Chapter 3 - The Secret in the Ink
Silas Thorne walked closer, his expensive shoes clicking rhythmically against the concrete floor.
He was surrounded by heavily armed mercenaries who kept their weapons trained on the group.
“Hand over the deed, old woman, and I might let you go back to your pathetic food cart,” Thorne threatened.
Shiomara felt a surge of defiant anger replace her initial terror.
She had survived the brutal streets for forty years, and she was not easily intimidated by rich bullies.
“I do not take orders from men who hide behind guns,” Shiomara spat bravely.
Thorne’s cruel smile vanished instantly.
He raised his golden cane and prepared to strike the elderly woman across the face.
Before the cane could connect, Julian stepped forward and caught the heavy metal rod with his bare hand.
“Do not ever touch her,” Julian growled with lethal intensity.
Thorne chuckled darkly and ripped the cane away from Julian’s grip.
“You triplets are incredibly loyal to a woman who merely threw you scraps,” Thorne mocked.
Leo raised his silver pistol and aimed it directly at the billionaire’s forehead.
“Let us walk out of here, Silas, or you die right now,” Leo warned.
“If you shoot me, my men will turn all of you into Swiss cheese,” Thorne replied without flinching.
During the tense standoff, Shiomara nervously looked down at the faded photograph inside her envelope.
The picture showed the three children eating her food, but the back of the photo was peeking out.
She noticed faint handwriting on the back of the old picture that she had never seen before.
Shiomara slowly flipped the photograph over, squinting in the dim light of the red laser sights.
The handwriting belonged to the triplets' late mother, whom they had lost to illness decades ago.
“Property of Silas Thorne, my greatest mistake,” the handwritten note read.
Shiomara gasped loudly, her eyes darting from the photograph to the cruel billionaire standing before them.
“You are their biological father,” Shiomara revealed to the echoing garage.
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The triplets froze in absolute shock, lowering their weapons as they stared at their lifelong enemy.
Thorne simply smiled, pulled a suppressed pistol from his coat, and shot Julian directly in the chest.
