Chapter 6 - The Price of Betrayal
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“Victor, please,” Gregory wept, blood soaking through his expensive suit jacket. “Fourteen years! I stood by you when Elena died! I helped you bury your son! You owe me mercy!”
The mention of his dead wife and child was the final, fatal mistake.
The air in the warehouse seemed to freeze. Hannah watched in terrified awe as Victor’s entire posture shifted. The composed mafia boss vanished, replaced entirely by an apex predator.
“You invoke their names to save your own life,” Victor whispered, his voice vibrating with a terrifying, absolute darkness. “You stood at their graves, and then you tried to murder a mother and make her child an orphan. You don't deserve the memory of my family.”
Victor raised his gun.
Hannah squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face away.
Crack.
The sound echoed through the rafters. When Hannah opened her eyes, Gregory Vance was lying motionless on the concrete floor. The silence that followed was suffocating, heavy with the reality of what had just occurred.
Victor lowered his weapon. He didn't look at the body. He smoothly holstered the gun and turned to Hannah.
She was staring at him, expecting to feel horrified by the execution she had just witnessed. But as she looked at Victor—at the blood on his hands and the rain soaking his clothes—she didn't feel fear. She felt an overwhelming, profound sense of safety. He had done exactly what he had promised. He had saved her.
Victor took off his heavy, expensive cashmere overcoat. He stepped forward and wrapped it gently around Hannah’s shivering, rain-soaked shoulders. The coat smelled of cedar and gunpowder.
“Come,” Victor said softly, offering her his hand. “Let’s go home.”
Hannah hesitated for a fraction of a second before placing her small hand in his large, calloused one. His grip was firm, anchoring her to reality.
May you like
He led her out of the warehouse, guiding her away from the blood and the betrayal. The storm outside was still raging, but as they climbed into the back of the armored SUV, the chaos felt miles away.
Marcus put the car in gear and sped away into the night, leaving the ruined estate manager to the ghosts of the harbor.
