Chapter Two — The Heir
634 Words
Morning came without peace.
News of Victor Voss's disappearance had already begun spreading through Vesper City.
Officially, nothing had happened.
Unofficially, every major criminal organization in the city knew the Voss throne was empty.
And an empty throne never stayed empty for long.
Adrian stood at the head of the dining table while Leon, Mara, and several senior members of the family watched him.
“You should leave the city,” Leon said.
Adrian looked at him.
“No.”
“Your father is gone.”
“Exactly.”
“You aren't prepared for this.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“You've spent my entire life telling me I didn't belong in this world. Now you're telling me I'm responsible for it?”
“You're Victor's son.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Leon lowered his eyes.
For the first time, Adrian noticed something beneath his uncle's confidence.
Fear.
Mara sat quietly at the other end of the table.
“You need to understand something,” she said.
Adrian turned toward her.
“I'm listening.”
“Your father had enemies inside his own organization.”
Leon immediately interrupted.
“That's speculation.”
“No,” Mara replied. “It's evidence.”
She placed several documents on the table.
Financial records.
Meeting schedules.
Photographs.
Adrian studied them.
Someone had been secretly moving money out of Voss-controlled businesses for months.
Someone had also been leaking information about Victor's movements.
The final document contained a list of names.
One name had been circled.
Leon Voss.
The room went silent.
Adrian looked at his uncle.
“Explain.”
Leon stood.
“I didn't betray your father.”
“Then someone wants me to believe you did.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian looked down at the documents again.
There was something strange about them.
The evidence was almost too perfect.
Too convenient.
Mara noticed his expression.
“You see it too.”
Adrian nodded.
“Someone wants the family divided.”
A sudden explosion echoed somewhere outside the mansion.
The windows shook.
Everyone turned.
Security personnel rushed into the room.
“Sir!”
Adrian looked at them.
“What happened?”
“The eastern gate was breached.”
Leon immediately began issuing orders.
“Move everyone to the lower floor.”
Adrian remained still.
Mara looked at him.
“You should go.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“Adrian—”
“If someone wants me to hide, I'm going to disappoint them.”
He walked toward the hallway.
Leon grabbed his arm.
“This isn't a game.”
Adrian looked at his uncle.
“I know.”
His voice was quiet.
“That's why I'm staying.”
By sunset, the attack was over.
No one in the mansion had been seriously hurt.
But the message was clear.
The Voss family was vulnerable.
Adrian stood on the balcony overlooking the city.
Mara joined him.
“You're thinking about leaving,” she said.
“No.”
“Liar.”
Adrian gave a faint smile.
“I've thought about it.”
“And?”
He looked at the city.
“When I was younger, I thought my father was powerful because people feared him.”
Mara waited.
“I was wrong.”
“What changed your mind?”
Adrian looked toward the lights below.
“People don't follow fear forever.”
He turned to her.
“They follow someone who gives them a reason to stay.”
Mara studied him.
“Then perhaps you're more like your father than you realize.”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“I hope not.”
Behind them, Leon watched from the doorway.
His phone vibrated.
He checked the message.
One sentence appeared.
The boy has accepted the crown. Begin the second phase.
Leon slowly put the phone away.
His face revealed nothing.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD