"Or we drive into an ambush," I countered."Pick your poison, hotshot."I swerved left, tires screeching as we shot down a narrow road. The docks loomed ahead—rusted warehouses, shipping containers stacked like a maze. It was perfect."Stay down," I told Margaret.She shot me a look. "You don’t get to boss me around."I snorted. "You sure? ‘Cause I just did."The SUVs followed us in, but I knew these types—trained for straight-line chases, not urban obstacle courses. I slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel, skidding sideways behind a row of shipping containers.Margaret gasped, gripping the door handle like it was her lifeline. "Are you insane?!""Possibly," I admitted, then grabbed my gun. "Stay put."I jumped out, keeping low as I moved around the containers. The SUVs slowed, their occupants hesitating."Harper," I muttered into the comms. "Can you jam their communications?""Already on it.""God, I love you.""Yeah, yeah," Harper said dryly. "Buy me dinner first."I positioned

I exhaled."Victoria is the real heir. The Silent Heir. My grandfather hid her existence, made sure she had access to power, but always from behind the curtain. And she’s been using her connection to The Black Hawk."Lisa cursed under her breath."I knew she was ambitious, but this? This is something else."I leaned back in the chair, gripping the papers.How the hell did I not see this?Victoria had always been there—clever, strategic, dangerous in ways that made even seasoned businessmen nervous. And now I knew why.My own sister had been playing the game better than all of us.I locked the documents back inside and stood."I need to get out of here before—"The door clicked shut behind me.I turned.Victoria stood in the doorway, dressed in an elegant black coat, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she stepped forward. A slow, cold smile curved her lips."You’ve finally caught up, haven’t you?"I didn’t move, didn’t blink, just held her gaze."I was wondering when you’d

Working with Victoria felt like striking a deal with the devil.Every instinct screamed at me not to trust her, but if she really knew who was pulling The Black Hawk’s strings, then I couldn’t afford to walk away.Not yet.I made one thing clear—she wasn’t running the show.“You’ll get what you asked for,” I told her, standing in the dimly lit safehouse we’d set up for our first move.“But if you step out of line, I won’t hesitate to put you down.”Victoria’s lips curled into that infuriating smirk of hers.“Relax, dear brother. I wouldn’t dream of betraying you. Not yet, anyway.”Lisa exhaled loudly from the corner.“This is a mistake.”Harris, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke.“She’s useful for now, but I don’t trust her any more than I trust a loaded gun pointed at my head.”Victoria chuckled. “Oh, Harris. I missed you too.”I ignored the bickering and turned my focus to the table in front of us, where maps, documents, and surveillance photos of The Black Hawk’s remaini

My blood boiled.“You ordered the hit on our father. And you have the audacity to act like this is nothing?”Victoria tilted her head slightly.“Think, Ethan. Do you really believe I’d be that careless? That I’d leave behind evidence of something so incriminating?”Lisa narrowed her eyes.“So, what? You’re saying this is fake?”Victoria exhaled, tapping a manicured finger against the table.“No, I’m saying it was staged. A necessary move to gain The Black Hawk’s trust. Do you have any idea what it took to infiltrate them? To get them to believe I was truly on their side?”I didn’t answer.My gut told me not to believe her, but there was logic in what she was saying.Victoria leaned forward, her voice smooth, calculated.“If I hadn’t played my role perfectly, The Black Hawk would have seen through me in seconds. That recording? It was never meant to reach you. It was meant to solidify my position within their ranks. And it worked.”Harris let out a sharp breath.“That’s convenient.”Vi

The Black Hawk thought they could take from me and get away with it.They were wrong.Daniel Cross was still alive. That much, I knew. But I wasn’t going to sit around waiting for them to send me another video with a body instead of a hostage.I was getting him back.And unfortunately, I needed Victoria’s help to do it.Victoria sat across from me, sipping her espresso like we weren’t about to storm a Black Hawk stronghold. "They’re keeping him in a warehouse outside the city. Tight security, multiple guards, but nothing we can’t handle."I studied her. "And you know this how?"She smirked. "Because I still have sources you don’t."Lisa, standing beside me, scoffed. "And we’re just supposed to trust that you’re not leading us into a trap?"Victoria sighed. "If I wanted Ethan dead, I wouldn’t go through all this trouble. I’d just poison his coffee and watch him choke."I leaned forward, locking eyes with her. "Try it, and you’ll be the one choking."She grinned. "I do love our sibling