Chapter 8 - SHADOWS AT THE DOOR
Before Victor could answer, the rear heavy metal door of the community kitchen was violently kicked open.
The loud metallic crash shattered the emotional confrontation. Three men stepped into the warm light of the kitchen. They were not Victor's loyal associates; they were dressed in tactical black jackets, their faces cold, carrying heavy silenced pistols.
At the front of the group stood Marcus, Victor’s former lieutenant who had been exiled three years ago for unsanctioned violence in the ward.
"Well, well, well," Marcus sneered, his voice dripping with malice as he stepped over the threshold, his gun trained directly on Victor’s chest. "Look at the big mob boss... playing house with the neighborhood charity."
Victor instantly shifted his body, positioning his large frame directly between Marcus’s gun and Noah. All thoughts of his own emotional destruction vanished, replaced by the lethal, protective instincts of a wolf.
"Marcus," Victor growled, his gravelly voice dropping into a register of pure death. "You step one foot closer to that boy, and I will rip you apart with my bare hands."
Marcus chuckled darkly, signaling his two armed men to cover the side exits. "Relax, Victor. We didn't come for the kid. We came for the paper in his hands."
Victor’s eyes narrowed. "You knew about the note?"
"Knew about it?" Marcus laughed harshly. "Who do you think penned the bottom half before your mother hid it in that frame? Old lady Romano knew you were a monster, Victor. She kept that confession as insurance against you. And when my crew bought out the old estate vault last week, we realized the frame was missing."
Noah shrank back against the prep table, holding the yellowed paper tightly against his chest, realizing that the dark secrets of Victor's empire were far larger and more dangerous than he could ever have imagined.
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"You set that fire twelve years ago, Marcus," Victor said softly, the pieces of the terrible puzzle suddenly falling into place in his mind. "You told me the laundry was empty. You lied to me so I would sign off on the perimeter lockdown."
"Does it matter?" Marcus smirked, raising his weapon. "The boy knows you're a killer now. His aunt knows. The whole neighborhood will know by tomorrow. Your little 'redemption' project is over, Victor. Hand over the paper, or I put a bullet through the kid right now."
