Chapter 66 The Fall Of The Ashfords

• The Ashford estate was a fortress of old money, its sprawling grounds walled by stone and guarded by men who mistook paychecks for loyalty. The iron gates gleamed beneath floodlights, cameras rotated lazily, and from the outside it appeared untouchable. But Damien Blackwood had dismantled empires far stronger, and tonight, the Ashfords would learn that no fortress was built high enough to withstand vengeance.
• Ivy sat in the convoy’s lead vehicle, the hum of the engine vibrating beneath her palms as she clutched the gun Damien had placed in her hand. She should have been trembling—her pulse should have raced with the weight of what was about to happen—but instead there was a startling calm. For years, her life had been dictated by the Ashfords’ decisions, their cruelty, their betrayal. Tonight, for the first time, she held control.
• Damien’s voice cut through the silence, low and unyielding. “Remember what we discussed. You move when I say. You shoot when I nod. And you don’t hesitate.”