He studies me for a long moment. “Good. I don’t need complications.”
“He’s not a complication. He’s gone.”
He nods once. “The car is waiting.”
I walk out without another word, and I don’t look back.
4
LUCA
I watchthe car pull away through the study window.
Anna sits in the backseat with her phone pressed to her ear, probably calling to check on her children. Her profile is sharp against the passing streetlights, jaw set, shoulders rigid. She looks like she’s preparing for battle rather than leaving it.
Good. I prefer people who don’t break easily.
The car disappears through the gates, and I turn back to my desk. The Kestrel Maritime files are already spread across the surface, waiting. I’ve been working toward this moment for three years. Every loan I acquired, every pressure point I applied, every door I closed on Viktor Kestrel, led to last night. To a marriage certificate and a consummation that made everything legally binding.
Now comes the actual work.
I pull the operational reports closer and start reading. The numbers tell a clear story. Viktor’s shipping network is solid, the routes are established, but he made critical errors in judgment. Borrowed against future earnings that never materialized.Expanded into markets he didn’t understand. Trusted the wrong partners.
All fixable problems. All opportunities.
My phone buzzes. Pavel.
“Come up.”
Three minutes later, he walks in carrying his tablet. He’s already reviewing something, fingers swiping across the screen.
“Security is ready for when they arrive,” he says without preamble. “Perimeter cameras are active, additional personnel are briefed. The children’s rooms are set up.”
“How many men on rotation?”
“Six right now. You want more?”
“Double it.”
Pavel’s fingers pause on the screen. “That’s excessive for standard household security.”
“This isn’t standard. Viktor had debts with people other than me. Those people know about this marriage now. They know his daughter and grandchildren are living here. If anyone wants leverage against me, or against Viktor through me, those children become targets.”
“You think someone would move against children?”
“I think people do desperate things when they’re owed money they’ll never see. I’m not giving them the opportunity.”
Pavel makes notes. “I’ll have twelve men in rotation by tonight. Anything else?”
I lean back in my chair and study him. He’s been with me long enough to know when I’m working toward something specific.
“The marriage contracts are filed?” I ask.
“This morning. Regulatory approval should come through in four weeks, maybe less. Once that’s done, operational control of Kestrel Maritime transfers to you completely. Viktor can attend board meetings if he wants, but every decision routes through you first.”
“Good. Start preparing the integration plan. I want their shipping routes analyzed against ours, redundancies identified, operational costs cut by twenty percent minimum.”
“That’s aggressive.”
