Chapter 7 - THE BULLET ADRIAN TOOK FOR ME
Adrian saw the laser before Sophia did.
He moved instantly.
The shot cracked through the warehouse.
Sophia hit the floor.
Adrian fell beside her.
For one terrible second, she thought he had been hit again.
Then he rolled behind a steel crate and pulled her with him.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Another bullet struck metal.
Charles remained tied to the chair in the open.
“Dad!”
“I’m fine!”
Adrian fired twice toward the catwalk.
One of Elena’s men dropped behind the railing.
Chaos erupted.
Volkov men entered through the tunnel.
Gunfire filled the warehouse.
Sophia covered her ears.
Adrian grabbed her face.
“Look at me.”
She did.
“You stay behind me.”
“No.”
“Sophia.”
“My father is out there.”
“I’ll get him.”
“And who gets you?”
Something changed in his eyes.
Then another shot struck the crate.
They moved.
Roman provided cover while Adrian reached Charles.
Sophia crawled behind machinery.
Adrian cut the ropes.
Charles stood shakily.
“You have to get Sophia out.”
“I intend to.”
“You don’t understand.”
Charles grabbed his arm.
“Elena chose her.”
“For what?”
“To replace Isabelle.”
Adrian stared.
Charles continued quickly.
“Elena spent years preparing Isabelle to inherit everything. Isabelle turned against her. Elena needs someone with legitimate control of Laurent International.”
“Sophia.”
“Yes.”
“Why would Sophia cooperate?”
Charles looked toward his daughter.
“She won’t.”
Adrian understood.
“Unless you threaten someone she loves.”
Charles nodded.
A new voice filled the warehouse.
Not Elena.
Isabelle.
“Adrian, get out!”
Adrian touched his earpiece.
“Isabelle?”
“She compromised our communications. Victor’s team never reached Laurent Tower.”
“Where are they?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Isabelle screamed.
The connection died.
Sophia reached them.
“What happened?”
“Nothing good.”
Charles hugged his daughter again.
“We need to leave.”
They moved toward the tunnel.
Then the main doors opened.
Elena entered.
No army.
No dramatic procession.
Just a woman in a dark coat.
She looked at Adrian as though seeing him for the first time in years.
“My son.”
Adrian raised his weapon.
“Don’t call me that.”
Pain crossed her face.
It looked real.
That made it worse.
“You look like Mikhail.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“He would hate what you became.”
Adrian smiled coldly.
“You made sure he wasn’t around to complain.”
Elena’s expression hardened.
“Victor told you.”
“We saw the recording.”
For the first time, uncertainty appeared in her eyes.
“What recording?”
Adrian noticed.
So did Sophia.
Charles stepped forward.
“The one you never found.”
Elena looked at him.
“You kept it.”
“I kept everything.”
“You always were sentimental.”
“And you always mistook sentiment for weakness.”
Elena smiled.
“Yet here you are tied to a chair in your own warehouse.”
“Not anymore.”
Her smile disappeared.
Sophia stepped beside Adrian.
“What do you want from me?”
Elena looked at her.
“Your signature.”
“On what?”
“Transfer documents.”
Sophia laughed.
“No.”
“I expected that.”
Elena raised her phone.
A live video appeared.
Isabelle was tied to a chair.
Damian beside her.
Victor lay unconscious on the floor.
Sophia’s stomach tightened.
“Sign,” Elena said, “and they live.”
“No.”
Elena looked almost impressed.
“Your father told me you were stronger than him.”
Charles whispered, “Sophia, don’t.”
Elena continued.
“Perhaps I chose the wrong leverage.”
The image changed.
Nikolai appeared.
He was kneeling.
Behind him stood a masked gunman.
Adrian’s face changed.
“Nikolai.”
“He betrayed you,” Elena said.
“He also raised me.”
Sophia looked at Adrian.
That explained more than she expected.
Elena smiled.
“Exactly.”
She held up a document.
“Sign the transfer, Sophia.”
Adrian whispered, “Don’t.”
Elena heard him.
“Then Nikolai dies.”
Adrian’s eyes remained fixed on the screen.
Nikolai looked directly into the camera.
“Boss.”
His voice was calm.
“Don’t.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
Nikolai smiled faintly.
“Your father would be proud.”
The masked man raised the gun.
“WAIT!”
Sophia shouted.
Everyone looked at her.
“I’ll sign.”
Adrian grabbed her wrist.
“No.”
“It’s my company.”
“It’s not worth this.”
“It isn’t about the company.”
She looked at him.
“It’s about not becoming her.”
Elena smiled.
A table was brought forward.
Sophia approached.
The transfer documents gave control of Laurent International to a shell corporation.
Sophia picked up the pen.
Adrian watched helplessly.
Then Charles said, “Her middle name is wrong.”
Elena turned.
“What?”
Charles smiled.
“You spent twenty years planning this and still never learned my daughter’s legal name.”
Sophia looked down.
SOPHIA MARIE LAURENT.
Her legal middle name was Elise.
The contract was invalid.
Elena realized it one second too late.
Sophia drove the pen into the hand of the man beside her.
He screamed.
Adrian fired.
Charles dropped.
Roman’s team opened fire.
Sophia ran.
Elena disappeared behind a steel door.
Adrian chased her.
“SOPHIA, STAY WITH CHARLES!”
She ignored him.
Of course she did.
The chase led onto the rain-soaked pier.
Elena reached a waiting speedboat.
Adrian emerged behind her.
“Stop!”
She turned.
For a moment they simply stared at each other.
Mother and son.
“I loved you,” Elena said.
Adrian’s gun remained steady.
“No.”
“I did.”
“You loved what you could make me.”
Her eyes filled.
“You don’t understand what survival required.”
“My father did.”
“Mikhail was weak.”
“He died protecting me.”
“He died because of you.”
Adrian froze.
Sophia reached the doorway.
Elena smiled.
“He could have escaped that night. He came back because you were still in the house.”
Adrian’s face emptied.
“That’s why he died.”
Sophia saw the effect immediately.
“Elena, stop.”
She looked at Sophia.
“You see? This is what love does.”
Her hand moved toward her coat.
Adrian fired.
But Elena fired too.
Sophia saw the muzzle flash.
Then Adrian turned.
Not toward his mother.
Toward her.
He stepped between Sophia and the bullet.
His body jerked.
For a moment he remained standing.
Then he collapsed.
“ADRIAN!”
Sophia caught him.
Elena escaped onto the boat.
Sophia barely noticed.
Blood spread across Adrian’s chest.
“No. No, no, no.”
His eyes found hers.
“You were supposed to stay inside.”
She pressed both hands against the wound.
“Shut up.”
“I’ve noticed you say that when you’re frightened.”
“Adrian.”
His breathing became shallow.
“Look at me.”
He tried.
Sophia was crying now.
“You are not dying.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“You don’t get to leave me.”
Something almost like peace crossed his face.
“You said you hated me.”
“I lied.”
His eyes began to close.
Sophia slapped his cheek.
“No.”
“Sophia.”
“No!”
His hand found hers.
“I need you to know something.”
“You can tell me later.”
“In case there isn’t—”
“There is.”
“Sophia.”
She looked at him.
The feared Adrian Volkov smiled weakly.
“I stopped pretending the first night.”
May you like
His hand slipped from hers.
And his eyes closed.
