2026-02-28 20:58:37
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THE YOUNGEST HEIR
Lily stood frozen near the tea service, her eyes wide with something approaching terror.She looked at Adrian, then Elena, then Sophia—three strangers who were supposedly her family but felt more like judges at a trial she hadn't known she was attending.Her hands were trembling. Not just nervousness. Genuine fear.Vincent gestured for her to sit, but she remained standing, clearly more comfortable with the familiar role of servant than the unfamiliar territory of family member."I didn't know about her until last month," Vincent said, his voice carrying something that might have been genuine regret. "Her mother—Maria, the estate's former housekeeper—died without telling me. The lawyers discovered Lily while processing Maria's will. DNA tests were ordered to confirm. She is indeed my daughter."Adrian stared at his father, trying to process yet another revelation in a day already overloaded with them. "How many more, Vincent? How many more children are going to appear with 'surprise,
THE IMPOSSIBLE PROMISE
Vincent's medical records lay spread across the table between them—indisputable evidence of systematic organ failure. Pancreatic cancer. Stage four. Terminal. Three weeks at most.Adrian stared at the documents, then at his father, feeling exhaustion replace rage. All of this—the tests, the manipulation, the staged death—had been orchestrated by a dying man desperate to ensure his legacy survived him."What impossible thing do you want me to promise?" Adrian asked, his voice flat.Vincent set down the medical records and looked directly at Elena, who still stood near the doorway like someone awaiting execution."Promise me you'll protect Elena. No matter what she's done."The request hung in the library's silence like an executioner's blade.Adrian's response was immediate. "She's a serial killer. She murdered eight people. She needs to face justice, not protection.""She's your sister. Family protects family. Even the broken ones." Vincent's logic was characteristic—using familial ob
THE FATHER RETURNS
The voice on Elena's phone was impossible.Vincent Kane had died in Switzerland three weeks ago. Adrian had been there. Had watched the life support disconnected. Had seen the funeral. Had received the death certificate bearing official Swiss government seals.And yet that voice—unmistakable, carrying the cold authority that had shaped Adrian's entire existence—was speaking to them now."I know you have questions," Vincent said through the phone's speaker. "Meet me tonight. The original Kane estate in upstate New York. Nine PM. Come alone or bring whoever you trust. But come."The line went dead.Elena and Adrian stared at each other in the hotel room, both trying to process what they'd just heard."He's alive," Elena said unnecessarily. "Father is alive. The death certificate was forged. The funeral was theater. He's been watching everything we've done since Switzerland.""Testing me even after his 'death,'" Adrian finished, feeling rage building in his chest. "This entire month—Mich
THE ASSASSIN'S IDENTITY
The forensics report arrived at Ryker's secure email at 4:47 AM, six hours after the factory collapse.Adrian was at St. Luke's Hospital getting his shoulder examined—it was indeed dislocated, relocated by emergency medical personnel at the scene with the kind of professional efficiency that suggested they'd done it thousands of times. The pain medication was making him drowsy, but when Ryker called with the ballistics analysis, Adrian's mind cleared immediately."Harvey Mitchell was killed with professional precision," Ryker said without preamble. "Single gunshot to the head. Entry wound behind the right ear, slight upward angle consistent with shooter being below or behind the target. The weapon was silenced—none of the team heard the shot during the chaos."Adrian sat up in the hospital bed despite the doctor's protests. "Time of death?""Coroner estimates between eleven fifty-five AM and twelve-oh-three PM. Right in the middle of the firefight. Someone used the chaos as cover for
BURIED ALIVE
The factory collapsed in stages, each section folding into itself with the terrible grinding sound of steel being twisted beyond its tolerance.The main support structure failed first, triggering a cascade. The roof pancaked down onto the fourth floor. That floor collapsed onto the third. Then the second. Then the ground level. Everything falling inward like a massive house of cards being demolished in slow motion.From the command post three blocks away, Sophia watched the live drone feed as the building disappeared into its own footprint in a cloud of concrete dust."No..." Her voice was barely a whisper. Then louder. "No. Adrian..."She was running before anyone could stop her. Out of the command vehicle. Toward the collapse site. Ryker caught her after half a block, physically restraining her from getting closer."Sophia, stop! The structure is still unstable! Secondary collapses are possible!""He's in there! Adrian and Daniel are both in there!" She struggled against Ryker's gri
DOUBLE KIDNAPPING
The kidnapping had been executed with military precision.Tom and Sarah Morrison—Daniel's foster parents—had been drugged with something that knocked them unconscious without killing them. They'd woken at 6:15 AM to find Daniel's bedroom window open, his bed empty, and a ransom note taped to the bathroom mirror.The note was printed on standard paper using a generic font. Untraceable. Professional.We have Daniel Kane. Wire $100 million to the following account within 48 hours. Additionally, Adrian Kane must make a public announcement acknowledging Michael Thornton as his biological son, not Brandon Sterling's. Both conditions must be met or Daniel dies. No police. No FBI. No negotiations.Elena had found the note at 6:32 AM when she'd arrived at the Morrison house for breakfast. She'd been staying nearby, getting to know her younger brother, building a relationship with the family. Now she was on the phone with Adrian, reading him the demands while Montana state police processed the
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