Chapter 69 *
Damon's POV
Dominic was talking again.
Same shit he'd been saying for the past forty minutes. Why we shouldn't invest in proprietary chip technology. Too expensive. Too risky. Shareholders would panic.
I leaned back in my chair. Watched him gesture at his PowerPoint slides.
"—and if you look at the projected timeline, we're talking five to seven years before we see any return on investment. Five to seven years, Damon. The board can't justify that kind of—"
"You done?"
He stopped mid-sentence. Blinked at me.
I reached for the folder in front of me. Slid it across the polished mahogany table.
It landed right in front of him with a soft thud.
"Market analysis. Three different consulting firms. All saying the same thing." I kept my voice flat. Bored. "Semiconductor independence isn't optional anymore. It's survival."
Dominic opened the folder. Started flipping through.
"But the initial investment—"
"Is already approved. I signed off this morning."
His head snapped up. "You can't just—"
"I can. I did." I glanced at my watch. "Anything else?"
The other board members shifted in their seats. Nobody looked at Dominic.
Short-sighted idiot.
Not because I particularly cared about keeping him down. But because men like Dominic couldn't see past the next quarterly earnings report.
This business wasn't built on quarterly reports. It was built on knowing when to take risks. When to move fast. When to—
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
I ignored it. It vibrated again.
I pulled it out. Glanced at the screen.
Arthur.
I hit decline.
If it was important, he'd leave a message. I had another meeting in twenty minutes and—
It started vibrating again immediately.
Arthur knew better than to call during board meetings. Knew I wouldn't answer.
Which meant something was wrong.
I answered. "What."
"Sir." His voice was tight. Strained. "We have a situation."
"Talk."
"Wolfe Memorial Hospital. There's been an incident."
I felt my jaw clench. "What kind of incident?"
"Armed takeover. Twenty to thirty hostiles. They've locked down the entire building."
My mind went cold. Wolfe Memorial was our family's private hospital. Someone had just walked in and taken it over?
"Casualties?"
"Unknown. They cut communications. We're getting intel from traffic cameras outside the building."
"Police response?"
"NYPD's setting up a perimeter. FBI's been notified. But sir—"
"Get our people there. I want eyes on every exit. I want to know who these people are and what they want."
"Already done. Marco's team is two minutes out."
"Good. Keep me updated."
"Sir, there's something else."
Something in his voice made me stop.
"What."
"Scarlett's inside."
The world tilted.
"Say that again."
"Mrs. Wolfe. She's one of the hostages."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"How do you know?"
"Security footage. We have her on camera entering the building twenty minutes ago. She never came out."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
My brain tried to process what he'd just said.
"Sir?"
"Send me the footage."
"Yes, sir. Sending now."
My phone buzzed. I opened the video file.
The image quality was grainy. Black and white. But I could see her clearly.
Walking into the hospital lobby. Carrying that ridiculous duffel bag Maria had packed.
Then the timestamp jumped forward.
Men pouring in. Masks. Rifles.
Everyone dropping to the ground.
Scarlett kneeling in the middle of the lobby. Hands on her head.
Surrounded.
I felt something snap inside my chest.
"Damon?" Axel's voice. He'd come up behind me. "What's wrong?"
I didn't answer. Just kept staring at the screen.
At my wife.
On her knees.
With a gun pointed at her head.
"Meeting's over." My voice came out flat. Dead. "Axel, my office. Now."
I started walking.
Behind me, I heard the boardroom door open. Dominic calling after me.
"Damon? We're not finished—"
I didn't turn around. Just kept moving. Into my private suite.
Axel was right behind me.
"Boss, what happened?"
I pulled off my jacket. Threw it at him.
He caught it automatically.
"Wolfe Memorial's been taken over. Armed hostiles. Scarlett's inside."
His face went white. "Jesus Christ."
"Call Marco and Vic. I want every man we have in Manhattan mobilized. Now."
"Yes, sir."
"And get me a line to the other Families. I need to know if anyone's heard anything."
He was already pulling out his phone. "You think one of them is behind this?"
"I think someone's about to find out what happens when they touch what's mine."
I rolled up my sleeves. Started pacing.
My mind was racing.
Who would be stupid enough to hit a Wolfe property?
Who would be suicidal enough to take my wife hostage?
The last time someone had targeted someone close to me...
I stopped pacing.
That organization didn't exist anymore.
Six safe houses. Burned to the ground.
Seventeen members. Never found.
The rest scattered like rats.
All of it done in seventy-two hours.
I'd been careful since then. Built a reputation as a mediator. Someone who kept the peace between the Five Families.
But that was just good business.
Underneath?
I was still the same man who'd erased an entire criminal network in three days.
And these amateurs had just given me a reason to remind New York why they feared the Wolfe name.
"Sir." Axel lowered his phone. "Marco's mobilizing. Vic's pulling teams from the Brooklyn territories. We'll have fifty men there in fifteen minutes."
"Not enough. Pull everyone."
"Everyone?"
"Every. Single. Man. I don't care if it leaves our warehouses unguarded. I don't care if it creates vulnerabilities. Get them there."
He nodded. Kept dialing.
I grabbed my keys off the desk.
"Where are you going?" Axel asked.
"To get my wife."
_ _ _ _ _ _
I drove myself.
Engine roaring as I slammed the accelerator.
Axel was in the passenger seat. Phone pressed to his ear. Coordinating.
"—yes, full tactical loadout. No, I don't care about the noise complaints. Just get them there."
I barely heard him.
My mind kept replaying that security footage.
Scarlett. On her knees. Hands on her head.
She'd looked so small. So vulnerable.
Like a scared animal.
My hands tightened on the steering wheel.
They fucking made her kneel.
"Where's the armory?"
"Brooklyn. About twenty minutes from here."
"Change of plans. We're going there first."
"Boss, if we go to the armory—"
"I need guns, Axel. A lot of them."
He turned to look at me. He'd seen me like this before. Years ago. Before I'd built Wolfe Corporation into what it was today.
When I was just a soldier in my father's war.
"How many men do you want at the hospital?" he asked quietly.
"All of them."
"Damon—"
"All. Of. Them."
He nodded slowly.
Went back to his phone.
Started making calls.
I pushed the Escalade faster.
I'd burn the whole world down before I let them hurt her. Even if it meant burning myself in the process.
Hold on, Scarlett.
I'm coming.