Men who’d profited from illegal gambling and protection payments accused him of weakness. Adrian refused to change course. Warehouses once used for smuggling became licensed distribution centers.

His trucking companies signed legal commercial contracts. Gambling rooms closed or reopened under regulated ownership. Employees who wanted legitimate work received training and positions; those who refused were paid what they were owed and told to leave.

Adrian cooperated quietly with investigators where he could without endangering innocent employees. He paid fines. He lost money. For the first time in his life, he accepted consequences rather than making them disappear.

One evening, Rourke found him in the nursery assembling a wooden mobile above Lucas’s crib. “You’re holding the instructions upside down,” Rourke said.

Adrian looked at the paper. “I was testing whether you’d notice.”

“Of course.”