Chapter 7
"Lock down the ballroom," Adrian commanded.
His voice didn't echo, but the absolute authority in his tone mobilized the Hale family capos instantly. The heavy mahogany doors of the grand ballroom were pulled shut and deadbolted. Bodyguards in dark suits formed a perimeter around the walls, their hands resting on concealed weapons. The Ashford men, vastly outnumbered and entirely leaderless with Richard bleeding on the floor, wisely kept their hands raised.
"Adrian, what are you doing?" Catherine asked, stepping up to her brother’s side. She looked down at Clara and Mia, her maternal instincts warring with her Mafia upbringing. "You can't hold these people hostage."
"I am not holding them hostage, Catherine," Adrian replied, his cold eyes sweeping over the terrified guests. "I am securing a crime scene."
He looked down at Victoria, who was still weeping on the floor amidst the scattered envelopes. "You have exactly one minute to tell me how you know about this letter, Victoria. If you lie to me, I will have my men drag your father into the basement of this hotel, and I will personally dismantle him."
"I don't know anything!" Victoria shrieked, clutching the torn silk of her bridal gown. "I swear to God, Adrian, I was just trying to protect our marriage! I knew Elena was a sore subject for you!"
"You said 'the bad men came'," Adrian murmured, quoting Clara’s words back to her. He knelt so he was eye-to-level with the trembling bride. "You didn't act like a woman surprised by a ghost. You acted like a woman whose loose end just walked into the ballroom. Did your father arrange the hit on Elena?"
"No!" Victoria cried, shaking her head frantically. "My father didn't touch her! We had an agreement!"
Adrian paused, his sharply defined jawline tightening. "An agreement with whom?"
"Victoria, shut your mouth!" Richard Ashford groaned, finally regaining consciousness. He rolled onto his side amidst the broken seating-chart frame, spitting blood onto the marble. "Don't say another word to him!"
"Keep him down," Adrian ordered without looking over his shoulder.
Two massive Hale bodyguards stepped forward, pressing their polished shoes firmly into Richard’s shoulders, pinning the older man to the floor.
"Talk," Adrian whispered to Victoria.
May you like
"We didn't hurt her!" Victoria sobbed, her American accent breaking entirely. "Five years ago, before we were even introduced, my father found out Elena was pregnant. He knew that if she had your child, our families could never merge. He paid a crew to relocate her. To make sure she stayed hidden in the Midwest. We just paid her to stay away!"
"You exiled my family," Adrian said, the cold, dangerous measure of his words chilling the air. "And who authorized this payment?"
