Chapter 7 - The Exchange
The drive to the abandoned steel mill was suffocating and entirely silent.
Marcus forced us into the back of his armored van, keeping his weapon aimed steadily at Vincent's chest.
I held tightly onto my mother's hand, feeling the cold, terrified sweat on her palms.
The van finally stopped, and the heavy rear doors swung open to reveal the rusted, towering structures of the old factory.
Dozens of elite enforcers dressed in immaculate black suits stood heavily armed around the perimeter.
These men did not belong to Vincent or the Russians; they were the personal, lethal guard of the Commission.
An older man with silver hair and cold, calculating eyes sat in a leather chair in the center of the warehouse.
This was Don Carmine, the absolute and unquestioned authority of the criminal underworld.
"Bring me the book," Carmine ordered, his voice echoing menacingly off the corrugated metal walls.
Marcus stepped forward eagerly and handed the encrypted ledger to the powerful Don.
"Vincent has lost his mind, Don Carmine," Marcus lied smoothly.
"He tried to steal from the family, and I had to stop him to protect our assets."
Carmine looked at the blank, encrypted pages of the ledger and sighed deeply.
"I do not care about your petty squabbles, I only care about the truth," Carmine stated.
He looked directly at my mother with a piercing gaze.
"The traitor's life is forfeit, but the one who unlocks this book walks away with a million dollars," the Don offered.
My mother stepped forward, her hands shaking as she typed the password into the Don's digital tablet.
The QR codes on the physical pages instantly synced with the tablet, revealing lines of detailed financial transactions.
Carmine read the numbers, his face darkening with absolute, terrifying fury.
He slowly reached into his coat and pulled out a beautifully engraved, gold-plated revolver.
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Instead of pointing it at Marcus, he leveled the barrel directly at Vincent's head.
"It appears Marcus was telling the truth," Carmine declared coldly.
