Page 27 of His Forced Irish Mafia Bride

Samuel Anton was behind the attack. I read it once, then again, not because the information changes, but because the implications needed time to settle. Declan had read the report by the time I lowered my phone.

“It’s him,” Declan said quietly.

I didn’t respond immediately. We moved away from the main floor up to the penthouse, where we couldn’t be overheard.

The world outside kept functioning, unaware of the shift that had just occurred inside this one discovery.

I finally spoke. “No more uncertainty.”

Declan nodded once. “The strike coordination matches his pattern. Not random aggression. Structured attacks.”

Samuel Anton hadn’t just reached into my perimeter. He’d tested it. He’d forced a reaction to see how I would bend under pressure.

And Maeve had been in the line of fire when it happened. That detail didn’t need emphasis. It carried enough weight on its own.

“He wanted to test your reaction,” Declan continued, more carefully now. “If you respond slowly, he learns how patient you are. If you respond aggressively, he learns your thresholds.”

My expression didn’t change.

“So it was never about getting access to the building,” I said.

Declan hesitated slightly. “No. Maeve was part of the calculations.”

That was the first time my attention shifted fully onto the implication rather than the report itself. Maeve was no longer tied to Patrick in any meaningful way, which limited the scope of this. She was inside my orbit now, which meant she was a target for everyone who wanted to destabilize me.

Declan watched me carefully now, reading the change happening in real time. It was subtle but unmistakable, the kind of adjustment that came from ownership of risk.

“You’re taking this personally,” Declan said.

I don’t deny it. “She won’t be collateral damage in this.”

Declan’s expression tightened slightly, but he said nothing further.

Then the message arrived. Maeve had entered the building. I read it once, and then I moved. The chair shifted behind me as I stood, but I was halfway out of the office before the sound fully registered.

Declan followed immediately, but didn’t speak. There was no need.

The elevator doors closed behind her, and the first thing I felt was pressure. Maeve stepped in like she owned her mistake and was waiting for me to correct it.

The staff vanished immediately, and the elevator doors closed behind Declan. The silence they left behind was sharp enough to cut into the air. She held my gaze.

“Really?” she said. “Have you been waiting for me like this the entire time I was gone?”

I didn’t move. “Where were you?” It wasn’t a gentle question.

She exhaled through her nose. “Out.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting.”

The space between us tensed. My jaw shifted slightly. . “You left without security,” I said.

Her expression hardened immediately. “I left without guards. I don’t need permission from you.”

I stepped forward once. Not enough to close the distance fully, but enough that it became noticeable. She didn’t move back.

That choice changed something in the room, though neither of us acknowledged it. “You were exposed,” I said, more firmly now.