Chapter 9 - The Hostage Exchange
Victor stared at the encrypted phone on his desk, his expression instantly hardening into solid stone.
"How did you get this secure number, Patricia?" Victor demanded softly, though the menace in his voice was unmistakable.
Patricia’s elegant, cruel laugh echoed through the penthouse speakers.
"When you fund an entire crime family, Victor, they tend to provide excellent intelligence in return."
"The Morettis have proven to be very resourceful partners."
Isabelle stood frozen, the heavy pen still gripped tightly in her trembling hand.
"What do you want?" Victor asked, cutting straight through the theatrics.
"I want my four million dollars fully legitimized," Patricia stated confidently.
"I want the complete legal title to the Morgan estate."
"And I want you to publicly admit that your hostile takeover forced my hand."
Victor let out a short, humorless breath.
"You are in no position to make demands, Patricia."
"I survived your amateur assassins tonight."
"By morning, the police will have the ledgers proving your embezzlement."
"Ah, yes. The ledgers," Patricia purred wickedly.
"I anticipated you might have secured some copies."
"Which is exactly why I decided to secure some leverage of my own."
A muffled, terrified sound suddenly came over the line.
It was the unmistakable sound of someone weeping through a heavy gag.
Isabelle’s heart stopped completely.
"Let her speak," Patricia ordered someone in the background.
The gag was forcefully removed.
"Isabelle!" a frantic, terrified voice cried out. "Please help me!"
Isabelle dropped the pen, her hand flying to her mouth in absolute horror.
It was Clare.
Her younger stepsister.
"Clare?" Isabelle gasped, leaning over the desk.
Patricia’s voice returned to the line, cold and utterly devoid of maternal affection.
"I realized earlier tonight that Vanessa and Clare are unfortunately liabilities," Patricia explained callously.
"They are weak, and they know entirely too much about my financial arrangements."
"So, I gave Clare to the Morettis as collateral."
Isabelle felt the room spin violently around her.
Patricia had sold her own daughter to a mafia syndicate to protect her stolen money.
"If you do not sign over the estate and wire the funds to my offshore account by sunrise," Patricia threatened calmly.
"The Morettis will ensure Clare disappears permanently."
"And I will tell the press that you murdered her to silence my family."
The line went completely dead.
Isabelle collapsed into a leather chair, struggling to breathe.
She despised Clare for years of relentless bullying and cruelty, but no one deserved to be handed over to a cartel.
Victor stood completely still, his mind processing the horrifying escalation.
"She is a monster," Isabelle whispered, tears finally spilling down her cheeks.
Victor walked around the desk and crouched down in front of her.
He gently wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
"Patricia believes she has cornered me," Victor said quietly.
"She believes I will sacrifice Clare to protect my own empire, which will give her the perfect narrative to destroy me publicly."
Isabelle looked into his gray eyes, desperate for a solution.
"We have to save her, Victor."
"I know she was awful to me, but she is still my sister."
Victor stood up slowly, a dark, terrifying resolve settling over his features.
"We will save her, Isabelle."
"But I am not paying Patricia a single dime."
He picked up his secure phone and dialed his security chief.
"Assemble every man we have in the city," Victor ordered smoothly.
"Arm them heavily."
"We are going to war with the Morettis tonight."
He hung up the phone and looked at the unsigned marriage license on the desk.
"Sign it," Victor commanded softly.
"If I die tonight, I want to ensure Patricia cannot touch a single cent of my fortune."
Isabelle picked up the pen and quickly signed her name, officially becoming a Romano.
Victor locked the document in his safe and drew his weapon.
"Stay here and lock the doors," he instructed.
"Do not open them for anyone but me."
Victor turned and walked toward the private elevator to lead his army into battle.
But before the doors closed, Isabelle noticed something incredibly strange.
May you like
Victor was checking the magazine of his pistol.
The bullets loaded into the magazine were identical to the custom, cross-cut hollow points used exclusively by the Moretti family.
