Chapter 3 - The Price of LoyaltyBy noon, Brutus had stabilized enough to lift his massive blocky head and let out a low, grateful huff when Chloe stroked behind his scarred ear.
Dr. Reynolds had been safely sequestered in a guest wing with a bottle of scotch and a stack of financial documents guaranteeing his clinic's debt would be entirely wiped out. Naturally, Reynolds had stopped complaining about being kidnapped within ten minutes.
Chloe, however, was pacing the length of the converted medical room like a caged panther.
The heavy oak door swung open, and Elena Costa—Gabriel’s older sister and the financial brain behind the family's legitimate operations—stepped into the room. She wore a sharp emerald pantsuit, her silver-streaked hair pulled back into a severe chignon.
Elena stopped, her sharp eyes scanning Chloe from her blood-stained scrubs to her defiant posture.
"So," Elena said, her voice like clipped glass. "You're the veterinary tech who told my brother 'No' and then blew up a Chicago drug lord's evening."
"I told him 'No' because I don't belong to anyone," Chloe corrected sharply, crossing her arms. "And I didn't blow up anything; his enemies did."
Elena let out a short, dry laugh, walking over to inspect Brutus before turning her gaze back to Chloe. "Gabriel hasn't taken his eyes off the security monitor tracking this room for six hours. In our world, people either fear him or try to kill him. Nobody talks back to him. You did both before breakfast."
"I save animals. That’s my job," Chloe said. "I don't care about his 'world' or his enemies."
"Unfortunately, Viktor Rostova cares about you," Elena replied, her tone turning icy. "Rostova knows you were at the clinic. His men are currently searching every veterinary supply house and shelter on the West Side looking for a girl in blue scrubs with blood on her sleeves. You can't go back to your apartment, Chloe. You can't go back to your old life."
The harsh reality of Elena’s words hit Chloe like a physical blow. Her Honda Civic, her rent-controlled apartment, her student loans—everything she had built was suddenly gone, vaporized by a single night’s work.
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"That's not fair," Chloe whispered, her voice cracking for the first time.
"Fair?" Elena scoffed softly, placing a surprisingly gentle hand on Chloe’s shoulder. "Fair left this city a long time ago. But under Gabriel’s roof, you are untouchable. And if you’re smart, you’ll figure out how to use that to your advantage."
