Chapter 280

Dante’s expression hardened.

"You’re not interested in Belmont Oil because you suddenly developed an appreciation for the energy sector. You want its accounts, its holdings, and its connections. You want to move everything under your name so you can control the money and make it harder for anyone to trace where it came from."

Dante chuckled. "That is a very dramatic interpretation of a business transaction."

"It’s an accurate one."

"Then perhaps you should consider what happens when your accuracy gets your girlfriend killed."

Adrian went still.

On the screen, Ethan shifted behind Emilia.

The gun remained pressed to her face.

Dante watched Adrian absorb the threat.

"Now," he continued pleasantly, "we can either spend the evening arguing over your interpretation of my intentions, or we can finish what I brought you here to do."

Adrian’s eyes returned to the documents.

He had spent years building a case against Dante. His team had traced shell companies, examined transactions, gathered statements, and connected seemingly unrelated transfers to the same network.

The evidence was not complete, but it was enough to understand the shape of the operation.

Dante wanted Belmont because Belmont could give him the financial reach he had been missing.

If Adrian signed these documents, he would not simply be surrendering a company.

He would be giving Dante the means to rebuild his operation under a more powerful name.

And if Adrian refused, Emilia would remain on that screen with a gun against her face.

Dante had arranged the choice carefully. He wanted Adrian to understand every consequence before making his decision.

He wanted the signature to mean something.

"There’s more," Dante said.

He pulled another set of papers from the folder. "This covers the money."

Adrian looked at him. "What money?"

"All of it."

Dante’s tone suggested Adrian was being deliberately obtuse.

"The liquid assets held through the relevant Belmont entities. The accounts associated with the companies being transferred. The investment portfolios and other funds specified in the schedules. I want them consolidated under my control."

"Some of those accounts are subject to ongoing scrutiny."

"Then you’ll make the necessary arrangements."

"Some of the money is frozen."

"Then you’ll see that the restrictions are lifted."

"That isn’t how the law works."

Dante smiled thinly.

"You’re a clever man, Adrian. I refuse to believe you’ve suddenly forgotten how much influence your signature can carry when the right people are involved."

"Your influence is what got you into this mess."

"My influence is the reason you are still sitting in that chair."

Adrian leaned back slightly.

Dante turned his head toward the screen.

Ethan moved the gun away from Emilia’s temple for a second, only to press it against her cheek instead.

She recoiled.

Dante looked back at Adrian. "Would you like me to demonstrate?"

Adrian’s chair scraped against the floor as he started to rise. "Don’t."

The word came out sharper than he intended.

Dante’s eyebrows lifted.

That was what Dante had been waiting for.

The moment Adrian stopped being a businessman and became a man who could be hurt.

"Sit down," Dante said.

Adrian did not move.

"Adrian." Dante’s voice had lost its playful edge. "Sit. Down."

On the screen, Emilia’s lips moved.

Adrian couldn’t hear her.

She appeared to be speaking to Ethan, her expression tense but controlled. Ethan answered by tightening his grip on her shoulder.

Dante lifted one finger.

Ethan raised the gun until the barrel rested directly against Emilia’s temple.

Adrian sat. Slowly.

Dante watched him settle into the chair. "Good. I would hate for us to have a misunderstanding."

"You touch her again, and I will make sure there is nowhere in the world you can hide."

Dante laughed softly.

"There he is again. The man who believes the world can be arranged according to his wishes. Will you still be making threats when she’s dead?"

Adrian’s silence was answer enough.

Dante leaned forward.

"You see, that is the difference between us. You have built your entire life around the belief that there is always another solution. Another door. Another man you can call. Another sum of money that can make a problem disappear."

He glanced at the screen.

"But sometimes there is only a choice."

Adrian looked at the gun against Emilia’s face.

Dante followed his gaze. "Sign the documents, and she lives."

"And Selena?"

"She will be released when I am satisfied that the transfers have been completed."

"No."

