ВойтиNews of the raid spread quickly, despite Daniel's efforts to contain it as much as possible.The media began to whisper. Market analysts started asking questions. And in his lawyer's office, Daniel sat facing the best legal team money could buy, all their faces showing the same tension."This is a very serious situation, Tuan Blackwood," said his lead lawyer, a man named Gregory Hastings who had handled various complex cases over three decades. "The communication records with Vincent Moretti, Dr. Whitmore's testimony, and now reports of a pattern of witness intimidation... this is no longer just an accusation that can be easily denied.""What can we do?" Daniel asked, his voice weary.Hastings let out a long breath. "We need a new strategy. Denying everything won't work anymore. Too much evidence has started accumulating. We might need to consider negotiation.""Negotiation?" Daniel raised his head. "You mean pleading guilty?""What I mean," Hastings said carefully, "is considering a
Marcus immediately started digging, his fingers moving quickly on his phone, trying to reach every contact who might have an answer."I don't have the details yet, Tuan," he said, his voice still tense. "But my source says this isn't an ordinary raid. They have an official warrant, which means a judge approved it based on sufficiently strong evidence."Daniel paced back and forth in his office, his mind racing to recall every trace that might still remain, every gap that might no longer be as protected as he had assumed."Judge Hartford," he muttered. "He was supposed to hold back anything connected to this investigation.""It wasn't Hartford who signed this warrant," Marcus said, reading the latest information that had just come in. "It's a different judge. Judge Patricia Simmons. It seems this case was transferred to a different court a few days ago, and you weren't informed."Daniel stopped pacing, something cold crawling up his spine."Transferred? How could that happen?""I think
The words hung in the air, and for a few seconds, the silence in the room felt like something you could hold in your hand.Marcus looked at Daniel, trying to process what he had just heard."Tuan," he said finally, his voice trembling between fear and something far deeper—a moral doubt he had suppressed for years in order to keep his job. "I think I misheard. Please repeat what you just said."Daniel looked at him, slightly startled by Marcus's unusual tone."You heard clearly," he said, though his own voice had begun to sound less certain."Tuan," Marcus stepped forward, something he rarely did without being asked, "Junior is your son. The same child who cried out for Alina's name, whose body has already suffered enough from his psychological condition. Are you truly considering keeping him sick? Deliberately?"Daniel said nothing, his jaw tightening, but no denial came from his mouth."I've worked for you for ten years," Marcus continued, his voice growing stronger even as his body
The call ended, but Salvatore's words still echoed in Daniel's head.He stood motionless by the window, still gripping the now-dark phone, his mind churning between anger and something far more foreign—doubt.Marcus, who had been waiting at the doorway, finally worked up the courage to enter."Tuan? What did Russo say?"Daniel didn't answer right away. He stared out at the city below, the buildings blinking indifferently, seemingly unaware of the battle unfolding in one of its tallest towers."He's threatening to destroy our entire business empire," Daniel said finally, his voice flat—too flat for someone who had just received a threat of that magnitude.Marcus felt something cold crawl up his spine. "What are we going to do?"Daniel turned, and for a moment, Marcus saw something he rarely saw in his employer's eyes—not anger, nor the usual calm Daniel always displayed. But something resembling recalculation, like a general who had just realized the battlefield had shifted far beyond
Salvatore didn't respond to Daniel's threat with violence right away.He was smarter than that.That night, in his quiet office, he called in three of his most trusted people—not to plan an attack, but to compile something far more dangerous for a man like Daniel Blackwood.Information."I want everything you can find on Daniel Blackwood," Salvatore said, sitting behind his desk with a chilling calm. "Not just his legal business. I want every suspicious transaction, everyone he's ever gotten rid of, every death that's ever been connected to him even if it was never proven."One of the men, a financial analyst who had worked under Salvatore's network for over a decade, nodded. "We started digging since the journalist's death. There are some interesting patterns.""Good," Salvatore said. "Gather it all. I want a complete picture before I decide on the next move."Renee, standing in the corner of the room, watched all this closely."Boss," she said once the two analysts had left, "you're
The message was sent through a channel Marcus rarely used—a line reserved for the most sensitive communications, one whose full details Daniel himself didn't entirely know.It took less than an hour before a reply came.Marcus read the message with a slightly trembling hand before bringing it to Daniel."Tuan," he said, his voice tense. "Russo replied."Daniel looked up from his computer screen. "And?"Marcus handed over the tablet, his expression full of a worry he couldn't fully hide.Daniel read the short message, and for a moment his face remained flat before the corner of his mouth twitched—not a smile of victory, but something more complicated.You just made the biggest mistake of your life, Blackwood. I've faced threats from people far more dangerous than you, and every one of them regretted it. But since you're so eager to play dirty, let's see who's more prepared to lose everything.Alina is no longer just someone I protect out of debt. She's now under my personal protection.







