Chapter 5 - THE ABANDONED DOCKS
The rain fell in sheets over the decaying metal warehouses of the South Pier.
Inside Warehouse 12, rusted chains hung from overhead cranes, and the smell of salt water and old motor oil filled the damp air. Bound to a wooden chair in the center of the room sat Aarav, pale, shivering, and sporting a fresh bruise across his cheekbone.
Standing over him was Viktor, Gregor’s ruthless older brother and the actual underboss of the Meridian Syndicate.
“Tick-tock, little girl,” Viktor muttered, pacing back and forth with a heavy iron pipe in his hand. “Your billionaire protector can buy hospitals, but he can't save your brother from the bottom of the bay.”
Suddenly, the massive corrugated steel doors of the warehouse screeched open.
A single pair of headlights cut through the gloom. Elliot Sterling’s black Maybach rolled straight into the center of the warehouse floor, stopping with a sharp hiss of brakes.
The driver's door opened, and Elliot stepped out, unbothered by the rain, his coat sweeping behind him.
From the passenger side, Priya emerged, her eyes locked entirely on her trembling brother.
“Viktor!” Elliot’s voice echoed off the corrugated metal walls, calm, commanding, and laced with absolute malice. “You have thirty seconds to step away from the boy before I turn this entire pier into your mass grave.”
Viktor laughed, pressing the barrel of a pistol against Aarav’s temple. “You brought the waitress, Sterling? What is she going to do, throw more soup buckets?”
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Priya didn't wait for Viktor to finish his sentence.
She had already circled around the side of the car, using the shadows of the stacked shipping containers. Her training, her survival instincts, and her fury fused into a single, unstoppable weapon.
