His Brother Drugged Him For Three Years To Steal His Empire — Until A 3-Year-Old Pointed At The Untouched Tea

The heavy oak doors swung open wide, slamming against the marble walls with the force of an explosion.

Every bodyguard in the room drew their weapons. The elders gasped, several leaping out of their leather chairs.

Through the doorway walked Adrian Moretti.

He didn't look like a dying man. He didn't look like a hollow, sedated shell. He was dressed in a bespoke charcoal three-piece suit that fit his muscular frame like armor. His hair was slicked back, his jaw was cleanly shaved, and his dark eyes burned with an aura so commanding, so terrifyingly lethal, that three armed captains instantly lowered their heads in instinctive submission.

Beside him walked Vance, carrying a heavy metallic briefcase, flanked by four tactical operators in full combat gear.

And walking beside Adrian, holding his large hand with her tiny fingers, was Lily. She wore a neat navy blue coat over her clothes, still clutching her battered gray stuffed rabbit, looking up at the room full of terrifying men without an ounce of fear.

Dominic’s remote clattered out of his hand, shattering against the obsidian table. The color drained from his skin until he looked like a corpse. His jaw dropped, his chest hitching as if he had just been stabbed.

"A-Adrian...?" Dominic stammered, his voice squeaking in absolute panic. "How... what are you doing here? You're supposed to be—"

"Dead?" Adrian completed the sentence, his voice echoing like rolling thunder across the vaulted ceiling.

Adrian walked slowly down the center aisle, the steady click of his leather dress shoes the only sound in the suffocating room. He didn't rush. He moved with the terrifying grace of an apex predator returning to his rightful territory.

He stopped at the head of the table, gently lifting Lily and setting her down safely on top of the vacant throne. "Sit right here, my brave girl. Watch Daddy finish this."

Lily hugged her bunny and nodded proudly. "Okay, Daddy."

Adrian turned to face the twelve elders. "Elder Rossi. Captains. Forgive my tardiness. It turns out my calendar was slightly disrupted by thirty-six months of premeditated fratricide."

Dominic backed up against the projection screen, his hands frantically searching his pockets for a phone that had already been confiscated. "He’s delirious! Guards! Disarm him! He’s having a psychotic break! Mercer certified it!"

Not a single guard moved. In fact, two operators stepped behind Dominic, blocking any escape to the private elevators.

"Vance," Adrian said softly. "Show the council what my brother calls 'medicine'."