Chapter 7 - The Pharmacy on Maple Street
The tension in the basement could have cut glass. Vance turned slowly, a thin, mocking smile playing on his lips even as the muzzle of Daniel’s gun locked dead-center on his chest.
"Careful with that, Daniel," Vance laughed softly, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Your sweet little wife was just getting acquainted with your family history. She was reading all about your little medical miracle in Zurich. Tell me, does she know that carrying a Choi heir makes her the most hunted woman in Chicago?"
Daniel’s obsidian eyes flicked past Vance for a fraction of a second, locking onto the dark corner where Ava cowered behind the filing cabinet. A muscle feathered in Daniel’s jaw, tightening so hard it looked like the bone might snap.
"Get out," Daniel whispered, his voice dropping an octave into a terrifying register. "Or I will scatter your remains across Lake Michigan before sunrise."
Vance chuckled, stepping backward toward the stairs. "This isn't over, Choi. Bloodlines are messy things. And secrets always bleed through."
As Vance’s footsteps faded away upstairs, Daniel didn't lower his gun immediately. He stood in the center of the room in silence for three agonizing minutes before turning his head toward Ava’s hiding spot.
"Come out," he commanded quietly.
Ava stepped out from the shadows, her knees trembling so badly she could barely stand. She expected rage. She expected him to lock her away or scream at her for snooping. Instead, Daniel stared at her with a heavy, exhausted storm brewing in his dark eyes.
"You knew," Ava whispered, her voice cracking. "The medical reports... they were a lie. You knew you could have children."
Daniel walked slowly toward her, dropping the safety on his gun and sliding it into his shoulder holster. He stopped inches away from her, the warmth of his body radiating against her cold skin.
May you like
"I knew," Daniel said softly, reaching out to gently brush a stray lock of hair from her pale forehead. "And now, so do you. Which means we have less than twenty-four hours to disappear before every syndicate in the country finds out what's growing inside you."
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