Chapter 3 - Shifting the Syndicate
I left my mother screaming in the library, utterly powerless, and drove directly to the Ashford estate.
If I wanted to secure Mave and Posie’s future permanently, I couldn't just strip my mother of her wealth; I had to neutralize the external threat. Marcus Ashford was an old-school, ruthless warlord. His daughter being left at the altar was an insult that usually demanded a body bag.
When I entered his private study, Marcus was sitting behind his desk, flanked by five heavily armed guards. Coraline was sitting on the leather sofa, still wearing her elaborate wedding gown, her face an unreadable mask.
“You have exactly one minute to explain why you are not a corpse, Garrett,” Marcus growled, his hand resting on the gold-plated revolver on his desk.
I didn't flinch. I reached into my jacket and placed a thick, leather-bound ledger on his desk.
“Because my mother was going to bleed you dry, Marcus,” I said, stepping back so he could open it. “That is the shadow ledger of the Hail empire. The one my mother kept hidden from you during the merger negotiations. Take a look at page four.”
Marcus frowned, flipping to the page. His eyes widened.
“She wasn't merging our territories,” I explained. “She was using the marriage to gain access to your European shipping lanes. Once Coraline was integrated into our family, my mother planned to slowly poison your supply chains, bankrupt your overseas shell companies, and force a hostile takeover of the Ashford syndicate. She was going to gut you, Marcus.”
Marcus looked at the undeniable proof—the routed account numbers, the pre-planned embezzlement strategies in my mother's own handwriting. His face turned a dangerous shade of crimson.
Coraline stood up, the rustle of her wedding silk loud in the tense room. “I warned you, Father,” she said quietly.
Marcus looked at his daughter. “You knew?”
“I have my own spies in Evelyn’s household,” Coraline admitted, crossing her arms. “I knew Evelyn was setting a trap. I knew she had secrets. I just didn't know her secret was a missing wife and a secret grandchild until I saw the little girl on the street today.” Coraline looked at me, a grudging respect in her eyes. “I don't care that you walked away, Garrett. I never wanted to marry you anyway. But I did want the alliance.”
“And you can still have it,” I offered, looking between the two Ashfords. “My mother is deposed. I hold the keys to the entire Hail empire now. I am offering you a new treaty. A clean, transparent alliance between my syndicate and yours. We split the European routes fifty-fifty. But in exchange, my mother is completely excommunicated, and you recognize my wife, Mave, as the untouchable Queen of my territory.”
Marcus stared at the ledger, then at his daughter, and finally at me. He closed the book with a heavy thud.
May you like
“Evelyn Hail is a dead woman walking,” Marcus decreed, his voice cold and final. “The Ashford family recognizes Garrett Hail as the sole leader of the syndicate. Your wife and child are under our ultimate protection. God help anyone who touches them.”
The war was averted. The alliance was secured. But a cornered rat is always the most dangerous.
