Chapter 56 FAMILY DINNER & THE HIJACKINGS

Chapter 56 FAMILY DINNER & THE HIJACKINGS

Adeline's POV

The Gravano mansion looked different at night. It was imposing, with its Gothic architecture and sprawling grounds lit by strategic spotlights. I'd lived here for months now, but arriving for formal dinner still made my stomach tight with tension.

"Relax," Kayden said, his hand warm on my lower back as we walked to the entrance. "It's just dinner."

"With your father. Who always has an agenda."

"Fair point."

The front door opened before we could knock. One of Russio's staff smiled warmly.

Mr. Gravano, Mrs. Gravano. Your father is waiting in the dining room."

We followed her through the marble hallways. I'd worn a simple black dress, elegant but not trying too hard. Kayden looked devastatingly handsome in a dark suit, his hair pulled back in his signature style.

The dining room was set for six, with expensive china, crystal glasses, candles creating intimate lighting. Russio stood at the head of the table, already holding a glass of wine.

"Kayden. Adeline." He smiled, which somehow made him more intimidating.

"Right on time."

"Father," Kayden nodded.

"Sit. The young couple should arrive any moment."

We'd barely settled when the doorbell rang. Moments later, Belle and Grey entered, Belle looking nervous in a pale blue dress, Grey confident in a navy suit.

"Mr. Gravano," Grey extended his hand. "Thank you for the invitation."

"Grey. Please, call me Russio. We're practically family now." He shook Grey's hand firmly, assessing him with those sharp grey eyes.

"And Annabelle. You look lovely."

"Thank you for having us," Belle said, her voice slightly shaky.

I caught her eye across the table, gave her a small smile. She relaxed slightly.

Russio raised his glass once everyone was seated. "A toast. To new beginnings, to expanding our family, to the future of the Gravano name."

We all drank. The wine was expensive, and smooth. Everything Russio did was calculated.

Dinner was served in multiple courses, each meal more elaborate than the last. Russio played the perfect host, asking Belle about her studies, her interests.

Then he turned to Grey. "Tell me about your family."

"Not much to tell," Grey said smoothly. "My mother passed away when I was young. Father wasn't in the picture. I was raised by my grandmother until I was eighteen."

"Self-made. I respect that." Russio leaned back. "Kayden tells me you did consulting work for our family. Financial restructuring, was it?"

"Yes, sir. Helping legitimize certain operations."

"And now you're taking my future daughter-in-law to Paris." Something flickered in Russio's expression.

"Quite a coincidence that you'd cross paths with Annabelle, given your history with our family."

The temperature in the room dropped.

Grey didn't flinch. "Not really, sir. Moruva isn't that large. People in similar circles tend to meet eventually."

"Indeed." Russio smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "And your intentions toward Annabelle?"

"Father," Kayden said quietly. A warning.

"I'm simply getting to know the man marrying into our extended family."

Grey met Russio's gaze steadily. "My intentions are to love Annabelle, protect her, and build a good life with her. That's all."

"Good. That's what I wanted to hear. Family is everything, Grey. Everything."

"I understand, sir."

The tension eased slightly. Conversation moved to safer topics, the wedding venue, Paris, business ventures.

Then Belle dropped her bombshell.

"Actually," she said, glancing at Grey nervously. "We have news. We're moving the wedding up. By two weeks."

I nearly dropped my fork. "What?"

"Grey's company needs him in Paris sooner than expected," Belle explained quickly. "So we decided to move up the timeline. We just want to be married. Why wait?"

"Why wait indeed," Russio said, his expression unreadable.

"Belle," I said carefully. "That's very soon. Are you sure—"

"We'll make it work. It's not a huge wedding anyway." She reached for Grey's hand. "We just want to start our life together."

Grey squeezed her hand, looking at her with apparent affection. "Whatever makes you happy."

Kayden's hand found mine under the table and squeezed, offering me comfort. We both felt it. Something was off about the rushed timeline, but we couldn't articulate what.

"Well," Russio said, raising his glass. "To the happy couple. May your union bring... prosperity to all involved."

