Underworld Submission (book 1)

A Return to Betrayal

Dom's office was a disaster. Papers were strewn across the floor, furniture overturned, and the walls were scarred with the aftermath of his uncontrollable rage. His breath came in heavy, uneven bursts as his eyes flicked to the shattered glass on his desk. His best friend, Marco, stood across from him, watching in grim silence as Dom grappled with the gravity of the situation. His top men stood nearby, huddled around a table covered with blueprints, their eyes filled with concern and frustration.Adrian had been taken. And Dom's brother, Elias, was responsible.Dom clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The video that Elias had sent burned in his mind—Adrian, tied up in a dark, damp cell, bruised but alive. His mouth had been gagged, his wrists bound by rough ropes. Elias' mocking voice echoed through the message, dripping with cruelty."I told you, brother. You could never protect what's yours. Now, I'll make Adrian mine before I take everything else from you."Dom's heart raged with fury. He felt like he was about to explode. How could he have let this happen? How had Elias outmaneuvered him once again? Marco stepped in front of him, voice calm but firm. "Dom, you need to get it together. I know you're pissed, and you have every right to be. But right now, losing control isn't going to help Adrian. We need a plan."Dom looked up, his eyes wild with rage. "He's got Adrian, Marco. And he's going to—""I know what he's going to do!" Marco snapped, cutting him off. "But we can't get him back if you're blinded by your anger. You want to save him? Then you need to focus."Dom swallowed hard, trying to rein in his fury. He took a few deep breaths, the weight of Marco's words sinking in. He nodded slowly, stepping back toward the center of the room where his top men were gathered.One of them, Dante, their top hacker, was hunched over a laptop, fingers flying across the keys as he worked to track Elias' location. The tension in the room was palpable as the seconds ticked by. Finally, Dante's face lit up with a grim smile."I found them," he said, turning the laptop toward Dom. "It's a warehouse on the outskirts of town. The same warehouse Elias set you up in years ago."Dom's stomach twisted at the revelation. The warehouse. The place where Elias had nearly killed him and tried to take everything from him. And now, Elias had brought the nightmare full circle, taking Adrian there to finish what he had started all those years ago.Marco let out a low whistle, rubbing his chin. "He's sending you a message, Dom. This is personal. He wants you to come to him, to that place."Dom stared at the map on the screen, the layout of the warehouse burned into his memory. He could practically hear the echoes of gunfire from the night of his betrayal. But this time, he wasn't going to walk into Elias' trap unprepared."We're going in," Dom said, voice hard with resolve. "I don't care how many men he has, or what his plan is. We're getting Adrian back. And we're ending this."Marco and the other men nodded in agreement, and they began poring over the blueprints of the warehouse. Dom's eyes narrowed as he studied the layout, pointing out key entry points and potential ambush locations."We'll approach from the north and the east," Dom said, his voice cool and calculated now. "We'll hit them from both sides. Dante, you're going to disable their surveillance systems. I don't want them to see us coming. Marco, you'll take the lead on the north side, and I'll go in from the east with my team. We need to be fast and precise. No mistakes."His men nodded, their faces grim with determination. There was no room for error.Marco glanced at Dom, his expression serious. "What about Elias? If you see him, what's the plan?"Dom paused for a moment, his jaw tightening. He didn't want to kill his brother—not if he didn't have to. But Elias had crossed a line that couldn't be uncrossed. If it came down to a final confrontation, Dom knew what he had to do."If I see him, I'll handle it," Dom said, his voice low. "But right now, the priority is Adrian."As they finalized the plan, the weight of the mission settled heavily on Dom's shoulders. This wasn't just about saving Adrian. This was about ending the war between him and Elias once and for all. The warehouse had been the scene of his betrayal years ago—now it would be the battleground for his revenge.Dom's mind briefly flashed back to Adrian, tied up and helpless in that cell. He couldn't let Elias win. Not again. He wouldn't lose Adrian the way he had nearly lost everything else.With the plan in place, Dom straightened up and locked eyes with Marco."We move tonight. No hesitation. No mercy."The men around him nodded, ready for whatever was to come. This time, Dom wasn't going to be caught off guard. This time, he would finish what his brother had started.As they prepared to leave, Dom took one final look at the wreckage of his office—a symbol of the chaos Elias had unleashed in his life. But when the dust settled, Dom knew one thing for sure.He was going to get Adrian back. And Elias would pay for every second of pain he had caused.This time, Dom wouldn't let him escape.
