Chapter 2 - The Bill Comes Due
Vincent Kane did not rush.
He didn't yell. He didn't wave his arms. Men with true power never have to hurry.
He buttoned his suit jacket, adjusting his cuffs with terrifying precision, and began to walk across the dining room floor.
The sea of tables parted for him. Waiters froze with trays of hot food mid-air. Wealthy patrons suddenly found their shoes incredibly interesting.
I trailed behind him, my tiny sneakers squeaking against the polished wood.
David Sterling’s face drained of all color. He looked like a man who had just seen a ghost, or worse, his own executioner. He scrambled to pick up his keys, but his hands were shaking so badly he kicked them under a stool instead.
“Mr. Kane,” Sterling stammered, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Is everything alright with your meal? The veal is on the house today, of course—”
“David,” Vincent interrupted. His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the room like a blade. “I just had a very interesting conversation with my new associate.”
Vincent gestured down to me.
Sterling’s eyes bugged out. He finally noticed me standing by Vincent’s leg.
“Rory? What are you doing out here? Where is Clara?” Sterling panicked, his voice pitching high. “Mr. Kane, I apologize. The dishwasher's kid wandered out. I'll have them both thrown out immediately—”
Vincent took one step closer. The air around him seemed to drop ten degrees.
“If you speak about my new associate or her mother like that again, David, I will have my men remove your tongue. Do we understand each other?”
Sterling swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed violently. “Y-yes. Yes, sir.”
Vincent held up the crumpled piece of paper with the purple stars.
“You owe this child’s mother five thousand, four hundred, and thirty dollars, and thirty cents. Is this correct?”
“It's... it's a misunderstanding! Cash flow has been tight. The renovations, the new supplier—”
Vincent slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick, silver money clip. He peeled off several crisp hundred-dollar bills and dropped them onto the bar.
“That pays for my lunch,” Vincent said softly.
Then he looked at Sterling's trembling hands.
“Now, you are going to open your safe. You are going to give this child every single penny you owe her mother. And because you made her draw purple stars on the nights she went hungry, you are going to add a ten thousand dollar inconvenience fee.”
Sterling gasped. “Ten thousand?! Mr. Kane, I don't have that in the safe! I swear to you! I just bought—”
“The Porsche,” Vincent finished for him. “I know. Hand me the keys, David.”
“But—”
One of Vincent’s bodyguards, the one with the scar, stepped forward and simply cleared his throat.
Sterling dropped to his knees, retrieved the keys from under the stool, and placed them in Vincent’s outstretched palm.
“Rory,” Vincent said, looking down at me. “Hold out your hands.”
I cupped my small hands together. Vincent placed the heavy ring of keys into my palms.
“Give these to your mother. Tell her the car is hers now. She can sell it, keep it, or drive it into the river. If David here disputes the title transfer, he will have to speak with me.”
Suddenly, the kitchen doors burst open.
My mother, Clara, rushed out, her apron stained with dishwater and panic in her eyes.
“Rory! Oh my god, Rory!”
She froze when she saw me standing next to the most notorious crime boss in the city, holding the keys to her boss's car.
Vincent turned to my mother. He offered a polite, surprisingly gentle nod.
“Clara, I presume?”
My mother was trembling, terrified she was about to be killed. “P-please. She's just a little girl. I'm sorry if she bothered you—”
“She didn't bother me,” Vincent said smoothly. “She simply audited your employer. He was found lacking.”
May you like
Vincent turned his cold gaze back to Sterling, who was practically weeping against the bar.
“Open the safe, David. Right now. Or you won't be walking out of this building.”
