Chapter 4 - BLOOD ON THE LEDGER
We didn't go back to the gleaming tower. We descended into the criminal underbelly that Nathaniel Graves secretly controlled. The corporate facade was stripped away, revealing the apex predator of the city's mafia network.
The docks were shrouded in a thick, salty fog. I was left in the armored SUV with two guards, but I couldn't sit still. Slipping out when they were distracted by radio chatter, I crept through the damp shipping containers, the sound of the churning water masking my footsteps.
Inside Warehouse 4, bound to a chair under a harsh halogen light, was my mother. She looked bruised, but her eyes were defiant. Pacing in front of her was Salvatore Moretti, the ruthless underboss of the rival family.
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"Graves took my brother twelve years ago," Salvatore spat. "Now, I take his heart."
Before he could raise his weapon, the warehouse doors blew off their hinges. Nathaniel stepped through the smoke like a demon summoned from the depths. A firefight erupted, a chaotic symphony of gunfire and shattering glass. I watched in terrified awe as my father fought not for territory or money, but for the family he thought he had lost.
