Chapter 508
Chapter 507:
Attorney Marcus Thorne had negotiated in this room before. He had sat across from Fortune 500 CEOs, from sheikhs and oligarchs and heads of state. He had never felt the temperature drop quite so sharply.
Gaston Collins sat at the head of the table, fingers steepled, eyes fixed on a point just beyond Thorne’s left shoulder. He had not offered coffee. He had not offered a seat. He had simply waited, in silence, until Thorne placed his briefcase on the table and began his prepared remarks.
“Mr. Collins. I represent Frank DeLuca. He’s prepared to offer a full settlement — his commercial properties in the Philadelphia corridor, his logistics company, and all liquid assets. A value of approximately forty million dollars. In exchange, he asks only that you cease all aggressive actions against his remaining interests p>
Thorne slid the document across the granite. It stopped exactly halfway, untouched.
Gaston’s eyes moved. Slowly, deliberately, they traveled from the document to Thorne’s face. The lawyer felt his professional composure waver beneath that gaze — like being examined by something that had never learned mercy.
“Forty million dollars,” Gaston said. His voice was soft, almost curious.
“Plus his personal guarantee of no further contact with Mrs. Collins. No further business interference. He’ll sign any non-disparagement agreement you require p>
“And in exchange p>
P𝖣𝖥𝘴 𝗼𝘯
“Forbearance.” Thorne chose the word carefully. “A cessation of hostilities. Mr. DeLuca has suffered significant losses. He’s been humbled, Mr. Collins. Thoroughly p>
Gaston’s fingers tapped once against the granite. A single, sharp sound that echoed in the silence.
“Do you know what he did, Mr. Thorne p>
“I understand there was an incident in Philadelphia. A business dispute that escalated p>
“He hired men to harass my wife.” Gaston’s voice didn’t rise, but something in it made Thorne’s spine straighten involuntarily. “He funded a criminal operation designed to destroy property, to incite violence, to orchestrate an attack that could have killed her — a wife we believed at the time to be pregnant. Your client didn’t escalate a business dispute. He declared war p>
Thorne felt the floor shift beneath him. Pregnant. Even qualified, the word transformed everything. It turned a financial dispute into something personal, something primal, something no amount of money could resolve.
“Mr. Collins, I’m sure Mr. DeLuca had no knowledge of p>
“He knew exactly what he was doing.” Gaston stood and moved to the window, his back to Thorne, his silhouette dark against the Manhattan skyline. “And now he wants to buy his way out. To write a check, walk away, and keep his freedom, his reputation, his place in the world he tried to burn down around my wife p>
He turned. The light from the window caught his face, illuminating features that looked carved from stone.
“I don’t accept surrender, Mr. Thorne. I don’t negotiate with criminals. And I certainly don’t allow anyone who has threatened Jocelyn to continue breathing the same air she breathes p>
Thorne gathered his papers. His hands remained steady — professional discipline — but his mind was already calculating exit strategies and damage control.
“You’re refusing the offer p>