Chapter 2 - The Midnight Knock
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I didn't wait to be officially fired. I grabbed my coat, slipped out the back alley door, and ran three blocks to the subway station.
My heart hammered against my ribs the entire train ride back to my cramped, run-down apartment. Two years of dodging collection calls for my late mother's medical debts had made me jumpy, but this was different. You didn't walk away from the Perrys. You definitely didn't disrespect them in public.
I locked my deadbolt, threw my wet clothes in the sink, and checked my bank app. Four hundred and twelve dollars. Barely enough for groceries, let alone a bus ticket out of the state.
I was pouring myself a glass of cheap tap water when the knock came.
Three sharp, heavy raps on my front door.
I froze. It was 1:00 AM.
"Who is it?" I called out, my voice betraying a slight tremor.
"Management," a deep, unfamiliar voice replied.
I didn't have management. My landlord was a seventy-year-old woman who lived in Florida. I crept toward the peephole and looked through.
A massive man in a tailored black suit stood in the dim hallway. Behind him, leaning casually against the peeling wallpaper, was Leandro Perry.
My breath hitched. He had found me in less than three hours.
"Open the door, Maya," Leandro's voice drifted through the thin wood. It was smooth, devoid of anger, which somehow made it infinitely more terrifying. "We need to have a conversation about your employment file."
I backed away from the door, my mind racing. There was no fire escape. No back door. I was trapped.
"If you don't open it," Leandro added calmly, "my associate will take it off its hinges. And I’d rather not disturb your neighbors."
My hands shook as I reached for the deadbolt. I turned the lock and slowly pulled the door open.
May you like
Leandro stepped inside, his dark eyes sweeping over my tiny, cramped living room. He looked wildly out of place, a billionaire kingpin standing on my thrift-store rug.
"Nice place," he lied, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Let's talk about the secret you think you know about my sister."
