Chapter 19 - The Horizon
The blizzard cleared as the dawn broke over the Atlantic Ocean.
The private airfield in Teterboro, New Jersey, was bathed in crisp, rose-gold morning light. The snowplows had carved wide paths through the tarmac, where Lucien’s private Gulfstream jet sat waiting, its engines softly whining as they preheated for departure.
Inside the terminal hangar, the war for New York had reached its conclusion.
Marco Valenti and his surviving lieutenants were in federal custody, handed over to the Department of Justice along with the mountain of evidence Evelyn had recovered from the library safe. The Five Borough Commission had unanimously voted to acknowledge Lucien Moretti as the sole executive authority of the syndicate’s allied assets.
Evelyn stood at the edge of the open hangar, looking out toward the Manhattan skyline rising in the distance like a jagged crown of glass and steel. She held a steaming cup of coffee in her hands, her hair blowing softly in the crisp winter breeze.
Footsteps echoed on the concrete behind her.
Lucien walked up, wearing a long charcoal coat over a fresh black suit. The cut on his cheek had scabbed over, giving his aristocratic features an even more dangerous, lethal edge.
He stopped beside her, looking out toward the city they had conquered together.
“The board signed the papers twenty minutes ago,” Lucien said quietly. “Moretti Holdings now controls ninety percent of the maritime routes from Boston to Baltimore. Jonathan Cross’s trust has been restored to your name. You are officially the wealthiest independent woman in the state of New York.”
Evelyn took a sip of her coffee, a faint, bittersweet smile touching her lips. “My father thought he was protecting me by hiding that money. In the end, it was the very thing that brought wolves to my door.”
“Wolves are only dangerous to sheep, Evelyn,” Lucien rumbled softly, turning to face her. “You are not a sheep. You never were.”
He reached out, his leather-gloved fingers gently tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.
“Our plane leaves for Zurich in ten minutes,” he said, his gray eyes searching hers with an intensity that made the air between them feel thin. “We consolidate the offshore holdings. We secure the Swiss accounts. Then, we return to Manhattan and build an empire that no man can ever threaten again. Are you ready?”
Evelyn looked into his eyes, feeling the unyielding power of the man before her—a man feared by everyone, but who looked at her as his sole equal.
“I am,” she said softly.
Suddenly, Matteo sprinted across the hangar floor, his boots sliding against the slick concrete. His face was entirely devoid of color, his expression one of sheer, unadulterated panic.
“Boss!” Matteo yelled, his voice cracking. “Boss, stop the boarding!”
Lucien turned with lightning speed, his hand instinctively resting on his weapon. “What is it?”
Matteo held up a satellite phone with trembling hands. “The Swiss vault in Zurich... it was accessed forty minutes ago!”
Lucien’s brow furrowed in lethal confusion. “That’s impossible. Only two retinal scans can open that vault. Mine... and my father's.”
“It wasn't your scan, Boss,” Matteo breathed, his chest heaving, his eyes wide with terror as he looked between Lucien and Evelyn. “The biometric match came back from Zurich Security International three minutes ago.”
May you like
Matteo swallowed hard, struggling to force the words past his dry throat.
“It wasn't your father, either, Lucien... The retinal scan that just cleaned out the entire vault... belonged to Jonathan Cross.”
