Chapter 17 - Shadows on the Periphery
Within twenty minutes, Paulie's black sedan idled quietly in the alley behind the cafe, whisking Tommy and Sadi away to the secure compound downtown. Vincent was waiting in his private study, the room illuminated only by the amber glow of a desk lamp and the flickering neon signs outside.
When Sadi and a shivering Tommy walked into the room, Vincent didn't raise his voice or betray a hint of panic. He simply poured a glass of water, handed it to the young man, and turned his dark, piercing gaze toward Sadi.
"He shouldn't have come back, Sadi," Vincent said quietly, though his tone held no malice toward Tommy. "When a ghost tries to crawl back out of the grave the syndicate put him in, the old guard notices."
"I didn't have a choice!" Tommy protested, sinking into a leather armchair and burying his face in his hands. "They cornered me near the bus station. They said Vincent's grip on the city is slipping, and that a new faction is taking over the docks. They want to use me to get to him."
Vincent walked over to the mahogany desk, picking up a secure burner phone that had remained silent for weeks. The screen blinked with an encrypted text message from an unknown number: The debt is never truly paid until blood balances the ledger.
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"Who sent it?" Sadi asked, her voice cracking as she stepped close to Vincent, instinctively seeking the familiar warmth of his presence.
"An old ghost from before my time," Vincent replied, his jaw tightening into a hard, rigid line. "Someone who thinks the throne is vacant because I chose to spend my mornings drinking coffee instead of burying bodies."
