Chapter 5 - Blood and Trust
Three agonizing hours passed before the heavy steel door finally clicked open.
I gasped, clutching Maya tighter, bracing for the worst.
Victor stood in the doorway, covered in soot and blood, looking like an exhausted god of war.
He dropped his weapon and leaned heavily against the doorframe.
"It's over," he breathed, his voice ragged.
I rushed forward, completely disregarding my fear, and grabbed his arm to support him.
He winced in pain, and I saw a dark crimson stain spreading across his ribcage.
"You're shot!" I cried, helping him to the leather sofa in the study.
"It's a graze, nothing serious," he grunted, though his pale face betrayed him.
I ran to the bathroom, grabbing the advanced first-aid kit his security team kept stocked.
My hands shook as I cut away his ruined shirt and began to clean the wound.
Victor watched me intensely, unflinching as the alcohol stung his torn flesh.
"You could have taken the money from the safe and run," he pointed out quietly.
"You saved my daughter," I replied, taping a bandage securely over his ribs.
"I don't abandon the people who protect my family."
Maya, who had been sitting quietly on the rug, suddenly babbled and pointed a chubby finger at him.
"Dada," she cooed, her very first word ringing clearly through the room.
The air in the room vanished.
Victor stared at the baby, a look of absolute, heartbreaking shock washing over his hardened face.
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I looked at him, and for the first time, I didn't see a kingpin.
I saw a man who desperately wanted to be loved.
