The smoke cleared.
Silence.
Then—
“Adrian!”
Lucien’s voice thundered across the courtyard.
No answer.
The notebook was gone.
Gabriel Ashcroft was gone.
And so was the man who had returned after twenty years.
Damien swore under his breath.
“He planned this.”
Lucien’s jaw clenched.
“No.”
His eyes swept the grounds.
“He planned every second.”
⸻
INTERPOL agents flooded the estate.
Within minutes, the surviving attackers were in handcuffs.
Paramedics rushed toward the wounded.
Searchlights illuminated every inch of the property.
A woman in a navy tactical jacket approached us.
“Mr. Kingston?”
Lucien nodded.
She held out her badge.
“Special Agent Isabelle Laurent. INTERPOL Financial Crimes Task Force.”
She looked around at the destruction.
“We’ve been tracking Gabriel A
