Chapter 328

BRANDON'S POV

The day had finally arrived.

Today was the day I would meet Gabriel face to face. He had sent the final details early this morning, picking a high-end restaurant on the edge of the city, and he insisted that I come completely alone.

I sat on the large couch in the main living room, watching my top team double-check their gear. Dominic, Antonio, Marcus, and the rest of my core guards stood in a tight circle around the room. Aria sat beside me, her small hand wrapped tightly inside mine.

Upstairs, Amelia was getting dressed to leave the estate with her nanny.

I looked over at Antonio and Marcus, keeping my voice low and firm. "You two will lead the escort detail. Take Aria and Amelia toward the safe house in the valley and wait for my explicit signal. If everything goes according to our plan today, I will call you directly, and you can bring them straight back to this estate."

Antonio gave a single, firm nod. "Be careful out there, Boss. Marcus and I will protect Miss Aria and little Miss Amelia with our lives. Nothing will touch them."

"I know," I said, giving his shoulder a firm squeeze. "Dismissed for ten minutes. Get the vehicles lined up."

Once the guards stepped outside, I took Aria's hand and led her up the grand staircase to our bedroom. I had noticed over the last two days that she was moving a bit slower, her face still carrying a lingering pale shade.

She had insisted it was just work stress and the fear of this upcoming meeting, and because I trusted her completely, I did not push her any further.

I walked her into our quiet room, sat her down gently on the edge of the large bed, and squatted down in front of her.

"How are you feeling right now, baby?" I asked softly, resting my hand on her knee.

Aria let out a small, quiet laugh and offered me a sweet smile. "You are being a huge worrywart today, Brandon. I am fine. I am just nervous about leaving you alone to face that monster."

"You do not need to worry," I reassured her, smoothing her hair back. "Remember, this whole departure is just a clever ploy to make Gabriel believe you left the safety of the estate. My men are already surrounding that high-end restaurant in plain clothes, but I am not going to capture Gabriel right away when I walk in."

Aria pulled her brows together. "Why not?"

"I want to use Gabriel to lure Julian out of his dark hole," I explained plainly. "Julian is unpredictable. If we only take Gabriel, Julian will run and hide again. I want to draw them both out into the light so we can capture them at the exact same time and end this for good."

Aria looked into my eyes, her hand trembling slightly against mine. "It still sounds so dangerous, Brandon."

"I will take care of everything," I started to say.

Before I could finish my sentence, a sharp, steady knock sounded against our bedroom door.

"Come in," I called out, standing up.

The heavy door opened, and Dominic stepped inside the room. His face was hard, cold, and set in serious lines.

"We found the spy, Boss," Dominic stated plainly.

Aria gasped softly, her dark eyes going wide as she looked between Dominic and me.

"Show me," I said, my voice dropping into an icy tone.

We walked down the stairs together, the heavy silence of the house pressing against us. As we reached the main landing, Dominic explained how they caught the traitor.

"After our security briefing two days ago, Antonio and Marcus used our secondary signal technology to monitor every private text and phone call leaving this estate," Dominic said, walking beside us.

"An hour ago, a hidden encrypted message was sent from one of our internal comms devices straight to an offshore server used by Gabriel's team."

When we stepped into the bright living room, a mid-level security guard was kneeling in the middle of the floor. His hands were bound behind his back, and two of my heavy tactical men stood on either side of him.

Aria stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me. "Brandon, I am going to go upstairs and make sure Amelia stays in her room so she does not see this."

I reached out, gently catching her hand, and shook my head. "No, stay beside me."

Instead, I turned my head toward one of the guards standing near the hallway. "Go upstairs to the nursery. Tell the nanny to keep Amelia inside her room until I give the order to move."

Aria looked at me, confusion clear on her face. "Brandon, why are you keeping me down here for this?"

I looked into her dark eyes, holding her hand tight. "Because I promised I would never hide anything from you ever again, Aria. You belong by my side through all of it."

Aria touched my arm gently, giving a quiet nod of agreement.

I turned my body toward the kneeling guard, my expression turning dead cold as I stepped up to him.

"What were you sending to Gabriel?" I asked, my voice flat, low, and dangerous.

The man collapsed forward onto his knees, sobbing openly against the hard floor. Tears and sweat ran down his pale face.

"I am sorry, Boss," the guard cried out, his voice shaking uncontrollably. "Please, I had no choice. I have been working for Gabriel for three years. He found out where my wife and daughter live. He threatened to kidnap my little girl and hurt her if I did not pass along your security movements. She is still with my wife, and Gabriel's men are watching their house right now. I was only trying to keep my child safe."

I looked down at him without a single trace of pity. In my world, treason was treason, regardless of the excuse. But I knew how to turn a bad situation into a useful tool.

"What is Gabriel's actual plan for today?" I demanded.

"Gabriel's men already know the exact highway route you planned to use for the safe house transfer," the man confessed, choking on his breath.

"There is a heavily armed ambush waiting for the motorcade three miles down the valley road. Gabriel promised me that if I confirmed the exact time Miss Aria and the child left the gates, my family would be spared."

I did not believe a single word about Gabriel sparing anyone, but the information was valuable. Gabriel was walking straight into our trap, thinking he held all the cards.

I turned my head toward Antonio, who was standing near the front door holding a small, clear plastic bag.

"What is our play, Antonio?" I asked.

Antonio stepped forward, pulling a thin black phone out of the plastic bag and handing it directly back to the weeping guard.

"You are going to send another message to Gabriel right now," Antonio commanded the man, his tone completely emotionless. "You will tell him that Miss Aria and little Miss Amelia have just left the estate gates in the armored SUV, and that they are heading straight down the valley route toward the safe house."

The guard looked up with wide, tear-filled eyes and nodded rapidly. "Yes, okay. I will send it right now."

Antonio turned his attention back to me, laying out the final step of the trap.

"We will send out our secondary armored cars flanked by our main motorcade as a full decoy," Antonio explained calmly.

"Gabriel's ambush team will strike the decoy, thinking Miss Aria and the child are inside. The tactical men inside those armored cars are fully prepared to take down and apprehend every single one of Gabriel's men on that road."

I looked at Antonio, then turned to look at Aria, who gave me a firm, trusting nod.

"Do it," I ordered. "Send the decoy out."

TBC...