Chapter 11 - The Serpent in the GardenThe heavy oak doors of the private courtyard swung open without a sound, revealing a man who hadn't stepped foot on Ortega soil in over a decade.
Victor and Diego materialized from the shadows of the veranda instantly, their hands resting smoothly over their concealed holsters. But Ramon raised a single, gloved hand, freezing his men in their tracks. He didn't blink. He simply leaned against the stone balustrade, watching the intruder cross the meticulously manicured lawns of the cliffside estate.
It was Viktor's older brother—Kaelen—a man everyone in the high-table syndicate believed had perished in the European clean-up wars of 2012.
"You've grown soft in the sea air, Ramon," Kaelen rasped, stopping ten yards away. He wore a heavy wool trench coat, his face lined with deep scars and weather-beaten arrogance. "Hiding behind glass walls and a little girl. Did you really think burying the Deacon twenty feet under concrete solved your problems?"
Maya, standing just inside the French doors, peered out into the courtyard. Her small hands clenched into fists, her ice-blue eyes narrowing with a hostility far beyond her years. She didn't flinch; she observed.
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"The Deacon was a rabid dog," Ramon replied, his voice dropping into that icy, measured register that always preceded violence. "And you, Kaelen, are walking into the same trap. Why?"
Kaelen chuckled, a hollow, dry sound that carried across the quiet morning breeze. "Because the Deacon was just an employee, Ramon. The real owners of the Vanguard Ledger are still sitting at the table. And they want their property back—or they want the bloodline that unlocked it."
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