GRACE POV
The Russian contractors made their move exactly seventy-two hours later.
I was in my office reviewing contracts when every light in the building died. Emergency systems kicked in immediately but the damage was done. Three seconds of darkness was all professional killers needed.
Tommy's voice crackled through my earpiece. "We have breaches on floors thirty-eight and forty. Multiple hostiles. Moving to your location now."
I grabbed the gun from my desk drawer. Father had taught me to shoot when I was sixteen. Said every Morgan needed to know how to defend themselves. I'd never imagined I'd actually need the skill.
The office door exploded inward.
A man in tactical gear rushed through. Russian military training written in every movement. He raised his weapon.
I fired first.
The shot caught him in the shoulder. Not lethal but enough to drop him. Training took over. I moved behind my desk, using it as cover while my mind raced through options.
Three more contractors in the building. Tommy's team was engaged on the lower floors. I was alone and running out of time.
Then Marcus Stone appeared through my office window.
He'd rappelled down from the roof. Moved through chaos like it was choreographed. Within seconds he'd disarmed the injured contractor and assessed the situation with cold efficiency.
"How many?" I asked.
"Four total. Tommy's team neutralized one on thirty-eight. I eliminated one on the roof." Marcus pulled me toward the window. "The other two are moving up the stairwells. We need to leave. Now."
"I'm not running from my own building."
"You're not running. You're choosing a better battlefield." Marcus clipped a harness around me. "Trust me or die here. Your choice."
I chose trust.
We rappelled down the side of the building while gunfire echoed from inside. Marcus moved with absolute confidence, guiding us to a maintenance ledge on the thirty-fifth floor. We slipped through a window into an empty conference room.
"Stay here," Marcus ordered. "Don't move. Don't make noise."
"Where are you going?"
"To finish what your brother started."
Marcus disappeared before I could argue. I crouched behind a desk, gun ready, listening to footsteps echo through the floor above. The contractors were searching. Methodical. Professional.
Then I heard it. The distinctive sound of someone dying quietly.
Silence.
More footsteps. Lighter. Controlled.
Marcus reappeared five minutes later. His expression was unchanged but I noticed blood on his sleeve. Not his blood.
"All four contractors neutralized. Your building is secure." He moved to the window and started setting up another rappelling line. "But we have a bigger problem."
"What problem?"
"The Russians weren't just here to kill you. They planted something." Marcus showed me his phone. Security footage of one contractor accessing my computer. "They copied your entire hard drive. Every file. Every communication. Every piece of evidence your father kept on the board members."
My stomach dropped. "Carlo's gambling debts. Sullivan's daughter. DeLuca's affair. Everything I've been using for leverage."
"Goes straight to your brother. He'll know exactly how you've been controlling the board. And he'll use that information to turn them against you." Marcus's jaw tightened. "Grace, this changes everything. Without leverage, you're just a woman asking criminals to follow her."
I stood and walked to the window. Below, police sirens wailed. Someone had called in the attack. Within hours this would be all over the news. Mob princess survives assassination attempt. Questions about her leadership. Speculation about instability.
The board would hear about this before morning. And they'd start questioning whether supporting me was worth the danger.
"I need to call an emergency meeting," I said. "Tonight. Before they hear about this from someone else."
"That's suicide. Your brother knows you're vulnerable right now."
"Which is exactly why I need to face them immediately. Show strength instead of hiding." I turned to Marcus. "Did the contractors leave any evidence? Anything that proves Vinny Jr. hired them?"
Marcus pulled out a phone. "Took this from the team leader. Encrypted but I can break it. Give me three hours."
"You have two. The meeting is at midnight."
"Grace—"
"Marcus, I don't have time to be careful. I have six weeks left on our deal and my empire is collapsing faster than I can hold it together. Either help me or get out of my way."
For a moment Marcus just stared at me. Then that slight smile appeared again. The one that made him look almost human.
"Two hours. But you owe me for this."
"Add it to my tab."
Marcus left through the window. I called Tommy and told him to arrange an emergency board meeting. Mandatory attendance. No exceptions.
Then I called Carlo Rossini directly.
"Grace. I heard about the attack. Are you—"
"I know about your meeting with my brother. I know he offered you control of drug operations. I know you're calculating which side to choose." My voice was ice. "The meeting is at midnight. You'll have your answer then."
