Chapter 10 - The Vulnerable Giant
Victor carried the shivering toddler toward the mansion’s medical wing with a surprising gentleness that completely shattered his tough exterior. Elena rushed close behind, watching as the towering, scarred man meticulously sterilized a syringe and adjusted an IV drip under the dim emergency lights. The toddler whimpered, his tiny fingers clutching tightly to Victor’s black shirt as he looked up into the hard face of the man who had terrified him earlier. Softly, with a voice barely above a whisper, the boy asked, “Why are you scary?” Victor froze. A slow, achingly tender smile broke across his rugged face as he stroked the boy’s curly dark hair, whispering back that monsters only scare the bad guys, never the brave ones.
Elena watched the exchange from across the sterile room, a knot loosening in her chest for the first time in years. Victor turned to her, handing her a warm towel and a cup of water, his touch lingering for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. But the brief moment of warmth was shattered when the medical wing’s internal comms crackled to life, broadcasting a chilling, distorted voice calling out Victor’s name from the courtyard below.
