Chapter 12 - The Price of Blood
The silence on the other end of the line was the loudest answer Julian Vance could have given me.
When he finally spoke, his usually unshakable voice carried a razor-thin edge of genuine concern.
"Where did you hear that name, Dominic?"
I walked into my study, pouring two fingers of scotch into a glass with a hand that I refused to let shake.
"He was outside my house. He left a message on a tree. My daughter saw him in her sleep."
Julian cursed softly under his breath, a sound I had never heard the billionaire fixer make.
"The Blind King is not a mafia boss, Dominic. He is a cleaner for the High Commission, the shadow syndicate that oversees the global underworld."
I downed the scotch, the burn grounding me in reality.
"Why is he hunting me? Vincenzo is dead. My father is dead. The Valenti empire is a smoking crater."
"Because of Leo," Julian revealed, the words dropping like lead weights into my stomach.
"When your brother disappeared from the bunker after Vincenzo’s death, I assumed he had gone into hiding to heal."
"He didn't?" I demanded, my grip tightening on the glass.
"No. Vincenzo had borrowed fifty million dollars from the High Commission to fund his coup against you. The debt did not die with him."
I closed my eyes, the horrific puzzle pieces snapping into place.
"They took Leo as collateral," I realized, the guilt threatening to drown me.
"Exactly," Julian said. "And the Blind King is their debt collector. He does not want your money, Dominic. He wants your life in exchange for your brother's."
I looked at the doorway, where Elena was standing, silent tears streaming down her face.
She had heard everything.
"I will be in Geneva by dawn," Julian continued. "Do not engage him alone. If you fight the Blind King, you die."
The line went dead, leaving me in the crushing silence of my study.
Elena walked slowly across the room, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her forehead against my chest.
"You have to go back, don't you?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
I buried my face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her, committing it to memory in case I never made it back.
"He is my brother, Elena. He saved my life in that bunker."
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She pulled back, looking me directly in the eyes with a fierce, unwavering strength.
"Bring him home, Dominic. And then bring yourself back to us."
