Children of Ambition (Children of Vice 2)

“Cain is AI?” Gabriel grinned, nodding to himself as he walked slowly up to the walls of the room.

“Cain, there is an intruder.”

“Scanning.” The room flashed. “No intruder found.”

“What?” I asked, staring wide-eyed at the man before me. There was no way in hell he could mask himself in here. “Identify occupants.”

“Helen Badass Callahan and Gabriel, found,” Cain answered.

I wanted to groan when Gabriel turned around and looked at me, a wide grin on his lips. “Don’t.”

He raised his hands up in defense. “I didn’t say anything.”

Moving to the glass table in the center of room, I opened my laptop and tried to figure out why he was identified. The only way that could happen was if someone put him in the system…my system.

“Evelyn told me about this, but I didn’t believe it,” he said, still in awe. For the second time, I paused, looking at him.

“My grandmother couldn’t have given you access—”

“She said she’d make her son do it.”

“Dad,” I sneered through clenched teeth. I knew someone had been in the system! I’d spent few days trying to rewire the whole system, thinking someone had hacked me and it was my own father! Taking the tie out of my hair, I tossed it on the table and scratched the side of my head.

“What does Cain stand for?”

“Callahan Active-Matrix Information Networking System,” I replied, taking a seat in the white curved hourglass chair behind me.

“Evelyn said it allows you to find people anywhere in the word?”

Ethan was going to be pissed once he learned Gabriel had been in here. He might even end up killing him. Cain was a secret we didn’t even talk about within the family, despite the fact that we all knew it existed.

“Not exactly,” I answered. “It allows us to use facial recognition and cross-reference it with security cameras all around the world.”

But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Gabriel glanced over his shoulder at me. “Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No, it isn’t. If you go underground and off the grid, we’ll only know the last place—none of that is important right now. Why are you here? Why did my father give you access to this? And most importantly, is he the reason we can’t find out who the hell you are?”

“They weren’t joking around when they say crime has become organized,” he replied, ignoring me. “Who would have thought the Mafia would become the eye in the sky like this—”

“Gabriel, I’m not one for violence, but I can call some people who are.”

“Helen,” he sighed like he was exhausted then walked around the table, leaning on one of the chairs. “I come in peace, I swear.”

“Liar.” I knew that much for fact. “People who come in peace don’t come near our family. If you are here, it means you are here for war. But war with who?”

“Cain, can I see a map of Europe?” he asked and just like that, the pixels came together to form the map he’d asked for.

“You’re at war with Europe?” I asked, watching him as he looked over the map without answering. “You’re truly pushing your luck. Ethan is going to kill you for being in here, and maybe even my father and grandmother for granting you access. It’s only for family—”

“I’ll just have to make sure I become family, then.” he smiled and I could see the small dimple in his cheek. It was chilling, the way he smiled; he looked so innocent and so sweet. You’d never think he was the same man who’d dropped a pair of severed hands on Donatella’s plate. “That’s the real reason I’m here, anyway.”

“Here in the mansion or here in this room?” I questioned.

“Both,” he replied, looking around the room. “But before I get to my main point, I want know…would you build this…another Cain—?”

“No,” I replied.