Chapter 2 - The Glass Wall
The county lockup smelled of bleach, rust, and desperation. Leo sat on the uncomfortable metal stool in the visitation room, staring through the thick, scratched plexiglass.
The heavy steel door opened, and Silas walked in. He was no longer wearing the bespoke wool suit. He was dressed in a faded orange jumpsuit, his wrists shackled to his waist. Yet, somehow, he still looked like the most dangerous man in the room.
He sat down, picking up the heavy black receiver. Leo mirrored him with a trembling hand.
"Why?" Leo choked out, tears finally breaking through his waterline. "Why would you lie to me? Why would you let me believe I killed a man for six months?"
"Because if you knew the truth, you would have confessed to being an accessory," Silas said, his voice maddeningly calm through the tinny speaker. "Arthur Sterling wasn't just a businessman, Leo. He was the head of the Maroni syndicate. He was extorting us."
"Extorting us for what? We don't have anything!"
Silas looked down, a dark shadow crossing his face. "You don't have anything. You have your scholarship. Your clean record. I made sure of that." Silas looked back up, his eyes hard. "I've been washing money for the Maronis for five years, Leo. It was the only way I could pay off Dad's debts and keep you in school. When I tried to get out, Arthur came after you."
Leo felt a physical blow to his chest. The pristine life he thought he had earned—the Ivy League tuition, the safe apartment in the city—it was all bought with blood money. Silas had sold his soul to buy Leo’s future.
"They're going to put you away for life," Leo whispered, his voice cracking. "Or worse. The Maronis have people on the inside. They'll kill you before you even make it to trial."
"I know," Silas said softly. "That's why I need you to do exactly as I say. Go to the apartment. There’s a floorboard under my bed. Take the bag, get in the car, and drive to the Canadian border. Never look back."
"I'm not leaving you!" Leo slammed his fist against the glass.
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Silas’s eyes blazed with sudden, fierce intensity. "You will leave! Because if you stay, my entire life, every sacrifice I ever made, means nothing! Run, Leo."
A guard tapped Silas’s shoulder. Time was up. Silas hung up the phone, standing up and walking back into the darkness. Leo sat there, holding the buzzing receiver. For the first time in his life, Leo didn't feel fragile. He felt a slow, burning rage igniting in his chest. He wasn't going to run.
