Chapter 4 - The Apex Predator
Six men in immaculate black tactical suits flooded the kitchen, moving with lethal precision. They drove Alex to his knees on the hardwood floor and forced Grace and Fern against the marble counters.
Then, stepping over the shattered doorframe, came Gabriel Romano.
He was the undisputed king of the East Coast syndicate. A billionaire apex predator who decimated rival families and swallowed legitimate corporations whole. And he was my older brother.
I had walked away from the violence of my family's empire five years ago to live a quiet, civilian life with Alex. I had hidden my wealth and my bloodline to be normal.
Gabriel looked around the kitchen, his dark, calculating eyes radiating a demonic fury before settling on my husband.
"Alex," Gabriel rumbled, his voice shaking the glass in the cabinets. "You dared to threaten my sister? You dared to run an extortion ring in a house a Romano sleeps in?"
"Gabriel... Mr. Romano, please!" Alex choked out, weeping in absolute terror as a guard pressed a boot into his spine. "I didn't know! She told me her family was dead!"
"I told you they were out of the picture," I corrected coldly, walking over and picking up the black ledger. I handed it to my brother.
"As of this exact second, Bennett Commercial Group belongs to me," Gabriel decreed, looking down at Alex with ultimate disgust. "My holding companies just seized your accounts, your supply chains, and your debt. The IRS is currently raiding your downtown offices with this shadow ledger as probable cause."
Grace let out a piercing shriek. "Our money! Our boutique!"
"Your boutique is liquidated," Gabriel snapped, silencing her instantly. "Your condo is foreclosed. You have exactly the clothes on your backs. If any of you ever approach my sister or her employee again, you won't survive the night."
Gabriel extended his arm to me.
I walked into the guest room, gently woke a terrified Theresa, and helped her to her feet.
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"Come on, Theresa," I whispered softly. "My brother is taking us to his private estate. You are going to get the best medical care in the world, and I am paying for your son's nursing school in full."
I walked out of the house, leaving my ex-husband, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law kneeling in the ruins of the empire they thought they controlled, entirely destroyed by the woman they thought they could silence.