The way he said it made my skin crawl, but I couldn't pinpoint why.

We toasted. Belle was beaming, oblivious to the undercurrents in the room.

Dessert was being served when Russio's phone rang. He glanced at the screen, frowned, then excused himself to take the call in the hallway.

"Everything okay?" Grey asked, concerned.

"I'm sure it's just business," Kayden said, but his jaw was tight.

Russio returned moments later, his expression dark. He leaned down to whisper something to Kayden.

Kayden's face went pale. He stood immediately. "I need to go."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Business emergency. I'll explain later." He looked at me, his eyes intense. "Stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Before I could respond, Marco burst through the dining room doors, looking frantic.

"Boss. We have a situation. A major one."

The entire mood shifted. Other men I hadn't noticed before materialized from various corners of the mansion, security, I realized. Always present but invisible until needed.

"What happened?" Russio demanded.

"The port shipment. It was hit. They knew the route, the timing, everything. And they took everything….millions in product." Marco's jaw tightened. "And sir... they killed everyone. All six guards. No survivors."

Belle gasped. "Oh my god."

Grey immediately moved to her side, wrapping a protective arm around her. "It's okay. We're safe here."

But we weren't. Not really….

If someone could hit a Gravano shipment that successfully, nowhere was truly safe.

Kayden was already coordinating with Marco, pulling out his phone, barking orders. Russio joined them, his voice low and deadly.

I sat frozen, watching the organized chaos unfold around me. This wasn't just a robbery. This was war.

"I should get Annabelle home," Grey said to me quietly. "She doesn't need to be here for this."

He was right. Belle looked terrified, her face pale.

"Go," I said. "Take her home. I'll call later to check on you, Belle."

"But what about you?" Belle asked, her voice shaking.

"I'll be fine. Kayden will take care of everything."

Grey helped Belle to her feet, guided her toward the exit. Before they left, he turned back.

"If there's anything I can do to help—"

"Just keep her safe," I said.

"Always."

They left, and I was alone in the dining room with abandoned dessert plates and half-empty wine glasses.

Kayden appeared in the doorway. "I have to go to the site. See what we're dealing with."

"I'm coming with you."

"Adeline—"

"I'm coming." My tone left no room for argument.

He studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. But you stay in the car. You don't get out, you don't engage. Understood?"

"Understood."

The drive to the port was tense and silent. Kayden's knuckles were white on the steering wheel, his jaw set.

When we arrived, the scene was chaos. Police lights, yellow tape, body bags being loaded into coroner vans.

"Jesus," Kayden breathed.

He got out, and despite his orders, I followed. The detective in charge, a tired-looking man in his fifties, approached us immediately.

"Mr. Gravano. This is bad."

"I can see that. What happened?"

"Execution style. It was a professional hit. They knew exactly when your shipment would arrive, exactly how many guards, exactly where our patrol routes were."

"It was an inside job," Kayden said flatly.

"That's what it looks like. Someone in your organization gave them everything they needed."

A traitor. Someone close enough to know operational details.

My mind raced through possibilities. Who had access to that information? Who would benefit from attacking the Gravanos?

We spent an hour at the scene while Kayden coordinated with police and his own security team. When we finally got back to the mansion, it was past midnight.

Russio was waiting in his study with Marco and several other high-ranking family members.

"Six men dead at the port," Russio said without preamble.

"But that's not all. We've had reports of two other incidents tonight. The warehouse in the industrial district was hit at the same time. And the distribution center on Fifth, also hit."

"Three simultaneous attacks," Kayden said quietly.

"Coordinated down to the minute. Someone planned this very carefully."

"Losses?"

"Twenty-six million in product. Nine men dead total. And our entire supply chain compromised."

The number hit like a physical blow. Twenty-six million. Nine lives.

"Who could coordinate something like this?" Marco asked.

"Someone with military training. Someone with deep knowledge of our operations."

Russio looked around the room. "Someone inside this family."

The silence was deafening.

"We need to shut everything down," Kayden said. "Every operation, every shipment, everything. Until we figure out who the traitor is."

"That'll cost us millions more."

"Better than losing lives. And losing control of the entire organization."

