Chapter 8 - The Second Debt
Time seemed to stop completely in the freezing, echoing warehouse.
Wade's hands were shaking violently as he pointed the gun at the mother of his child.
"Sign the papers, Claire, or I swear I will shoot!" Wade screamed hysterically.
Dorian did not hesitate for a fraction of a second.
He moved with blinding speed, stepping directly in front of Claire to shield her body.
Bull and Petra instantly raised their weapons and fired precision shots.
The five Moretti thugs dropped to the concrete floor before they could even pull their triggers.
Wade shrieked in absolute terror and dropped his pistol, falling weakly to his knees.
Dorian walked slowly toward the pathetic, cowering man.
He picked up the stuffed bear from the dirty floor and dusted it off carefully.
Then, Dorian grabbed Wade by the throat and hoisted him effortlessly into the air.
"You pulled a gun on the woman who gave you a family," Dorian growled, his voice vibrating with lethal intent.
Wade gasped for air, his face turning a sickening shade of purple.
"She isn't an angel!" Wade choked out desperately, trying to save his own life.
"She is a criminal just like you, Ferrante!"
Dorian narrowed his eyes and loosened his iron grip slightly.
"What are you talking about?" Dorian demanded.
Wade coughed violently and pointed a trembling finger at Claire.
"Ten years ago, when she was an ER nurse, she treated a wanted mafia boss who came in with a gunshot wound!"
"She hid him from the police and falsified the hospital records to save his life!"
Dorian froze completely, his blood running entirely cold.
He slowly turned his head to look at Claire.
Ten years ago, a young Dorian Ferrante had been shot in the chest during a brutal gang war.
A brave, exhausted young nurse with kind brown eyes had dragged him into an empty supply closet.
She had stitched his wound in secret and smuggled him out the back door before the cops arrived.
He had never learned her name, but he had never forgotten her face.
Dorian dropped Wade onto the concrete floor in absolute shock.
He stared at Claire, realizing the impossible magnitude of the universe's design.
Her father had saved his father's life thirty years ago.
May you like
And Claire herself had saved Dorian's life ten years ago.
Before Dorian could speak, the massive metal doors of the warehouse slammed shut with a deafening crash.
