Chapter 7 - The Siege of Hale Manor
Before Damian could answer, his satellite phone buzzed loudly in his pocket. He pulled it out, answering on speaker without taking his eyes off Isabelle.
“Damian,” Felix’s panicked voice spilled out of the speaker. “Grant knows Vance failed! He just launched a full takeover of the downtown office! He’s gathered the six family captains at your estate right now, telling them you went rogue, murdered Roland Cole, and sold out the family to the Calloways!”
“Where is Lucas?” Damian demanded sharply.
“Lucas is at the estate gates with eight of your father’s old guard, but Grant brought forty armed men from the docks!” Felix reported. “They’ve surrounded the main house! If Grant convinces the captains that you’re the traitor before you get there, the entire syndicate will vote to execute you on sight!”
Damian looked at Isabelle. The moment of reckoning had arrived. He couldn't stay in Maine and hide; if Grant secured control of the Hale syndicate, nowhere on earth would be safe for Isabelle or their unborn child. Grant’s hunters would trace them to the ends of the earth.
“Stay here,” Damian told Isabelle, turning toward the door. “I’ve arranged for Felix to send an armored transport to take you to a safe house in Canada. You’ll be protected.”
“No,” Isabelle said suddenly.
Damian stopped, looking back at her in surprise.
“I’m coming with you,” she said, her eyes burning with a fierce, terrifying light.
“Isabelle, it’s a war zone—”
“I am the one he accused of treason,” she interrupted, stepping over Vance’s unconscious body with total disregard. “I am the one whose name was put on those forged bank accounts. If you walk into that house alone, Grant will claim you killed Roland to cover your own tracks. I have the original financial audits in my email archives that prove Grant was stealing from the family months before Providence. You need me to prove the lie.”
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Damian stared at her, seeing for the first time the sheer, unbreakable strength that lay beneath her quiet demeanor. She wasn't fighting for him; she was fighting for her own vindication and the survival of her child.
“All right,” Damian said softly. “We finish this together.”
