Alexi knows. Damn it, of course he knows. He’s being groomed to take over someday, to run the empire his father built.
This is the family I married into. This is the world my baby will be born into.
I sink into my desk chair and stare out at the city. All those lights, all those people living normal lives. Going to normal jobs. Raising their kids without worrying about customs inspections, port authority bribes, or distribution networks.
I could have had that. Could have lived a normal life. Met a normal man. Had a normal family.
But I chose this.
I love him, and I’m pregnant with his child, and I don’t know how to reconcile that with what I now know he is.
The vibration on my phone breaks the quiet, and I see Ledger’s name.
Dinner’s ready. You coming?
I look at the message for a long moment. Then I type back:Be right there.
Because what else can I do? I’m his wife. I’m carrying his baby. And whether I like it or not, this is my life now.
22
LEDGER
The shipment arrivesat the docks at 3:00 AM on a Tuesday.
I’m not there personally. That’s what Pedro is for. But I’m awake in my office, phone in hand, waiting for confirmation that everything went smoothly.
At 3:47 AM, Pedro calls. “All containers accounted for. Customs waved us through. The contact came through again.”
“Good. Get everything to the warehouse. I want the distribution completed by Friday.”
“Yes, sir.”
I hang up and lean back in my chair, staring at the city lights outside. Another successful shipment. More merchandise moving through my network. More money flowing into accounts that can’t be traced back to me. This is the machine I’ve built.
And Savannah has no idea how deep it goes.
Or maybe she does. I’ve caught her looking at me differently lately. Like she’s seeing me clearly for the first time and isn’t sure she likes what she sees.
Silas comes by the penthouse at noon. Savannah is in her office on a call, and I meet him in my study.
“We have a problem,” he says without preamble.
“What kind of problem?”
“Mason Porter. Savannah’s ex. He’s been trying to contact her. Flowers to the office building. Multiple phone calls. Social media harassment.”
My jaw tightens. “How long has this been going on?”
“About three weeks. Security’s been intercepting everything, but he’s persistent.”
“Where is he now?”
“Still in Chicago. Working in an entry-level sales job. Living in an apartment in Logan Square.” Silas pulls out his phone and shows me a photo of Mason looking disheveled and walking into a building. “Want me to take care of it?”
I know what he’s asking.Want me to make him disappear?
“No.”
