Chapter 10 - The Corporate Trap
By evening, the cafe was completely empty. Sadi sat at one of the wooden corner tables, staring blankly at the fraudulent citation letter while the weight of a new, invisible crisis settled heavily upon her shoulders. The city inspectors hadn't just threatened a fine; they had frozen her commercial bank accounts pending an investigation into "irregular financial origins."
The door swung open, and the familiar, reassuring scent of spearmint and expensive wool filled the room. Vincent walked in, his dark coat draped over one arm. He took one look at Sadi’s pale face and the scattered paperwork, and the temperature in the room instantly dropped.
"Tell me," Vincent said quietly, pulling out a chair and sitting across from her. His voice was calm, but the dangerous edge in his tone was unmistakable.
"They're trying to take the cafe away, Vincent," Sadi whispered, hot tears of frustration pricking her eyes. "They're claiming the permits were forged. My accounts are frozen. I can't pay my suppliers, and if I can't prove legitimacy within forty-eight hours, the city will repossess the property."
Vincent didn't panic. He picked up the municipal document, his sharp eyes scanning the signature at the bottom. A dark, dangerous smile touched his lips. "Marcus Sterling. I should have known the O'Connors would crawl out from under their rock and hire corporate hitmen when brute force failed."
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"Who is Marcus?" Sadi asked, her heart racing.
"A parasite who thinks he can outsmart the system," Vincent replied, standing up and buttoning his jacket. He reached across the table, wiping a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb. "Keep the doors locked tonight, Sadi. Let me handle the paperwork. Some debts in this city need to be collected personally."