Russio considered this, then nodded. "Do it. Shut it all down. And I want every single person in this family investigated. I don't care who they are or how long they've been with us. Everyone is suspect until proven otherwise."

"What about the wedding?" one of the men asked.

"Annabelle and Grey. Should we postpone? This doesn't seem like the time for—"

"No," Russio said firmly. "The wedding proceeds as planned. We don't show weakness. We don't let whoever did this
think they've won." He looked at me.

"Besides, Grey might prove useful. He has outside connections, different resources. We may need that."

I didn't like the calculating look in Russio's eyes when he mentioned Grey. Like he was already plotting how to use my sister's fiancé as a pawn.

"Sir," one of Russio's tech specialists appeared in the doorway. "We found something in the systems."

"Show me."

We followed her to the security center, where multiple people were working frantically at computers.

"The attacks tonight weren't just physical," she explained, pulling up screens full of code.

"We had a massive cyber breach. Someone hacked into our logistics systems, our camera networks, our communications. That's how they knew where everything was, when it would be there, how many guards we had."

"A hacker," Kayden said.

"Not just any hacker. This person is... exceptional. Military-grade encryption, ghost protocols, techniques we've only seen from the absolute best in the world."

"Can you trace them?"

"We're trying, but they're a ghost. Every trail leads to dead ends. It's like they anticipated every move we'd make."

"Keep trying. I want to know who did this."

"There's one more thing." The specialist pulled up a section of code.

"They left a signature. Hidden in the architecture of the hack. Most people wouldn't even see it, but it's there."

She highlighted a sequence of characters.

"What does it mean?" Russio demanded.

"It's a calling card. A way for hackers to claim credit for their work without revealing their identity. This particular signature belongs to someone legendary in the underground." She paused.

"The hacker calls themselves Midnight Cerulean."

My blood turned to ice.

"Who?" Marco asked.

"Midnight Cerulean. They're like a ghost. One of the most skilled hackers in the world. No one knows their real identity. No one's ever met them. But if you need something hacked that's supposedly unhackable, Midnight Cerulean is who you call."

"And they attacked us tonight," Kayden said darkly.

"It appears so. The physical attacks were coordinated through our own hacked systems. Whoever Midnight Cerulean is, they gave the attackers complete access to our kingdom."

I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Someone was using my identity. My signature. The one I'd built over years of careful, anonymous work.

Someone was framing me for this attack.

But who? And how did they even know Midnight Cerulean was me?

"Can we track this Midnight Cerulean?" Russio asked.

"We're trying, sir. But they're too good. Every trail leads nowhere."

"Keep trying. I want to know everything about them. Who they are, where they are, who they work for."

"Yes, sir."

We filed out of the security center. My mind was racing. Someone knew my identity. Someone was using it against the Gravanos. Someone was setting me up to take the fall for nine deaths and twenty-six million in losses.

If they exposed me as Midnight Cerulean, Kayden would know I could have prevented this. Could have stopped the hacker if I'd been monitoring the systems.

Could have saved those nine men.

The guilt was already crushing.

"I need to get home," I said quietly to Kayden. "I need to think."

He nodded, looking exhausted. "Let's go. There's nothing more we can do tonight."

The drive home was silent. When we finally got inside, Kayden pulled me into his arms.

"Nine men," he said quietly. "Nine families getting calls tonight that their husbands, fathers, sons aren't coming home."

"I'm sorry."

"We'll find who did this. And when we do..." His voice was hard. "They'll wish they'd never been born."

I held him tight, feeling the weight of secrets crushing me.

I could help find this person. I could track them using methods the Gravano tech team didn't even know existed.

But doing so would expose me.

And I wasn't ready for that.

Not yet.

My phone buzzed with a single text from an unknown number.

"Midnight Cerulean. Interesting signature, isn't it? But we both know you didn't do this. Someone's using your identity. Someone who knows who you really are. Want to know who? Check your secure drop. You have 24 hours before I tell the Gravanos everything."

I stared at the screen, my heart pounding.

Someone knew. Someone knew I was Midnight Cerulean.

And they were blackmailing me.