Chapter 6 - What Remains After the War
Gregory called at dawn.
Lily appeared on a video screen seated inside an unknown room.
Her hands were tied, but she looked furious rather than defeated.
Gregory stood behind her.
“Elena and the notebook,” he said. “In exchange for the girl.”
Adrian stared.
“You're assuming I negotiate.”
“You do now.”
Gregory smiled.
“Children make men sentimental.”
Lily suddenly shouted, “Don't give him anything!”
Gregory muted the feed.
Adrian's face became terrifyingly calm.
“You have six hours.”
The connection ended.
Elena immediately said, “We're not giving him the notebook.”
Adrian looked at her.
“He kills Lily.”
“He kills Lily either way if we walk in blind.”
“Then what's your plan?”
“Stop behaving like the man Gregory trained you to be.”
Adrian frowned.
Elena moved closer.
“For years he taught you that fear equals power. That's why everybody obeys you but nobody tells you the truth.”
“That kept me alive.”
“It also kept you alone.”
The words landed harder than any bullet.
“You want to save Lily?” Elena asked. “Then trust people.”
Adrian almost laughed.
“That's your strategy?”
“Yes.”
“That may be the most dangerous thing you've ever suggested.”
But she was right.
So Adrian did something Gregory would never expect.
He called everyone.
Police officials who weren't corrupted.
Federal investigators.
Former rivals.
Business owners Gregory had extorted.
Families damaged by his network.
Adrian gave them copies of the notebook.
For the first time, Gregory's power became vulnerable because the information was no longer held by one person.
Then Tomas discovered Lily's location.
An abandoned hotel near the river.
“How?” Adrian asked.
Tomas placed a phone on the desk.
“Bear.”
Adrian stared.
“He survived.”
Relief flashed through Elena's eyes.
“The bullet grazed him. He woke up while the kidnappers were loading Lily into a van.”
Adrian almost smiled.
“He followed them?”
“Three blocks despite the injured leg. One of our traffic cameras caught him chasing the vehicle. We mapped the route.”
Elena whispered, “Good boy.”
The hotel was heavily guarded.
Adrian went in through underground service tunnels.
Elena remained with tactical officers despite arguing for several minutes.
Inside, Lily was trying to escape.
She had already rubbed one wrist raw against a broken chair edge.
Gregory entered.
“You remind me of your aunt.”
“Good.”
“You don't know what that means.”
“She hated you.”
Gregory's face hardened.
Lily continued.
“My dad says people who need everybody scared of them are usually scared themselves.”
Gregory slapped the chair arm beside her.
“What am I afraid of?”
Lily thought.
“Being nobody.”
The child had no idea how precisely she had hit the wound.
Gregory had spent his entire life in the shadow of Adrian’s father, then Adrian himself.
Money had never been enough.
He wanted the name.
The loyalty.
The fear.
Adrian reached the sixth floor.
Two guards blocked the hallway.
He could have killed them.
Instead, he waited until Tomas cut the power.
Darkness.
Thirty seconds later, both men were unconscious.
Adrian entered the room.
Lily saw him first.
Relief flooded her face.
Gregory turned and aimed a gun at her.
“Stop.”
Adrian froze.
“You came alone?”
“Yes.”
Gregory laughed.
“You finally learned obedience.”
“No.”
Adrian looked at Lily.
“I learned something else.”
Sirens filled the streets below.
Then helicopters.
Gregory’s expression changed.
“What did you do?”
“I gave everything away.”
The color drained from his face.
“The records. Accounts. Witness lists. Shipping routes. Everyone has them now.”
“You idiot.”
“I burned your kingdom.”
Gregory aimed at Adrian.
“You burned yours too.”
Adrian shrugged.
“Maybe it needed burning.”
Lily stared at him.
Gregory grabbed her.
“Then I'll leave you with nothing.”
Suddenly barking echoed from the stairwell.
Lily's eyes widened.
“Bear!”
The dog appeared.
Bandaged.
Limping.
Still running.
He launched himself at Gregory.
Gregory staggered.
The gun fired into the ceiling.
Adrian crossed the room.
One punch.
Gregory fell.
Lily ran to Bear.
Adrian kicked the weapon away.
Police officers stormed the hallway.
Gregory stared upward.
“You think this makes you good?”
Adrian looked at him.
“No.”
For years Adrian would have needed the world to believe otherwise.
Now he didn't.
“But maybe tomorrow I can be better than I was today.”
Gregory laughed bitterly.
“People like us don't change.”
Adrian looked toward Lily hugging the dog.
May you like
“Yes,” he said.
“We do.”
