He came home early to catch the nanny betraying him—but instead, he found his supposedly disabled son standing on his dead mother’s blanket, laughing for the first time. Then the nanny whispered three words that made Adrian freeze: “She’s still alive.”

Adrian stood up slowly in front of Elena’s bed. He did not raise his gun. He simply stood there, six feet two inches of raw, dark, imposing fury, shielding his wife with his entire body.

“Hello, Richard,” Adrian said, his tone turning terrifyingly conversational.

Richard’s eyes flicked to Marin, then to Marcus Vance, who was currently standing near the window frame, his sidearm trained directly on Richard’s chest.

“You brought a nanny and a washed-up security guard to my facility, brother?” Richard sneered, his gun hand steady. “Do you have any idea how much money I spent building this network? The Hales board voted twenty minutes ago to name me interim CEO. As far as the world is concerned, you vanished tonight during a psychotic break caused by grief.”

“The board didn't vote on anything, Richard,” Adrian replied softly, pulling his phone from his pocket and tapping the screen once.

A high-definition video stream popped up on the wall-mounted television screen inside the hospital room.

On the screen was the live conference room of Hales Global Investments in Manhattan. Sitting around the long glass table were the top twelve shareholders, three federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, and four armed FBI agents.

Sitting at the head of the table via video link was Adrian’s lead corporate attorney, holding up the decrypted files from the micro-SD card, the toxicology reports from White Plains, and the live audio feed from Adrian’s chest microphone.

Richard’s face drained of every ounce of color. The revolver in his hand trembled violently.

“What… what is this?” Richard stammered, staring at the television screen.

“That is your life ending, brother,” Adrian said coldly. “Every word you’ve spoken in this room for the last three minutes has been broadcast live to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the entire board of Hales Global.”

“Liars!” Richard screamed, his eyes rolling wildly with cornered madness. He raised his gun toward Adrian’s head! “I’ll kill you! I’ll take the fortune myself!”

BANG!

A single, deafening gunshot shattered the room!

It didn't come from Richard’s gun. It didn't come from Adrian.

Marcus Vance had fired a single, precise round through the wooden doorframe, catching Richard directly in the right shoulder!

Richard let out a high-pitched shriek of agony, dropping the revolver onto the floor as he crashed backward into the corridor wall, clutching his bleeding arm. The four security guards behind him immediately raised their hands, tossing their weapons onto the floor as the siren of approaching state police cruisers began to wail through the blizzard outside.

Adrian didn't even look at his bleeding brother.

He turned around instantly, dropping back to his knees beside Elena’s bed, wrapping his arms around her fragile body.

Elena was crying softly, her head resting against Adrian’s chest, her small hands clutching his turtleneck sweater as if she feared he might vanish into the air.

“It’s over, Elena,” Adrian whispered into her hair, his own tears falling freely now. “It’s over. We’re going home.”

Marin stepped forward, gently placing a warm wool blanket over Elena’s shoulders. She looked down at the couple, a warm, soft smile gracing her face.

Elena looked up through her tears, meeting Marin’s eyes.

“Thank you… Marin,” Elena whispered, her voice stronger now, filled with profound, eternal gratitude. “You brought him to me.”

Marin smiled, touching Elena’s hand gently. “I promised you I’d protect your boys, Elena. And your husband turns out to be a pretty good listener when he isn't firing people.”