Chapter19
1210 Words
CHAPTER 19
Adam watched the snow fall outside the Zurich chalet window, the glass fogging as his breath slowed.
He’d tucked Liam into bed hours ago, read him a story with a steady voice he didn’t feel, and stared into the fire long after the child’s breathing turned soft and even.
But now – now the ghosts came.
Celia Montenegro.
Daughter of Rafael Montenegro – the most ruthless drug baron in South America.
A cartel princess by blood. A ghost by fire.
Adam ran a hand down his face. He hadn’t spoken her name in years.
Celia had seduced him under orders from her father – or so he thought. At the time, it seemed like a setup, a trap. She got pregnant and gave birth she tried to run. Then she died in a warehouse fire, the kind that burned truth and lies alike.
Only later did he find out the truth.
She was Interpol.
Deep undercover.
Infiltrating her own father's empire while pretending to be loyal. No one knew – not her father, not Adam, not the people who ordered her death. Not until it was too late.
Her last act had been to hide her newborn son and send a silent distress signal. By the time Adam reached the warehouse, flames were eating everything. The only thing left behind was Liam… and a partially burned Interpol badge buried in a steel locker.
He’d carried that secret ever since.
Celia Montenegro had lied to everyone – including him, but in the end, she’d saved her son.
Adam looked over at Liam, sleeping in a bed that wasn’t home, guarded by men who carried silent weapons. His heart twisted.
He would protect Liam from the fate of his bloodline. At all costs.
And maybe, just maybe… one day he’d tell him the truth.
* * * * *
The music was low, a jazz instrumental curling through the dimly lit air of the underground lounge like smoke. The kind of place where powerful men said dangerous things.
James stirred his scotch with a glass straw he had no intention of using. His eyes followed Xandros across the room as the man slid into the leather seat across from him, dressed in black-on-black.
“You’ve been quiet,” James said, leaning back. “Too quiet. Which usually means you’re either planning something or dead. And I already know you're hard to kill.”
Xandros smirked, unbuttoning his coat. “Nice to see you too.”
James didn’t return the smile. “Let’s not waste time. You gave me that file, told me Adam has a son hidden in Spain. And now what? We’re just going to sip cocktails and wait for karma to clock in?”
“I’m already working,” Xandros replied coolly. “You think I told you about Liam for laughs?”
James raised a brow. “Enlighten me.”
Xandros leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I sent someone. To Spain a spy. Had him linger just long enough for Adam to notice.”
“You wanted to get caught?” James frowned.
“Exactly. I made sure he saw the guy — but only for a few seconds. Just enough to plant the idea in Adam’s mind that his son is in danger.”
James blinked. “So the whole purpose of exposing Liam – was a decoy?”
Xandros nodded once. “Adam’s a control freak. Paranoid, obsessive. If he thinks Liam’s at risk, he’ll react like any father with a secret to protect: move the boy. Fast, quietly, and that will take time and effort. It’ll pull his focus away from Belle. Away from New York.”
James whistled low. “So while he’s busy playing overprotective dad, you move in on Belle?”
Xandros didn’t answer immediately. He reached for the glass of bourbon the waiter had just placed in front of him, took a sip, then set it down with precision.
“I’m not going to touch Belle,” he said.
James scoffed. “You’re kidding. Then what’s the plan?”
“I’m going to make Belle see Adam for who he really is.”
James narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t mean the charming billionaire who plays pretend husband. I mean the man who has blood on his hands. The man who ruins everything he touches.”
James laughed under his breath. “You’re going to morally guilt-trip a mafia king?”
“I’m going to use Belle’s mind. Her principles, her love for Adam.” Xandros’s eyes sharpened. “She’s the one thing he didn’t plan for. The one variable he can’t control. And if she ever turned against him... Adam wouldn’t just lose control. He’d unravel.”
James leaned forward. “You want to turn her into his weakness.”
“No.” Xandros smiled faintly. “I want her to become his downfall.”
There was a pause. Jazz murmured through the air like a secret.
James tapped the rim of his glass. “And what’s my part in this poetic little tragedy?”
“You already started it,” Xandros replied. “You told Belle about Liam. You saw what it did to her, how shaken she was.”
“You punched me for telling Belle about Liam and now it's part of the plan?”
“There was no plan at that time but now there is. And we can always make an unplanned situation turn around for our sake.”
James folded his arms. “Hmmm. Anyways, I don't think that's gonna work, cause she pretended not to care.”
“But she did. And she will again,” Xandros said. “She’s starting to question him. The more cracks we create, the more light will get in. I need you to be the voice in her ear. The reminder that Adam is a liar, a manipulator. That she deserves better.”
James squinted. “So I’m the emotional wrecking ball.”
“You’re the emotional leverage. But only if you’re smart enough to play the long game.”
James looked unconvinced. “And you seriously don’t want to hurt her?”
Xandros’s gaze turned cold. “No.”
“Why?” James asked, blunt. “What’s she to you? You don’t strike me as the knight-in-shining-armor type.”
Xandros didn’t blink. “Let’s just say I don’t believe in killing butterflies to spite the flame.”
James stared at him.
Xandros finished his bourbon in one slow sip, then added, “And let me be clear, James. If you go rogue – if you hurt her just to settle some pathetic score with Adam, you’ll have me to answer to.”
James raised a hand mockingly. “Relax. I’m not going to shove her off a cliff.”
“I’m serious.” Xandros’s voice dropped low. “Don’t underestimate how far I can go.”
With that, he walked away; his footsteps swallowed by the dark velvet of the lounge floor.
James sat there a long while, replaying every word.
He wasn’t sure what unnerved him more, the plan to turn Belle into a weapon…
…or the nagging suspicion that Belle had already started becoming one all on her own.
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