Chapter 2 - The Velvet Cage
The black Maybach cut through the rain-drenched streets of the metropolis like an apex predator prowling in the dark. Inside the vehicle, Elena sat as far from Viktor as the leather bench allowed, holding a sterile gauze compress tightly against her left shoulder.
""I have an apartment,"" Elena said, trying to steady the tremor in her voice. ""I have a life, Mr. Vane. You can't just abduct someone because they did their job.""
Viktor sat across from her, his long legs crossed, his tailored jacket draped over the seat next to him. Across his lap, Leo was already asleep, exhausted by the shock, small fingers still tangled in Elena’s discarded apron.
""You possess an expired lease in the Lower District, three months of overdue utility bills, and a brother who owes sixty thousand to the docks syndicate,"" Viktor replied smoothly, not even glancing at the tablet in his hands.
Elena went rigid. The cold interior air seemed to freeze in her throat. ""You had me investigated in twenty minutes?""
""Ten. The other ten were spent securing the restaurant’s surveillance tapes and executing the man who tipped the tray."" Viktor’s tone was so casual he might have been discussing the weather. He looked up, his obsidian eyes fixing her with predatory calm. ""You didn't just save my son, Miss Vance. You ruined a hit that took the Silvano family six months to orchestrate. By midnight, your picture will be circulated among every gun for hire between here and the coast.""
The truth slammed into her chest with physical weight. She looked out the tinted window at the towering, rain-slicked skyscrapers blurring past. The modest life she had struggled to maintain—the night shifts, the cheap ramen, the desperate attempts to shield her younger brother from the underbelly of the city—had collapsed within a single second under a rain of crystal.
""Then let me go to the police,"" she whispered.
Viktor let out a low, dry chuckle that held no humor. ""The police chief is currently dining on Silvano money. If you walk into a precinct, you will be in a body bag before morning.""
The car turned through heavy wrought-iron gates, ascending a winding driveway flanked by manicured pines and heavily armed sentries dressed in black tactical gear. The estate rose into the night sky like a fortress of dark stone and bulletproof glass.
""This is Blackwood Manor,"" Viktor said as the car came to a smooth halt. ""Inside these walls, you are untouched. Outside, you are dead.""
The driver opened the door. Viktor stepped out, shifting Leo effortlessly into one arm before turning back and offering his other hand to Elena.
May you like
""Walk with me, Elena,"" he said, using her first name for the first time with an intimacy that made her stomach twist. ""Or remain in the dark.""
Hesitating, she placed her hand into his warm, scarred palm. As she stepped out onto the gravel, a distant rifle shot echoed from the tree line, snapping the mirror off the car door just inches from her cheek.
