Chapter 8 - The Price of Treason
Liam Carroway froze. The red dots danced across his soaked umbrella, his forehead, and the bridge of his nose.
From the shadows of the alleyways, heavy black tactical vans rolled forward, cutting off Carroway's retreat. Gabriel’s Vanguard unit—ex-military contractors who answered only to the Vance family trust—emerged silently, assault rifles raised to their shoulders.
"You think I crossed the river with only three cars, Liam?" Gabriel said, stepping down the stairs into the pouring rain. Elena was breathing steadily against his neck, shielded by his body. "You think Julian Sterling’s dirty money was worth dying for?"
Carroway’s cigar slipped from his lips, splashing into a puddle. "Vance... wait. Sterling said this was an internal corporate dispute. He paid me fifty thousand to let his cleaners sweep the block!"
"His cleaner is Elena Miller," Gabriel said, stopping five paces from Carroway. "And you let his animals put their hands on her."
Carroway lowered his shotgun, his hands trembling. His ten men instantly dropped their weapons onto the wet pavement with a symphony of clattering steel, raising their hands in surrender.
"I didn't know, Gabriel! I swear on my mother's grave, I didn't know about any kid!" Carroway stammered, stepping backward until he hit the bumper of his Cadillac.
Gabriel reached the door of the Maybach. The driver unlocked it from within, and Gabriel carefully laid Elena onto the wide leather bench seat. Mia instantly scrambled over, wrapping her small arms around her mother’s bruised neck, burying her face into her shoulder.
"Mommy... Mommy, wake up," Mia cried softly.
Elena opened her eyes weakly, her fingers tangling into Mia’s messy brown hair. "Mia... my sweet girl..."
Dr. Evans, who had just arrived escorted by two Vanguard operators, pushed through with his medical kit, immediately securing an oxygen mask to Elena’s face and setting up an IV bag hanging from the coat hook.
"Malnutrition, severe dehydration, and bruised ribs, but she will survive," Dr. Evans said after a rapid examination. "She needs an intensive care unit immediately."
Gabriel shut the car door, locking the world of blood away from the mother and child.
He turned back to Carroway.
"Sterling is currently in my cold storage," Gabriel said. "He has forty minutes left of his seventy-seven. You will accompany me back to my estate, Liam. Because tonight, the city's ledger gets rewritten."
"And if I say no?" Carroway croaked, his face gray.
Gabriel drew his sidearm and shot Carroway through the right kneecap.
May you like
The old mob boss shrieked, collapsing into the filthy street puddle. Gabriel walked up to him, looking down with eyes of pure flint.
"That wasn't an invitation, Liam. That was a court summons."
