157 "When the Most Feared Mafia Boss Walked Out on a Billion-Dollar Empire Just to Save a Crying Waitress, He Had No Idea Her Secret Past Was About to Destroy Them Both!"

The tension in the study was thick enough to choke on.

Vincent slowly withdrew his arm once Adrian released him, smoothing the cuff of his velvet jacket with an air of theatrical calm. A thin, dangerous smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"Verocious," Vincent murmured, glancing between his nephew and Liya. "You always did have a soft spot for lost causes, Adrian. But protect her all you like—the board doesn't care about your sentimentality. They care about control."

"Control is something I have never lacked," Adrian replied, his voice cold as iron. He didn't release his grip on Liya's arm, pulling her slightly closer as he turned toward the double doors. "We’re leaving."

"You can walk out of this house, Adrian," Vincent called out lazily to their backs, "but you can't walk away from the syndicate. And the moment you put that girl in an apartment in Georgetown tomorrow—because we both know you aren't sending her back to that hovel in Alexandria—she becomes part of the ledger."

Liya froze. She pulled her arm free from Adrian’s grip as soon as they reached the hallway outside the study.

"Georgetown?" she demanded, turning on him in the dim, panelled corridor. "What is he talking about? You’re moving me?"

"You can't go back to Alexandria," Adrian said flatly, striding toward the front entrance with Miller trailing a step behind them. "Vincent’s men already know where your mother’s house is. Leaving you there now is a death sentence."

"You didn't ask me!" Liya shouted, her voice echoing off the marble floors. "You make all these grand plans, you drag me into your family feud, you threaten your own uncle, and you act like I’m just a piece of luggage you can relocate whenever your life gets complicated!"

Adrian stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around, his expression dark, chest rising and falling beneath his vest.

"Do you think I wanted this?" he snapped, his voice dropping to a low, furious growl that startled even Miller. "Do you think I planned to walk into a ballroom last night and find someone whose face I couldn't walk away from? I didn't ask for any of this either, Liya!"

The raw honesty in his voice hung in the air, sudden and sharp. For a second, the cold, untouchable mafia boss cracked, revealing the exhaustion beneath.

"If I leave you in Alexandria," Adrian continued, stepping closer, his voice fierce, "Vincent will use you to break me. And the moment he breaks me, you won't survive the fallout. So yes, you are coming with me. Not because you're luggage, but because I am the only thing standing between you and a shallow grave."

Before Liya could find the words to answer, Miller’s radio crackled softly against his lapel. The driver’s hand went instantly to his ear.

"Sir," Miller said, his voice stripped of all emotion. "We have an intercept on the perimeter. Two unmarked vehicles just blocked the main gate."