I hung up before he could respond.
Two hours later, I walked into the conference room with Marcus Stone at my side.
The board members looked shocked. They'd expected me to be dead or hiding. Instead I arrived with the contract killer everyone feared, carrying evidence of my brother's betrayal.
"Gentlemen," I said calmly. "Someone just spent half a million dollars trying to kill me. I thought you'd want to know who."
I plugged Marcus's phone into the projection system. Text messages filled the screen. Vinny Jr. coordinating with the Russian contractors. Promising them payment from the family accounts. Ordering them to make my death look like a robbery gone wrong.
"My brother hired foreign killers to eliminate me during a board meeting week. He risked exposing all of us to federal investigation. He jeopardized every operation we control." I looked directly at Carlo. "And he did it with help from someone inside this room."
Carlo went pale.
"The contractors copied my entire hard drive before Marcus stopped them. Everything I know about each of you. Your secrets. Your vulnerabilities. Your illegal operations." I paused. "That information would have gone straight to my brother. He would have used it to blackmail every single person in this room."
The board members looked at each other with growing horror. They'd been so focused on whether I deserved power they'd forgotten that Vinny Jr. was actually dangerous.
"Here's what's going to happen," I continued. "I'm putting my brother under house arrest. He'll be guarded twenty-four hours a day until I decide what to do with him. Anyone who opposes this decision is welcome to leave. But understand that leaving means choosing Vinny Jr. over stability. And instability is bad for everyone's profit."
Silence filled the room.
Then Tommy Vega stood. "I support Grace's decision. Vinny Jr. has proven he's a liability."
One by one, the other board members agreed. Even Carlo, who looked sick with the realization that he'd almost chosen wrong.
Only one person remained seated. James Sullivan, the ex-military strategist.
"I have a question," Sullivan said. "Who exactly is this man you brought to our meeting? The one who apparently stopped four Russian contractors single-handedly?"
Every eye turned to Marcus Stone.
Marcus looked at me. A silent question. How much did I want to reveal?
I made a choice that terrified me.
"This is Marcus Stone. Contract killer. Hired by my brother to eliminate me seven weeks ago. He chose to give me time to prove myself instead. He's been protecting me ever since."
The room erupted. Board members shouted objections. Guards reached for weapons. Tommy looked betrayed and furious.
Marcus remained perfectly still. Waiting to see if my gamble would save us or destroy us both.
"Marcus Stone works for me now," I said over the chaos. "Not for my brother. Not for The Collective. For me. Anyone who has a problem with that is welcome to take it up with him personally."
No one moved.
I'd just publicly claimed the most dangerous assassin in the criminal world as my ally. It was insane. Reckless. Exactly the kind of bold move Father would have made.
Sullivan stood slowly. "If Marcus Stone has chosen you over his contract, then he sees something worth protecting. That's enough for me."
The tension broke. The meeting dissolved into tense acceptance.
Afterward, Marcus found me on the balcony.
"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done."
"Which part?"
"All of it." But he didn't sound angry. He sounded almost impressed. "You just painted a target on both of us. The Collective will hear about this. They'll want explanations."
"Will they come for you?"
"Eventually. When they do, everything gets worse." Marcus moved closer. "Grace, I can't protect you from The Collective and complete a contract on you simultaneously. You're forcing me to choose."
"I know." I turned to face him. "I'm asking you to choose me."
The words hung between us. More than just protection. More than just alliance.
Marcus's expression shifted. The ice cracked further. "You're asking me to betray the only organization that ever gave me purpose."
"I'm asking you to find a new purpose."
His hand moved to my face. Gentle. Unexpected. "You have no idea what you're asking."
"Then tell me."
Before Marcus could respond, his phone erupted with alerts. He checked the screen and his expression went cold.
"The Collective just issued a priority message. They know about tonight. They're sending someone to investigate." He looked at me with something like fear. "Grace, they're sending Vivian Cross."
"Who's Vivian Cross?"
"The only person who might be better than me. And she's not interested in negotiations."
My phone buzzed. An unknown number.
Hello Grace. I hear you've been making my partner soft. That ends now. See you soon. —Vivian