Chapter 3 - The Setup
Julian took an involuntary step back, his face draining of all color. The thick-necked thug beside him immediately reached inside his coat, but before his hand could even touch his holster, I surged forward.
I grabbed the thug by the throat, driving him violently back into the hallway wall. The plaster cracked under the impact. With a swift twist of my wrist, I slammed his head against the wall, disarming him in one fluid motion as he crumpled unconscious to the linoleum floor.
Julian turned to run, but I grabbed the back of his collar, hauling him backward into the apartment and slamming the door behind us. I threw him to the floor, where he scrambled backward until his back hit the base of the kitchen counter, panting like a cornered rat.
“Vincent!” Julian gasped, raising his hands defensively. “Wait! Wait! It’s not what you think!”
“Isn't it?” I stepped toward him, my boots heavy on the wooden floor. “You used my name to scare a helpless girl. You made her mother live in terror before you murdered her. And then you pinned it all on me.”
“I had to!” Julian cried, his slick demeanor completely shattered. “Marcus would have flayed me alive if he knew I was stealing from the books! Claire found the offshore accounts! She was going to tell him! If Marcus found out, he would have had you put a bullet in my head!”
“So you killed her,” I said, my voice deathly calm. “And made this old woman live in fear for three years.”
“She has the key!” Julian shouted, pointing a trembling finger at Margaret, who was holding Lily close to her chest in the corner. “Claire locked the original bank statements and ledger drive in a safe deposit box at Manhattan Trust! The feds are investigating Marcus’s shell companies right now! If those ledgers surface, Marcus goes to prison for life—and he’ll take me down with him! I just need the key!”
I looked back at Margaret. Her face was pale, but her eyes were firm. She reached inside her blouse and pulled out a small silver key attached to a dark blue ribbon.
“Claire told me never to give it to anyone,” Margaret said steadily. “She said this key was our insurance. If Julian ever tried to hurt us, I was supposed to send it to the District Attorney.”
“Give it to me, Vincent!” Julian begged, crawling toward me on his knees. “We can sell those ledgers back to Marcus! We can get millions! Fifty-fifty split, Vincent! You’ve been out of the game, living like a pauper in Queens. You need this money!”
I looked down at Julian Vance. In his eyes, I saw everything I hated about the life I had left behind—greed, cowardice, and a complete lack of human decency.
Without a word, I kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling against the floor.
“Get up,” I growled.
Julian groaned, clutching his ribs, looking up at me with sheer terror. “Vincent... please...”
“You’re going to listen to me very carefully, Julian,” I said, leaning down until my face was inches from his. “You’re going to walk out of here. You’re going to tell your brother Marcus that you couldn't find Margaret or the kid. If you ever come within ten miles of this building again, I won't just hand those ledgers to the feds—I’ll hand you to Marcus. And we both know what your brother does to thieves.”
Julian swallowed hard, nodding frantically. “Okay! Okay! I swear, Vincent! I’ll tell him nothing! Just let me go!”
I dragged him up by his collar and threw him out into the hallway beside his groaning bodyguard. Julian scrambled to his feet, hauled his associate up, and fled down the stairs without looking back.
I closed the door and locked the deadbolt, leaning my back against the heavy wood. The apartment was quiet again, save for the hum of the old refrigerator and Margaret’s soft breathing.
I walked over to Margaret and knelt beside her chair. Lily looked at me, no longer afraid, reaching out a tiny hand to touch the coat still resting over her grandmother’s lap.
“He won't stay quiet, Vincent,” Margaret whispered, her voice filled with deep worry. “Julian is a coward, but he’s desperate. When he realizes you won't help him, he’ll go to Marcus. Marcus Vance will come for all of us.”
“I know,” I said grimly. “Julian won't keep his mouth shut for long. Which means we don't have much time.”
“What are we going to do?”
I looked at the small silver key hanging from Margaret’s neck, then at the innocent little girl standing beside her. My quiet life in Queens was officially over. The ghosts of my past had finally hunted me down. But for the first time in my life, I wasn't fighting for survival, or for money, or for a mob boss’s approval.
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I was fighting to protect a family that wasn't even mine.
“We’re getting those ledgers, Margaret,” I said, my voice ringing with absolute determination. “And then we’re taking down the Vance family once and for all.”
