Chapter 7 - The Ledger’s Secret
The crackle of the fire was the only sound in the vast study for several long moments.
Hannah walked slowly toward the velvet armchair, her legs feeling suddenly heavy, and sat down. She stared at the flames, watching the sparks dance and fade against the black stone.
"Marcus holds my brother's debt," Hannah confessed quietly, her voice barely a whisper. "Leo got mixed up with sports gambling two years ago. When he disappeared, the collectors came to me. They said if I didn't let them use the clinic's emergency supply lockers to store and distribute controlled medications, they would break every bone in my brother's hands."
"Leo is dead," Damen stated flatly.
Hannah’s head snapped up, her eyes flashing with shock. "What did you say?"
"Leo Brooks overdosed in a motel room in Cicero fourteen months ago," Damen said, his voice gentle but unyielding. "Marcus kept collecting the debt from you anyway because a slave who believes she is protecting her family is much more useful than one who knows she has nothing left to lose."
The room seemed to spin.
Hannah gripped the arms of the chair, the air rushing out of her lungs as the weight of the last three years—every missed meal, every bruised wrist, every forced smile while she handed over clinic narcotics to Marcus's thugs—collapsed in on her all at once.
She didn't cry. The shock was too deep, too cold for tears.
"He lied to me," Hannah whispered, her voice cracking. "Every time I handed over those vials... every time I took the beatings... my brother was already gone."
Damen crossed the room in two strides, kneeling down beside her chair. He didn't touch her without permission, but his presence was an unyielding wall against the dark.
"He lied to you," Damen confirmed, his voice low and dangerous. "And now, Marcus is going to pay for every single lie."
Before Hannah could answer, the heavy oak door of the study burst open.
Marco stood on the threshold, his expression grim, his hand resting on his holster.
May you like
"Boss," Marco said quickly. "We have movement on the external perimeter cameras. Three black SUVs just breached the main gates. Marcus brought an army."
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