Chapter 10 - The Syndicate's End
Cross roared with triumphant laughter and casually tossed the vial of antidote onto the floor.
He turned around to gloat over Gabriel's lifeless body, completely dropping his guard.
Gabriel suddenly swept his leg out with brutal force, knocking the rival boss flat onto his back.
Claire had intentionally shot Gabriel directly in the thickest part of his hidden Kevlar vest.
The massive pool of blood actually belonged to Claire's own deeply lacerated hand, which she had squeezed to fake the fatal impact.
Claire snatched the vial from the floor and plunged the needle directly into baby Eli's thigh.
Gabriel engaged in a savage, merciless fistfight with the man who had tormented his family.
He channeled all his rage and grief, delivering a final, crushing blow that threw Cross completely through the shattered glass balcony.
The ruthless mafia boss plummeted eighty stories down into the dark, unforgiving streets of Chicago.
Eli's fever broke almost immediately, and the baby cooed softly in Claire's protective arms.
Gabriel pulled Claire into a desperate, loving embrace, promising they would finally build a peaceful life together.
Six months later, they were resting quietly in the living room of their beautiful countryside home.
A package wrapped in plain black paper was suddenly delivered to their front porch by an unknown courier.
Gabriel opened the box and found a recent, high-resolution photograph hidden beneath the tissue paper.
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The picture clearly showed Gabriel's supposedly dead brother, Nathan, casually reading today's morning newspaper in a café.
A handwritten note scrawled in red ink on the back of the photo read, "You never should have trusted her."
