Chapter 5 - The Snake in the Grass
Headline: "A snake always bites back. The dead surgeon's family returns for revenge, and the nurse is the first target."
Three months had passed.
Mara’s life had transformed completely. Her mother was resting peacefully in a luxurious estate-style care facility, receiving the best treatment money could buy. Mara herself now lived in a high-security apartment building owned by the Vale family, and she ran the newly renovated private clinic.
She had proven herself invaluable to Adrian, treating his men with absolute discretion and efficiency. But she had also grown close to the enigmatic boss. Adrian was a man of few words, but when he spoke to her, there was a warmth that he showed to no one else.
But peace in Adrian Vale's world was always temporary.
One rainy evening, Mara was closing up the private clinic. The staff had already left, leaving her alone in the quiet building.
As she gathered her coat, the clinic’s front doors hissed open.
Mara turned around, expecting to see Viktor or one of Adrian’s guards. Instead, she found herself staring at a woman dressed in a sharp, expensive black suit, her face hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat.
When the woman lifted her head, Mara gasped. She looked remarkably like Julian Cross.
"You must be Mara," the woman said, her voice dripping with venom. "The little nurse who climbed her way up by stepping on my brother's corpse."
"Who are you?" Mara asked, backing toward the silent alarm button under the reception desk.
"Don't bother," the woman said, pulling a suppressed pistol from her coat. "The alarm lines have been cut. I am Evelyn Cross. Julian was an idiot, but he was my brother. And more importantly, he was the key to a very lucrative business that you and Adrian Vale destroyed."
Mara’s hand froze. Evelyn Cross was a notorious state senator, known for her hardline stance on crime—but clearly, she was the political shield that had protected Julian’s organ trafficking ring.
"Your brother was a murderer," Mara said, trying to buy time. "He harvested organs from innocent people."
"Innocent people are a dime a dozen," Evelyn sneered. "But power? Power is rare. Adrian Vale thinks he owns this city, but he forgot that the government can crush the mafia whenever we choose. I have a federal task force ready to raid all of Vale’s properties tomorrow morning. But first, I wanted to personally settle my family's debt with you."
Evelyn raised the gun, aiming directly at Mara's chest.
"Goodbye, little nurse."
BANG.
The glass partition behind Mara shattered. But it wasn't Evelyn's gun that had fired.
Evelyn gasped, a red circle blooming on her shoulder. She fell to her knees, dropping her weapon.
Through the shattered glass doorway of the clinic entrance, Adrian Vale walked in, holding a smoking pistol. He was dressed in a dark wool coat, his face a mask of absolute coldness. Behind him, Viktor and a dozen armed men flooded the clinic.
"Adrian!" Mara breathed, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Adrian walked past Evelyn, ignoring her groans of pain, and went straight to Mara. He grabbed her gently by the shoulders, his eyes scanning her for injuries. "Are you hurt?"
"No... I'm okay," she whispered.
Adrian turned back to Evelyn Cross, who was clutching her bleeding shoulder on the floor.
"You thought you could bypass my security, Senator?" Adrian said, his voice deadly quiet. "You thought I didn't know you were Julian’s silent partner?"
Evelyn spat blood onto the floor. "You can't kill me, Adrian. I'm a sitting United States Senator! If I die, the federal government will bring a storm down on your family that you won't survive!"
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Adrian knelt down in front of her, his expression completely relaxed.
"I'm not going to kill you, Evelyn," Adrian said softly. "That would be too simple. Instead, I'm going to expose you."
