Chapter 15: The name in the shadow

By the time Lucian arrived at headquarters, regulators had already sealed off the executive floor.

Employees whispered in clusters. Phones recorded. News alerts spread like wildfire.

Moretti Holdings was under investigation.

And the timing was not coincidence.

Lucian stepped out of the elevator to find two federal investigators waiting outside his office.

“Mr. Moretti,” one of them said evenly. “We have a warrant to examine financial records connected to offshore accounts.”

Lucian’s expression remained calm.

“Of course,” he replied. “You’ll have full access.”

He didn’t resist.

Didn’t argue.

Because resistance would look like guilt.

And this—this was a setup.

Inside his office, glass walls offered a clear view of the chaos beyond. Lucian loosened his tie slightly, eyes scanning the floor below.

Regulators weren’t here for a fishing expedition.

They were directed.

Precise.

He pulled out his phone and called the head of internal audit.

“Tell me exactly what accounts they’re targeting.”

There was a pause on the other end.

“Sir… the accounts flagged are under executive discretionary authority.”

Lucian’s voice lowered.

“Mine?”

“Yes.”

A slow burn ignited in his chest.

“They’ve been altered,” the auditor added nervously. “Transfers made three weeks ago.”

Three weeks.

The week Elena’s hospital visit was leaked.

Lucian understood immediately.

Adrian didn’t just want scandal.

He wanted prison.

At the estate, Elena sat rigidly on the couch as news channels replayed footage of regulators entering Moretti headquarters.

Her phone buzzed continuously with unknown numbers.

She ignored them.

But then one message caught her attention.

No number attached.

Just text.

You should have taken the offer.

Her breath hitched.

“What offer?” she whispered.

Another message followed.

Leave the country. The child survives. Stay… and things escalate.

Her hand trembled.

Lucian hadn’t told her everything.

There had been an offer.

And she hadn’t known.

Her phone rang immediately after.

Lucian.

She answered quickly.

“Did you know about an offer?” she demanded before he could speak.

Silence.

Then: “What did you receive?”

“Someone told me I should have taken the offer to leave.”

Lucian closed his eyes briefly.

He had hoped Adrian was bluffing.

“He approached you?” Lucian asked.

“No. But clearly someone did.”

Lucian’s jaw tightened.

“My father tried to buy your silence weeks ago.”

Elena felt something twist painfully in her chest.

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I handled it.”

“You signed divorce papers without a fight,” she said quietly. “And you handled it.”

Guilt cut sharper than accusation.

“Elena, listen to me carefully. Whatever messages you get, you forward them to security immediately.”

“So there was an offer.”

“Yes.”

“To make me disappear.”

“Yes.”

The honesty stunned her.

“And you let him?” she whispered.

“I thought it would protect you.”

The line went quiet.

Protection had always been his excuse.

Even when it destroyed them.

“Elena,” Lucian said firmly, “this is bigger than my father.”

“I know.”

He paused.

“I think Adrian is being funded.”

“By who?”

Lucian stared at the financial reports on his desk.

“There’s an external investor tied to the offshore transfers. The name isn’t familiar.”

“Tell me.”

Lucian swallowed once.

“Cassian Wolfe.”

The name meant nothing to her.

But the way Lucian said it did.

“Who is he?” she asked.

Lucian’s voice turned colder.

“He doesn’t invest.”

He hunts.”

An hour later, Lucian stood inside a private conference room with the internal audit team.

A digital profile of Cassian Wolfe glowed on the screen.

Minimal public information.

No interviews.

No corporate photos.

But a pattern was clear.

Companies he invested in didn’t grow.

They collapsed.

Then were absorbed quietly under new ownership.

Hostile dismantling.

Strategic sabotage.

And now—

Moretti Holdings was on his radar.

“Adrian has been communicating with a private firm registered under Wolfe’s network,” the auditor explained.

Lucian’s expression hardened.

“So Adrian isn’t trying to take my seat.”

“No, sir.”

“He’s softening the company for acquisition.”

A heavy silence filled the room.

Lucian understood the brilliance of it.

Destabilize leadership.

Trigger investigation.

Tank stock value.

Force board panic.

Then buy control cheaply.

And Elena—

She was the trigger point.

The scandal.

The emotional weakness.

Lucian straightened slowly.

“Freeze every discretionary account immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Contact our legal team. Quietly.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And find out everything about Cassian Wolfe.”

The auditor hesitated.

“Sir… there’s a rumor.”

Lucian’s gaze sharpened.

“What rumor?”

“That Wolfe has a personal vendetta against legacy corporations.”

Lucian’s voice dropped dangerously low.

“Why?”

The auditor swallowed.

“Because he blames one for his father’s death.”

The room went still.

Lucian’s mind moved quickly.

“What corporation?”

The auditor looked down at the file.

“…Moretti Holdings.”

Back at the estate, Elena stood by the window again.

This time, the silence felt different.

Not just heavy.

Waiting.

Her phone buzzed once more.

Another unknown message.

This time, it included a photo.

Her.

Standing by the window.

Taken seconds ago.

Her breath stopped.

She spun around—

Nothing inside.

But outside—

Across the road.

A black car.

Parked.

Watching.

Another message appeared.

War has casualties. Decide which one you want to be.

Elena’s heart pounded violently.

She immediately called Lucian.

He answered on the first ring.

“I think he’s here,” she whispered.

Lucian’s blood ran cold.

“Who?”

“The one you said hunts.”

Lucian moved instantly.

“Stay inside. Lock every door. I’m coming.”

As he rushed out of headquarters, his phone buzzed again.

This time from Adrian.

You’re looking in the wrong direction, Lucian. Wolfe doesn’t care about shares. He cares about revenge.

Lucian’s grip tightened on the steering wheel.

Revenge.

For his father.

Against Moretti Holdings.

And Elena—

She wasn’t leverage.

She was bait.