word the moment you put your hands on my family," Adrian growled, pressing his thumb against Marco’s windpipe just enough to remind him of the absolute abyss of power differential between them.
"What should we do with him, Boss?" Silas asked, his hand resting calmly on the butt of his sidearm.
Adrian stared down at his cousin for a long, agonizing moment. Then, with a look of supreme disgust, he hurled Marco across the floor like a broken doll.
"Strip him of his titles. Clear his accounts. Put him on a freighter bound for South America tonight with nothing on his back," Adrian commanded, not even bothering to look down as two guards dragged the screaming, thrashing traitor out of the room. "If he ever sets foot in North America again, kill him on sight."
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The council elders sat frozen, staring at Adrian with a new, terrified level of respect. No one spoke. No one objected.
"The meeting is adjourned," Adrian said coldly, turning toward the exit. "And let it be known to every man in this room: my family is untouchable."
