Chapter 4 - The Iron Contract
The failed assault on North Ridge made one thing abundantly clear: the estate was no longer a safe haven. Julian Valetti was willing to start an all-out syndicate war on foreign soil to recover the key and eliminate Maya.
By midnight, the blood in the foyer had been cleaned, and the estate was put on absolute lockdown. Alfred sat at his war room table, surrounded by his top capos and tactical advisers.
"Boss," Marcus said, laying out a satellite map of the regional border. "Valetti has mobilized thirty armored vehicles. They're staging at an abandoned railyard thirty miles outside the city limit. He's bringing heavy weaponry. If he launches a full-scale assault, the civilian authorities won't be able to ignore it."
"We don't wait for him to attack," Alfred said, leaning over the map. "We strike first."
Maya walked quietly into the war room, holding Bruno's leash. She stepped up beside Alfred's chair, her small hand reaching out to touch his arm.
"Alfred?" she asked softly. "Are you going to leave?"
Alfred looked down at the little girl. In his world, emotional attachments were considered a fatal flaw—a vulnerability that enemies could exploit to break a man. For fifteen years, he had lived alone, feared by all, loved by none.
Yet, looking into Maya's dark, trust-filled eyes, he felt a strange, unbreakable purpose settle in his chest.
He knelt down until he was at eye level with her. He pulled a silver signet ring from his pinky finger—an heirloom bearing the Christa crest—and placed it gently into her small palm, closing her fingers over it.
"This ring means that every man under my command belongs to you," Alfred said gently. "If anything happens to me, Marcus will take you and Bruno to a safehouse in Switzerland. You will be protected for the rest of your life."
Maya looked at the ring, then shook her head firmly. "No. Daddy gave me a key to stop the bad man. I want you to take it. I want you to stop him so no other little girl loses her home."
May you like
She placed the dark steel key into Alfred's hand.
Alfred stared at the key, then looked at Marcus. "Get the convoy ready. We ride for the Oak Park boathouse tonight."
