Chapter 8 - The Betrayal UnveiledSmoke and hiss from ruptured steam pipes filled the harbor air.
Mayor Sterling was crawling across the rain-slicked concrete, his expensive suit ruined, his right leg pinned under a shattered piece of the gangway timber. Viktor was standing ten feet away, clutching a bleeding arm, trying to aim his pistol at the approaching shadow.
Lucian stepped out of the steam.
His silhouette was menacing, his gray eyes shining with an unholy vengeance. Behind him walked Mara, her gun raised, her eyes fixed entirely on Viktor's face.
"Lucian... wait!" Viktor stammered, his lips trembling violently as he backed away toward the edge of the pier. "It was Sterling! He threatened my family! He said he’d burn down the inner circle if I didn't give him your route!"
Lucian didn't slow his pace. "You sold thirty years of loyalty for a seat at a politician's table," Lucian’s lips moved with terrifying calmness. "You forgot who built that table."
Viktor looked past Lucian, his eyes landing on Mara.
A cruel, desperate laugh escaped Viktor’s lips. He looked directly at Mara and shouted, his lips moving exaggeratedly:
"You think he’s your savior, girl?! Ask him who ordered the demolition charge on Terminal 4 twenty years ago! Ask your precious Boss who signed your father's death warrant!"
Mara froze.
The world seemed to spin on its axis. The cold ocean rain stung her face. She slowly lowered her pistol half an inch, her eyes shifting from Viktor to the back of Lucian’s head.
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Lucian stopped moving. He didn't turn around to look at her.
He stood frozen in the middle of the pier, the silence between them heavier than the ocean surrounding them.
