Chapter 2 - The Traitor in the Room
The heavy silence in the study was shattered by Alejandro’s ragged breathing.
The medicine was working, forcing his airways open, fighting the toxin in his blood.
Marcus, the tall guard, stared at the blinking red light behind the books.
His face drained of blood.
“Turn that off,” Marcus snapped at Leo.
But Leo didn’t move. He looked from the camera to Alejandro, who was slowly pushing himself up on one elbow.
Alejandro’s dark eyes locked onto Marcus.
Even weakened, the mafia boss radiated a terrifying aura.
“You,” Alejandro rasped, his voice rough like sandpaper.
Marcus took a step back, his hand instinctively dropping toward the holster at his waist.
“Boss, it was an accident. The wine—”
“You poured it,” Alejandro whispered.
I sat frozen on the floor, clutching my empty injector.
I didn’t understand everything about adults, but I understood danger.
Marcus drew his weapon.
He didn’t point it at Alejandro first.
He pointed it at me.
“No witnesses,” Marcus muttered, his hands shaking. “The Romanos promised me a million dollars. I’m not dying in this room.”
Before he could pull the trigger, the heavy oak doors burst open.
Silas, Alejandro’s right-hand man, stormed in.
He took in the scene in a fraction of a second.
The boss on the floor. The little girl. The drawn gun.
Silas didn’t hesitate.
A single shot rang out, deafening in the enclosed space.
Marcus dropped his weapon, falling to his knees clutching his shoulder, then collapsed entirely.
Leo instantly raised his hands in surrender, terrified.
Silas rushed to Alejandro’s side, kicking Marcus’s gun across the room.
“Boss. Are you—”
“I’m alive,” Alejandro coughed, sitting up fully now.
He looked down at me.
I was shaking, my ears ringing from the gunshot, but I hadn’t cried.
“Silas,” Alejandro said, his voice gaining strength.
“Yes, Boss?”
“Secure the room. Take the memory card from that camera. And find this child’s mother.”
He gently released my wrist, which he had been holding the entire time.
“What is your name, little one?” he asked softly.
May you like
“Emma,” I whispered.
“Well, Emma,” the most feared man in the city said, a strange emotion crossing his face. “You just saved my empire.”
