Adrian Winters
How could I have been so stupid.
All the pieces were coming together and the longer I looked at them all, the more I wanted to do things that would put me behind bars until the day I was dead.
Files upon files of information on a scheme that had permeated every possible level of the social structure around me had all been on the close for the past decade, the only problem was that it was a failure every time someone tried to harm my family or those close to me. That wasn't how I was stupid though, it was how I had over looked such key pieces of information like wiretap trails, and money origins.
I'd created enemies sure, I'd made hundred of people mad that I had been left to stand atop the largest conglomerate that the world had ever seen since the East India Company in 1635. History had taught me nothing but records were meant to be broken, and the fact I had built what I did so quickly spoke to both the capabilities of how we thought at Winters Group but also at how efficient my wife and COO had been along side the team of Executive Directors and C-Class board members that answered to her and I.
The record that had been broken was how long an enemy had remained in my circle, until it was just about too late. I'd uncovered the plan a long time ago, and wanted to see what would happen if I tested my theory and just as I expected Carrick De'Vincent got from Paris where he refused to harm any of the Louviere family to New York where my daughter was targeted. I had to die and so did my wife or else Winters Group would remain able to be ran in family.
The details now were bare, I'd stopped the power grids claiming maintenance from a power surge so my enemy was taken down at least for a time. Neptune Cyber Security then as usual recycled the information into our own private servers that would after the fact have the SD cards fried and replaced so that we didn't have a multiple entrance server that anyone in WGI could access.
I never said anything about a one time.
I got what I needed and the maintenance was completed now I had what I needed. If I hadn't found anything I'd have cut the digital connection, and it would have just seemed like a server blip, instead I had found a fear confirmed and a small dent appeared in the shield that was my circle of friends, family, and relatives.
Collecting the files I put them into my briefcase, and walked out of the frosted glass meeting room in the NCS building in Tribeca before stepping into the elevator to return to my office where I could seethe in my own bubble of self control and analysis.
Getting down to the white marble lobby I pulled my grey blazer over my typical black turtleneck since I despised undershirts unless it was for events, then I put up with them.
Outside the glass lobby was a horde of news crews that would be awaiting my comments on various proceedings from the past week that had resulted in me taking over about a dozen small seemingly pointless asset management firms.
People resorted to chaos when they were backed into a corner, they acted like animals willing to fight to the death if it was required.
Except you can't fight if you have limited options to fight with.
One of the greatest things in the world, about being a shadow businessman that could be recognized but still remain a secret from public notoriety around wealth, was no one aside from the US government knew how much money my company brought in. No one was going to stop me from taking what I wanted from who.
Accepting I was the villian for this instance in time I put on my stoic expression and gestured to the door where two of my best PPO's stood with their longcoats wrapped around themselves, while their hands remained clasped in front of them.
As the doors opened I walked out and the reporters began calling questions that were droned out by others leaving me to get occasionally flash-banged by cameras.
"Sir" Haden says opening the car door while I slipped inside and Elijah took the wheel of the armored Maybach.
"Winters Group Tower please" I say cradling my chin and rubbing the neatly brushed beard I'd recently reshaped to be more fitting of a CEO.
Looking out the window I found myself taking in the cacophony of steel, glass, and concrete that occupied New York's Financial District yet there for all of the world to see was Winters Group Tower the crowning jewel to a quarter of a century of what Olivia and I had built together.
And once again for the hundredth time a problem has arisen.
When the car slowed to a stop along the curb of the building I grabbed the case and got out, before making my way inside towards the elevator so that I could get up to my office and lay all of this out around the room.
A minute later the steel doors opened and I was left to walk out while my staff took in the dark appearance I had at this current moment. Olivia was also talking to her PA Jessica about the integration documents that needed to be sent to the Asset Management branch so that all the company's I'd taken over two days ago would be in the umbrella of Winters Group.
"Miss Thorne, in my office please, we have something to discuss" I say using Olivia's maiden surname, which was a work preference since she wanted it to always be clear that she made it to COO as she helped me rebuild, rather then because we slept in the same bed. A certain reporter had been put in their place for making that mistake.
"Okay" Olivia says turning to look at me then back at Jessica. "If you have any questions just come find me" my better half says giving her PA a smile before following me to my office.
As we walked down the hallway I looked over at her and sighed, "this is going to be an interesting conversation" I mutter and she gives me a look that spoke of all the cautious emotion it needed to.
Pushing open the door I stepped inside with Olivia closing it behind me while I walked to the window that gave me a clear look over New York despite the cloudy sky above the tower that I ran my global empire in.
"What's going on Adrian?" Olivia asks her heels clicking against the polished flooring as she neared my desk and stopped twenty feet from where I stood.
"Kennith Louviere was behind a number of plots set to pull us down from grace. The incident at the lake the target was the Louviere's because they were supposed to be at Lake Como with us on that day, the police never got a reason, all of them were told to kill whoever they could find since pictures weren't allowed. They weren't given all the information because through other companies those guys were sent by Kennith" I mutter darkly turning back to my wife.
"The next was when the car driven by Carrick hit the Louviere's he'd been working with them just the driver in Paris that night didn't know that Kennith wanted us dead. They put us in harms way and though we would have been fine in that armoured car, that motherfucker put our children's lives at risk, and got his own daughter a concussion that is still a scar to this day from the glass shards. Then the Halloway's are almost taken out for having been tricked and later fleeing with my financial help to the US. Finally Carrick gets to New York city and almost kills Abigail" I seethe, attempting my best to not practically order a hit.
I couldn't do that, I had to approach this carefully.
"So what do want to do?" Olivia asks drumming her fingers harshly against my desk, her own thoughts likely being formulated in that beautifully astute mind of hers.
"Take everything from him, and then have him removed from his home only to be found beaten to death in a fucking alley in the Bronx" I snap turning to face her. " I want to make Kennith Louviere disappear".
"Well you can't kill him as much as I would support that" Olivia says walking over to the mini bar and grabbing one of the bottles of Fiji water that was in a small fridge and tossing me one while she took a can of San Pellegrino.
"The legal way is to tip off Logan, and start contacting others that have been screwed over by Kennith, at some point there will be enough of a case that an arrest warrant will have to go out. Mostly I want to try and get him to slip up in the mean time, if he does something rash it will only lead him to being captured, and then no one will save him, especially since I am willing to bring hell down on him" I say walking to my phone as I chugged the bottle of water, and rang up Kaylee.
"Mr. Winters" she says after the chime ended on the third beep.
"Kaylee please set up a meeting with Kieran Halloway, Trishanne Halloway, and Logan Saint Laurent, please ask the Deputy Commissioner to get the files on Carrick De'Vincent, Levi De'Vincent, and Kennith Louviere for this meeting" I say a sly smile covering my lips.
"Of course sir, and will this particular meeting be here, or elsewhere?" Kaylee asks while the sound of pen scratching could be heard.
"My mansion in Waccabuc, all of them will know where that is" I say drumming my forefinger against the surface of my desk rapidly.
"The emails will be sent, anything else I can do for you?".
"That will be all thank you Kaylee" I say before hanging up and looking at Olivia who was smiling in equal verb to me.
"You're going to enjoy watching him fall aren't you?" Olivia muses.
"More then can be put into words, no one get's to hurt my family and get away with it" I remark before looking back out over New York.
Kennith will never know that this is my mercy, and not my vengeance.
Alright that was a long chapter but it's done, and now I get to work on tomorrows chapter, comment, vote, and share. Anyways
Peace✌