Chapter 2 - THE BLOODLINE TRUST
Nico stood motionless, his dark eyes fixing on his son with a terrifying, absolute coldness.
"My tea," Nico whispered softly.
Gavin swallowed hard, his knees visibly shaking beside the overturned detailing cart. "Father... it’s a misunderstanding! She was speaking hypothetically! We were talking about a corporate scenario—"
"Silence," Nico cut him off. The single word hit like a physical blow. He turned his gaze to Marjorie, who was struggling out from under the collapsed rack of car covers, her silk blouse stained with gray dust, her pearls askew.
"Sienna," Nico said gently, his tone shifting entirely as he turned to his daughter-in-law. "Get into the car. Mark will drive you and Mila straight to St. Jude’s Central Hospital—not the private clinic Marjorie arranged."
"Grandpa, my stomach hurts," Sienna gasped, leaning heavily against the SUV door as another surge of labor pain racked her frame.
"I know, my child," Nico said, placing a warm, protective hand on her shoulder. "Mark, go. Now."
The lead guard, Mark, opened the passenger door, helping Sienna into the leather seat while Mila scrambled into the back, holding her mother's hand tightly. Within seconds, the heavy SUV roared to life, its tires screeching against the garage floor as it sped toward the exit gates.
Left behind in the dim garage were Nico, his remaining security guard, and the trembling co-conspirators.
Nico reached into his inner suit pocket and pulled out his private satellite phone. He dialed a three-digit extension.
"Dominic," Nico spoke into the receiver, keeping his eyes locked on Gavin. "Freeze every asset under the Ferrante Development Group. Issue an immediate revocation of Gavin’s signing authority. And send the medical team from the central lab to my private quarters... I want my daily tea tins collected and analyzed for arsenic."
"Father, no!" Gavin fell to his knees on the oil-stained concrete, tears of panic finally spilling down his cheeks. "I was forced into this! She planned it all! Mother told me you were going to cut me out of the inheritance!"
"You listened to her," Nico said, looking down at his son with profound disappointment and sorrow. "You plotted against your wife, your unborn child, and your own father for gold you never earned."
Marjorie sneered, straightening her crumpled jacket as she stepped around the fallen car covers. "Don't play the saint, Nico! You built this empire on ruthless deals! Gavin deserves what is his, and that girl was nothing but a penniless architect when he brought her home!"
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Nico didn't argue. He simply gestured to the guard standing beside him.
"Lock them in the lower wine vault until the federal authorities arrive," Nico ordered quietly. "I have a grandchild to welcome into the world."
