Chapter 9
Mother stared at the black pin.
Victor stared at Marissa.
I watched both.
“Explain.”
Victor smiled.
“You know old symbols mean whatever people want.”
One capo shook his head.
“No.”
Victor turned.
The older man continued.
“Black crescent means no return.”
Silence.
Mother looked at Victor.
“What does that mean?”
He ignored her.
She stepped closer.
“Victor.”
He smiled.
“Aunt Evelyn.”
“Answer me.”
His smile widened.
“You wanted strength.”
Her face changed.
I almost laughed.
The cruelty she had used on Clara was about to come back in a language she understood.
Control.
Victor leaned against the table.
“You really believed Daniel would step aside for a few months?”
Mother stared.
“You said—”
“I said what you needed to hear.”
There.
Exactly.
Mother had said almost the same thing to Clara.
Victor continued.
“Daniel stays home with Clara.”
He shrugged.
“I take operations.”
“Until Noah is older.”
He laughed.
“Sure.”
Mother went pale.
I looked at him.
“And then?”
Victor looked at Noah's room.
“Children grow.”
My entire body tightened.
Mother noticed.
“Don't.”
Victor turned to her.
“What?”
“You leave Noah out of this.”
He smiled.
“Now you're protective?”
That hit.
Good.
“You took him from his mother five times.”
Mother looked away.
Victor laughed.
“You withheld food from Clara.”
“Enough.”
“You prepared a nursery without Daniel.”
“I said enough.”
“You packed his wife's bag.”
Mother slapped the table.
“I did it for this family!”
Victor smiled.
“So did I.”
Two monsters using the same excuse.
I looked at Victor.
“What happens when Noah grows up?”
He shrugged.
“He carries the name.”
“And?”
“Names are useful.”
Silence.
Mother whispered:
“You said he'd lead.”
Victor's expression became almost pitying.
“Aunt Evelyn, he's six days old.”
I stared.
Then he looked at me.
“By the time he's old enough to understand anything, the family would already know who actually kept it alive.”
There it was.
No temporary control.
No loyal caretaker.
Victor wanted my position permanently.
Noah was camouflage.
A symbol.
A future heir who would never truly inherit anything.
Mother had tortured Clara because she believed she was preserving power for my son.
Victor had let her.
Because her cruelty weakened me.
Or so he thought.
I picked up the black crescent.
“How many men have this?”
Victor said nothing.
Mother looked at him.
“Answer.”
He laughed.
“You don't give orders anymore.”
Her face went blank.
It was the first time I had ever seen someone speak to my mother that way.
Victor enjoyed it.
“Sit down.”
Mother stared.
He smiled.
“You told Clara the same thing yesterday, didn't you?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“In this house, she ate when you allowed.”
Victor tilted his head.
“Now you speak when I allow.”
Mother looked at me.
Not as a mother.
As someone realizing she had backed the wrong man.
I gave her nothing.
She had chosen this.
Marissa stepped forward.
“There are more.”
Victor turned.
She looked afraid.
But she kept speaking.
“Black pins.”
My attention sharpened.
“Where?”
“Victor's guest suite.”
His face changed.
“How many?”
“Seven.”
The room went silent.
Victor moved.
Bodyguards stopped him.
I looked around the table.
Seven.
Enough to create a second command structure.
Enough to fracture crews.
Enough to turn my absence at a meeting into something permanent.
I looked at Mother.
She was shaking.
Not because Clara had nearly collapsed.
Not because Noah had been used.
Because she finally understood the scheme might remove her too.
I hated how unsurprising that was.
Then Marissa said:
“Boss…”
I looked at her.
“There was also a packed car seat.”
My blood went cold.
“For Noah?”
She nodded.
Victor stopped struggling.
Mother whispered:
“No.”
I stared at him.
“Where were you taking my son?”
Victor smiled.
May you like
And somehow, after everything, he still believed he had leverage.
“You really want to know?”
