He Broke a Peace Treaty for the Daughter He Never Knew Existed

Midnight.

The rain had turned into a torrential downpour over Manhattan.

In the subterranean boardroom beneath the grand St. Regis Hotel—the historic neutral ground where the Five Families of the New York Underworld had met for over half a century—a tense, deadly silence hung over the long mahogany table.

Seated at the head of the table was Victor Ashford, a thick-necked, gray-haired man whose face was twisted in deep rage. Beside him sat Coraline, dressed in a sharp black suit, her eyes red from crying.

At the other end of the table sat my mother, Evelyn Hail, dressed in immaculate dark silk, sipping sparkling water as if she were at a tea party. Around them sat the elderly dons of the other three crime families, flanked by their bodyguards.

"Garrett has gone rogue!" Victor Ashford slammed his heavy fist onto the table, making the crystal glasses rattle. "He murdered my son Julian four hours ago at his estate! He has broken the sacred laws of the Commission! I demand an immediate vote to authorize the complete destruction of the Hail family line!"

Evelyn set her glass down softly, her voice cold and unbothered. "My son has lost his mind over a low-class woman, Victor. I agree that he must be removed. As the senior matriarch of the Hail family, I am officially stepping in to assume control of our assets and finalize the alliance with your family under a new agreement."

"Is that so, Mother?"

A deep, commanding voice echoed from the heavy mahogany doors at the back of the room.

Every Don at the table whipped their heads around in shock.

The double doors swung open.

I stepped into the room, wearing a tailored black suit, my hair combed back, my eyes glowing with an absolute, lethal intensity. Walking beside me was Wesley, flanked by twenty elite, heavily armed Hail loyalists who instantly lined the walls of the boardroom, their weapons aimed directly at Victor Ashford and my mother’s personal guards.

"Garrett?!" Evelyn gasped, her calm facade shattering for the first time as she stood up, clutching her pearl necklace. "How... how are you alive?!"

"You sent ten men to my home to murder my wife and daughter, Victor," I said, ignoring my mother completely as I walked down the center aisle, stopping right across from Victor Ashford. "Julian failed. Just like every other plan you've ever made."

Victor reached for his coat pocket, but before his hand could move an inch, Wesley racked the slide of his shotgun, pointing it straight at Victor’s forehead.

"Sit down, Victor," I commanded softly.

Victor slowly lowered his hands, sweat dripping down his thick neck.

I turned my eyes toward my mother.

Evelyn tried to pull herself together, raising her chin with haughty arrogance. "Garrett! You dare disrespect me in front of the Commission?! I am your mother! I built this family!"

"You didn't build this family," I said, pulling a thick stack of legal documents and voice recordings from my jacket, slamming them onto the center of the table. "You poisoned my father thirty years ago to take his seat. You threatened the woman I loved with a gun. You forced her to raise my child in poverty while you spent millions on your wardobes."

The elderly Dons at the table gasped, looking at the documents in shock.

"That's a lie!" Evelyn shrieked, her voice cracking in pure panic. "He's insane! Don't listen to him!"

I pulled out my phone, pressing play on a digital recording.

My mother's voice echoed loudly through the silent boardroom speakers: “Take the money and leave New York, Mave. If you stay, if you bring that child into this world, I will make sure Garrett buries you both.”

The room fell into an absolute, suffocating silence. Even Coraline looked at my mother in horror.

"By the ancient laws of the Five Families," I declared, my voice resonating like a judge delivering a death sentence, "treason against your own blood is punished by absolute banishment and forfeiture of all assets."

I stepped closer to my mother, looking into her terrified eyes.

"You are no longer a Hail, Evelyn," I whispered coldly. "You have one hour to pack one suitcase and leave this country forever. If you ever set foot in New York again, I will personally see that you are put in the ground beside the husband you murdered."

Evelyn collapsed back into her leather chair, weeping hysterically as two of my guards grabbed her arms, pulling her away from the table.

I then turned my gaze to Victor Ashford.

"And as for you, Victor..." I said, leaning over the table. "You will surrender all your dock operations in Brooklyn to the Hail family as compensation for the attack on my home. Do it now, or my men will eliminate every capo in your family before sunrise."

Victor stared at me, looking at the twenty shotguns aimed at his chest, knowing he was completely outmatched. He slowly picked up his pen, his hands shaking violently, and signed the surrender documents.