Chapter 3 - The Cage in Gold Coast
The divorce hearing at Cook County Courthouse did not happen at 10:00 AM.
By 10:15 AM, Adrian’s legal team had filed an emergency motion for administrative postponement, citing "unforeseen personal medical developments." By 10:30 AM, Naomi’s attorney, Sarah Vance, was furiously calling Naomi’s cell phone, demanding to know why her client had vanished from the courthouse steps.
Naomi sat in the back of the Mercedes, holding her phone to her ear as the car sped away from River North, heading north toward the exclusive, gated enclave of the Vale estate in Gold Coast.
“Sarah, I can’t talk right now,” Naomi said into the receiver, her voice strained.
“Naomi, where are you?” Sarah’s voice blew through the speaker. “Adrian’s head lawyer just pulled the petition from the judge’s desk! What happened out there? Did he threaten you?”
Naomi looked across the seat. Adrian was on his own phone, issuing brief, sharp commands to his security chief, Marcus.
“Cancel the afternoon meetings in New York,” Adrian was saying coldly into his device. “Double the perimeter detail at the main house. I want two private nurses stationed on the second floor by three o’clock. No media, no external deliveries without primary clearance.”
“He didn't threaten me, Sarah,” Naomi whispered into her phone. “I… I had a medical issue. We’re rescheduling.”
“Naomi, listen to me,” Sarah warned, her tone growing urgent. “If you step back inside his house, your legal standing changes. He has teams of lawyers who specialize in custody battles before a child is even born. If he gets you back behind his gates—”
The phone was smoothly taken from Naomi’s hand.
Adrian held the device to his own ear. “Ms. Vance,” he said calmly. “My wife is resting. Any further communication regarding our legal affairs will go through my office. Good day.”
He ended the call and tossed the phone onto the leather console between them.
“You had no right to do that!” Naomi snapped, her cheeks flushing with sudden heat. “That is my attorney! You can’t just seize my life because a doctor found a heartbeat!”
Adrian turned to face her, his shoulder blocking the light from the driver’s side window. “You are carrying my heir, Naomi. In my world, that makes you the most vulnerable target in the Midwest.”
“I am not your target! I am a free woman who was supposed to sign divorce papers an hour ago!”
“Look out the window,” Adrian commanded quietly.
Naomi blinked, turning her eyes to the street.
The Mercedes had reached the iron gates of the Vale estate. But the streets surrounding the perimeter were not empty. Three black sedans with blacked-out windows were parked along the boulevard. As the Mercedes approached, two men in long coats standing near the corner adjusted their hats and looked directly at the car’s rear windows.
Naomi’s blood ran cold. She recognized those men. They weren't Vale security. They belonged to the Moretti family—the ruthless East Coast syndicate that had been locked in a silent, bloody turf war with Vale Maritime over harbor concessions for six months.
“They’ve been watching your restoration studio for three days, Naomi,” Adrian said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. “They knew you were leaving me. They were waiting for the divorce decree to be signed so you would lose my security detail.”
Naomi turned back to him, her throat tight. “You… you knew?”
“Of course I knew,” Adrian said softly. “Do you really think I would let you live in that studio in Pilsen without six undercover guards watching the block? The only reason you’re alive today is because Moretti thought you were still under my protection. If you walk into a court today and strip away my name, you become a leverage point. They will take you, Naomi. And they will use what’s inside you to break me.”
The heavy iron gates of the estate closed behind the Mercedes with a deep, final clank.
The car stopped before the grand limestone entrance of the mansion she had left three months ago. The place she had sworn she would never set foot in again.
May you like
Adrian reached over, opening his door. He stepped out, then turned and offered his hand to her.
“Welcome home, Naomi,” he said.
