Chapter 81 The Blood-Tie Betrayal
Delilah POV
The lobby of the Apex Tower was a mess of shattered glass and scorched marble, and as I walked past the security desk, I noticed that the men in grey tactical gear weren't the usual guards, because they were tossing hard drives into industrial shredders and spraying chemical cleaners over everything that looked like a bloodstain. I didn't stop to ask them what they were doing, because I knew the Syndicate was scrubbing the building before the federal investigators could get a warrant to enter the premises, so I just kept my head down and moved toward the private express elevator that led to the sub-basement vaults. My heels clicked against the floor with a rhythmic sound that seemed too loud in the empty building, but nobody tried to stop me because I still had the override key pinned to my blouse and I looked like I belonged in the room, even if my family name was currently being dragged through the mud on every news channel in the city.
I reached the executive floor first because I needed to grab the physical ledger from my father’s old desk, but as the doors slid open, I saw that the office was already occupied by someone I had hoped was buried under a pile of rubble at the docks. Jess was sitting in my chair with his feet up on the mahogany desk, and he had a thick bandage wrapped around his shoulder and neck, but he was still holding a glass of my father’s most expensive scotch as if he owned the entire floor.
"You always had a habit of showing up exactly where you weren't invited, Delilah, and I have to say I’m impressed that you’re not halfway to a private island by now given how quickly your brother’s pack is falling apart," Jess said, and he didn't move as I walked into the room, he just watched me with a lazy, dangerous smile that made me want to wash my hands.
"I’m not here to chat about the pack or the company, Jess, so you can get out of my chair and take your cleaning crews back to whatever hole Sterling crawled out of," I replied, and I walked straight to the wall safe behind the painting of the harbor, not even bothering to look at him while I punched in the sequence.
"The safe is empty because we already took the bearer bonds and the title deeds an hour ago, so you’re basically just looking at a very expensive metal box," he told me, and he let out a short, dry laugh that turned into a cough as he winced from his injuries. "You’re the forgotten Hart, the one who did all the paperwork and the dirty deals while Grayson got to be the hero, and now you’re here trying to scavenge for scraps while the Syndicate prepares to finalize the transition."
"You think I'm here for bonds and deeds? You really have been spending too much time with those bikers if you think my father’s real wealth was something you could carry out in a briefcase," I said, and I turned around to face him, leaning against the desk with my arms crossed because I wanted him to see that I wasn't even a little bit afraid of him.
"We have everything we need, and that includes the data from the warehouse ritual, which is funny because Sterling actually had a secondary plan if the bakery girl didn't survive the shift," Jess said, and he stood up slowly, leaning on the desk for support while he moved closer to me. "Did you know that your DNA was profiled right along with Aria's? You weren't just a partner in this deal, Delilah, because you were the backup candidate for the Silver-Black ritual in case the primary subject failed to manifest the gene, so you were basically just a spare tire for the Syndicate's new engine."
"Is that supposed to hurt my feelings, Jess? Because being a backup for a death-cult ritual is probably the least offensive thing anyone has ever said about me," I told him, and I felt a surge of cold satisfaction as I saw his smile falter just a tiny bit.
"You’re acting very brave for someone who is about to be homeless and hunted, but maybe you haven't processed the fact that your brother is a fugitive and your family name is worth less than the glass on the floor downstairs," he countered, and he took a sip of the scotch while he looked me up and down.
"I’ve been processing the downfall of this family since I was twelve years old, and unlike Grayson, I didn't spend my time dreaming about honor or packs, because I spent it moving assets into accounts that don't have the name Hart or Apex anywhere on the signature lines," I revealed, and I saw his eyes sharpen as he realized I wasn't just bluffing to save face. "Every time I signed a deal for the Syndicate over the last five years, I took a three-percent 'management fee' and channeled it through a series of shell companies in the Caymans, and by tomorrow morning, I’m going to use that capital to start shorting the Syndicate’s primary holdings until your investors start jumping off the roof of this building."
"You would be bankrupting yourself just to spite us, and you don't have the stomach for that kind of poverty, Delilah," he said, but his voice was losing its confidence and he set the glass down on the desk with a heavy thud.
"I'm not going to be poor, because I’m going to be the one who buys the debt when you crash, and then I’m going to hand the keys to the Nightfang clubhouse over to whoever is left standing just to watch them burn the rest of your files," I told him, and I walked toward the elevator while he stood there in silence. "I might not be the Alpha, but I know how to kill a company, and the Syndicate is just another business that’s about to go through a very hostile takeover."
"Grayson won't thank you for this, and he’ll probably hate you even more for being a thief than he does for being a liar," Jess called out as the doors started to close, but I didn't answer him because I didn't care about Grayson’s thanks.
I reached the sub-basement and walked toward the heavy vault door that required a biological scan, and as the red laser swept over my retina, the machinery began to hum with a deep, vibrating power. I stepped inside the small, dark room and reached for the single black folder that was sitting on the center pedestal, because it contained the one thing the Syndicate had missed during their purge. It was the original contract between my father and the Silverfang elders, and as I tucked it into my coat, I knew that I had the power to either save my brother or bury him once and for all.
The sirens outside were getting louder, and I could hear the sounds of heavy boots on the stairs, but I just smoothed out my skirt and prepared to walk out of the building like I still owned every single floor. I had spent my life being the backup and the shadow, but as I moved through the garage toward my car, I knew that the real war was just beginning and I was the only one who actually knew how to win it.