Adrian slowly came to, his head throbbing and his vision blurred. The cold, hard surface beneath him was jarring as he struggled to make sense of his surroundings. Blinking against the faint light that barely illuminated the room, he tried to move but found his wrists tightly bound. He was in a cell—a dim, claustrophobic space that reeked of damp stone and decay.For a moment, panic surged through him. The last thing he remembered was the explosion, the smoke, and then nothing. His heart pounded as he glanced around, the realization of his capture sinking in like a heavy weight."Finally awake, are we?"The voice sent a chill down Adrian's spine. He slowly turned his head, and through the dim light, he saw a figure standing at the far end of the room. Tall, with an unsettling calmness about him, the man stepped forward. His sharp features and cold eyes were strikingly familiar. He looked like Dom—only twisted, darker, with a cruel smirk playing on his lips."You must be wondering where you are... and who I am," the man said, his tone dripping with mockery. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Elias, Dom's brother."Adrian's mind raced. Dom's brother? The man Dom had mentioned in passing, the one who had betrayed him all those years ago. But seeing him now, standing before him with that calculated malice, it all started to make sense. Elias was the ghost from Dom's past—the brother who had nearly destroyed him."You know, I should really thank you," Elias continued, his voice smooth as silk. "If it weren't for you, my brother wouldn't be so... vulnerable right now. He thinks he's strong, but love makes people weak. It blinds them, makes them desperate. And that's exactly what I need him to be."Adrian clenched his jaw, his instincts screaming that this man was not only dangerous but utterly unhinged."I'm sure Dom told you about me," Elias went on, pacing slowly around the cell. "He probably left out the part where he stole everything from me—our father's favor, the mafia, the power. He was always the golden boy, and I was... well, I was left with nothing."Elias' voice grew sharper, his bitterness rising to the surface. "But that's okay. Because now, I get to take something from him. And it's something he values more than anything else—you."Adrian's stomach twisted with dread. Elias was clearly out for revenge, and Adrian had become his weapon of choice. But even through the fear that gnawed at him, Adrian's thoughts turned to Dom. If anyone could get him out of this, it was Dom. He just had to hold on, to stay calm long enough for Dom to find him."You know," Elias said, crouching down in front of Adrian, his gaze cold and predatory, "I could end you right now. It would be so easy. But where's the fun in that? No, I want Dom to come here. I want him to see what happens when you try to take everything from me."Adrian locked eyes with Elias, refusing to show any fear. "You're a madman," he muttered through gritted teeth.Elias chuckled darkly. "Maybe. But you'll soon learn that madness is just another word for clarity. I've seen the truth, Adrian. Power is everything. And love? Love is just a weapon to use against your enemies."Adrian's mind raced. Elias was dangerous, but he was also obsessed with Dom. If he could keep him talking, buy time somehow, maybe Dom would have a chance to track him down. He just needed to survive long enough for Dom to get here."Dom will come for me," Adrian said, his voice steady despite the growing fear inside him. "And when he does, you won't stand a chance."Elias' smirk widened. "Oh, I'm counting on it. But make no mistake, Adrian—this time, I'm ready for him. And when he arrives, I'll make sure he watches every moment of your suffering before I finish what I started all those years ago."Adrian's heart pounded in his chest. He knew he was dealing with someone beyond reason—a man consumed by vengeance. All he could do now was hope, pray that Dom was already on his way. Elias rose to his feet, his smirk fading into something more menacing. "Rest up, Adrian. This is only the beginning."As Elias left the room, the heavy door clanged shut behind him, leaving Adrian alone in the cold, suffocating darkness.