Dante blinked.

Adrian’s voice was steady. "Both women walk out of here alive. Tonight. Before I sign anything."

For several seconds, Dante simply watched him. Then he smiled. "You still don’t understand."

"I understand you perfectly."

"No. You think you’re negotiating from a position of strength because your men are outside. You think the number of guns surrounding this building somehow changes the situation in this room."

Dante gestured toward the screen. "Look at her."

Adrian did.

"Look carefully."

He had no choice.

Emilia’s face filled the screen, and the gun was so close to her skin that Adrian could see the slight indentation where the barrel pressed against her.

Her eyes were open.

She was trying to stay calm. He knew her well enough to recognise the effort it cost her.

Dante continued.

"Your men could storm the building. They could break down every door, clear every room, and put a bullet through Ethan’s head before he had time to blink. I have no doubt you’ve assembled a very competent little army."

He leaned closer.

"But the moment they make a move, Ethan pulls that trigger."

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

"And even if he misses, even if one of your men manages to get a shot off first, I have other arrangements in place. Other people. Other instructions."

He tapped the screen.

"You don’t know where she is, do you?"

Adrian said nothing.

"Of course you don’t. This feed is not coming from the room you’re imagining. And if you think the people outside can identify her location from a camera image, then perhaps you should have invested more in your security systems."

Adrian’s gaze sharpened.

Dante smiled.

"Go ahead. Ask them. Let them try. By the time they find anything useful, I will have what I came for."

Adrian had already ordered his team to investigate the feed. They were working through the available information, trying to identify the location without alerting whoever controlled the system.

But Dante was right about one thing.

They did not have a confirmed location.

They had a woman held at gunpoint on a screen, and a man who had prepared for the possibility that Adrian might try to save her by force.

The building was surrounded.

The exits were covered.

Adrian had never hated a man so completely.

"You’re asking me to sign over Belmont Oil, its subsidiaries, its assets, and the money attached to them," he said. "And then you’re asking me to make you a free man."

Dante spread his hands. "Now we’re getting somewhere."

"You’re asking me to dismantle my own investigation."

"I’m asking you to correct a few unfortunate misunderstandings."

"You’re asking me to give you control of the companies you’ve used to move stolen funds."

"I’m asking you to transfer property that you have no intention of managing yourself."

"You’re asking me to help you disappear."

Dante’s smile widened. "I knew you’d understand."

Adrian stared at him. "You don’t want freedom. You want immunity."

"Call it whatever helps you sleep at night."

Dante reached for the final document. He laid it on the desk with almost ceremonial care.

"This is the part you’ll find most interesting."

Adrian glanced at the heading.

A formal declaration, followed by several pages of legal provisions and proposed arrangements.

The language was dense, the clauses carefully structured. It dealt with the withdrawal of certain complaints, the termination of claims against named individuals, and the provision of declarations intended to undermine the basis for further action against Dante.

It was not a single magic document that could erase every criminal charge. Dante was too intelligent to believe a signature could do that by itself.

Instead, he had assembled a series of instruments designed to weaken the investigation, transfer assets beyond Adrian’s immediate control, and create the appearance that the underlying disputes had been resolved.

The remaining steps would depend on people Dante had already cultivated.

People who could be persuaded, pressured, or paid.

The documents were not the end of his plan.

Adrian turned a page, and then another.

A name appeared in the supporting material.

Ethan’s.

Adrian’s eyes stopped moving.

Dante noticed the pause. "Something wrong?"

Adrian looked up.n"Ethan has been working with you for how long?"

"Long enough."

"Long enough to feed you information from inside my investigation?"

"Among other things."

"Long enough to know where my people would be looking?"

Dante’s smile returned. "Now you’re beginning to appreciate the value of loyalty."

"Is that what you call it?"

"What would you call it?"

"An arrangement between two men who believe everyone else is stupid."

Dante gave a quiet chuckle. "You’re welcome to your opinion."