Chapter 10 - Mr. Galloway’s Umbrella
The rain tapped rhythmically against the taut nylon of Mr. Galloway’s umbrella. In the darkness, his silver hair shone faintly under the distant glow of the streetlamp. He looked more like a bank director than an underworld financier, but the absolute stillness in his eyes betrayed a terrifying lack of human warmth.
Maya stopped crying. The sheer oddity of the dark silhouette holding the round black dome above his head captured her attention. She sniffled, her breath hitching, a fresh tear catching the ambient light as she peered over Elena’s shoulder.
""Galloway,"" David said, stepping completely between Elena and the weapon. ""Let them walk. I'll go with you. I'll work off every dollar. Every single cent.""
""Work it off?"" Galloway tilted his head, a mild look of amusement playing on his lips. ""At thirty dollars an hour doing whatever pathetic blue-collar job you found out here in the woods? It would take you three lifetimes, David. I am a businessman. I don't give interest-free loans to sentimental cowards.""
""She was dying!"" David spat, his fists clenching at his sides. ""She was born with her lungs half-formed! What was I supposed to do? Let her suffocate in an incubator while your vaults sat full of stolen blood money?""
""You were supposed to be loyal,"" Galloway said softly. He raised the silenced barrel, pointing it directly at David's forehead. ""You chose a stranger over the family that made you.""
""She's not a stranger,"" Elena whispered from behind David, her voice shaking with a mother's primal fury. ""She's his daughter.""
Galloway didn't look at Elena. ""A child is just a future debtor, Mrs. Miller. Or whatever fake surname you're using this week.""
His finger tightened on the trigger.
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A loud metallic crunch echoed from the side gate. A heavy iron crowbar tore through the darkness, striking Galloway squarely across the shoulder and neck with a sickening crack.
The umbrella flew upward into the wind. Galloway staggered sideways into the wet rose bushes, his silenced pistol firing once into the mud with a hollow thwump.
