Page 101 of Knuckles & Knives
“You’re right about one thing,” I reply. “I am Vincent Blackwood’s daughter, but I’m also something you never anticipated—a woman who learned that true power comes not from ruling through fear, but from building something worth protecting.”
I look around at Dom, Kieran, Marcus, and Axel—my men, my family, my heart made manifest in four completely different but perfectly complementary forms.
“I’m someone who chose love over revenge,” I continue.
Cross’s expression shifts from defiance to something approaching understanding—the recognition that he’s not just been defeated tactically but that his entire worldview has been proven fundamentally flawed.
As federal agents escort him toward prison and the dismantled remnants of his empire, I turn to my family and smile.
“Phase One complete,” I announce. “Now we build something better.”
Not just a new empire but a new way to rule. Together.
CHAPTER 31
The encrypted message arrives seventy-two hours after Alexander Cross’s arrest, delivered through channels so secure that Marcus needs six hours to trace the origin. When he finally breaks the encryption, his face goes pale in a way that makes my blood run cold.
“It’s not over,” he says quietly, staring at his screens with the expression of someone who’s discovered that solving one puzzle has only revealed a larger, more dangerous game.
“Cross had backup plans?” Dom asks, his protective instincts immediately sharpening.
“Not Cross,” Marcus corrects, his analytical mind clearly struggling with implications. “Someone else entirely. Someone who’s been using Cross’s operation as cover for their own agenda.”
I move to read over his shoulder, but the message displayed on his screen is written in a code I recognize—one that makes my heart stop completely.
The rosesin Vincent’s garden are blooming beautifully this year. Perhaps it’s time for his daughter to come home and tendto her inheritance properly. Midnight. The greenhouse. Come alone, little birdie, or everyone you love will share your father’s fate. —M
“Who is M?”Kieran asks.
I know. The code, the reference to roses, the use of that nickname… there’s only one person who would know those details, one person I thought was gone forever.
“Marina Volkov,” I whisper, the name tasting like ash in my mouth.
“Who?” Axel demands, his wild energy suddenly focused with predatory sharpness.
“My father’s… companion. His advisor, his lover, his most trusted confidante. Even before my mother died… he had been involved with her.” I sink into a chair, my mind reeling with the implications. “She disappeared the night he was murdered. I always assumed she had been killed her too, eliminated her as a witness.”
“But she survived,” Marcus realizes, his fingers already pulling up every piece of information he can find. “And she’s been orchestrating events from behind even Cross’s operations.”
“That’s impossible,” Dom says. “We would have found traces, evidence?—”
“Not if she’s been running everything through cutouts and proxies,” Kieran interrupts, his strategic mind recognizing the pattern. “Using Cross as her public face while maintaining complete operational security.”
“Marina taught me more than strategy,” I say, memories flooding back with devastating clarity. “She taught me about manipulation, about using people’s emotions against them, about the kind of long-term planning that spans years or decades.”
“And she’s been planning this for five years,” Axel concludes grimly. “Using Cross, using the Sterling Syndicate, using all of us to eliminate obstacles while positioning herself to inherit everything.”
The pieces fall into place with horrible logic. Marina had access to all of my father’s operations, knew every secret, understood every weakness. If anyone could orchestrate a plan this complex, this patient, it would be the woman who helped Vincent Blackwood build his empire.
“The greenhouse,” Marcus says, accessing city planning records. “Vincent’s old estate, the one sealed since his death. It’s been maintained by a private trust?—”
“Marina’s trust,” I finish. “She’s been using my father’s own resources to fund her operations.”
“You’re not going,” Dom states flatly. “Obviously not. It’s a trap designed to separate you from support.”
“Of course it’s a trap,” I agree. “But it’s also an opportunity.”
“Raven—” Kieran starts.
