Chapter 14 - Shadows Over Marseille
The Marseille docks hummed with illicit activity under the cover of a dense, sodium-lit fog. Towering cranes scraped against the smoggy night sky, unloading shipping containers packed with contraband for the Iron Ring. In a heavily guarded warehouse overlooking the pier, high-ranking European syndicate bosses gathered to toast their impending expansion into Vane territory.
At the head of a long steel table sat Viktor Vance—no relation to the American Vanes, but a ruthless warlord who ruled the Mediterranean black market with an iron fist. He raised a glass of vintage wine, swirling the deep red liquid.
“By midnight, the American lines will collapse,” Viktor declared, looking around at his lieutenants. “The Vane empire is divided, weak, and ripe for the plucking.”
“I wouldn't be so sure about that, Viktor,” a smooth, chilling voice echoed from the shadows near the back of the warehouse.
The heavy steel entrance doors suddenly blew inward with a deafening crash, showering the room in a storm of sparks and splintered iron. Smoke grenades rolled across the concrete floor, instantly hissing thick white clouds that choked the cavernous space.
Before Viktor’s guards could draw their weapons, a hail of precise, suppressed gunfire erupted from the fog. Men dropped like marionettes with cut strings, neutralized with cold, mechanical efficiency.
Viktor scrambled backward, drawing his sidearm, but a booted foot slammed heavily into his chest, sending him crashing over his chair onto the concrete.
Leandro stepped out of the smoke, his silhouette framed by the harsh industrial lights. He looked down at Viktor, his face a mask of absolute authority, turning the heavy signet ring on his finger—the very ring forged from Maribel’s silver chain.
“You have the wrong family, Viktor,” Leandro whispered, pressing the barrel of his weapon against the warlord's forehead.
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Viktor choked out a laugh, blood pooling at the corner of his mouth. “You think... you’ve won? Maribel isn't gone, boy. She made a deal with us months ago. You’re fighting a ghost.”
Leandro didn’t blink. “Then I’ll put her to rest permanently.”
