CHAPTER 2: THE WOMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
Nobody spoke.
Victor stared at the photograph as if he'd seen a ghost.
The woman in the picture was Sarah.
The only person who had ever loved him before prison destroyed everything.
Twenty years ago she disappeared.
Everyone told him she was dead.
Even the police reports said so.
Victor had mourned her for years.
Now a little girl stood before him claiming Sarah was alive.
And in danger.
"Take me to her."
Emily nodded.
Within minutes, engines roared outside.
The entire bar emptied.
Former gang members.
Former thieves.
Former killers.
Men society called hopeless.
Ten motorcycles raced through the city.
People watched in disbelief.
Nobody had seen the old crew together in years.
Something serious was happening.
Very serious.
They arrived at a rundown house on the east side.
Lights glowed inside.
A scream echoed from behind the walls.
Emily ran forward.
"Mommy!"
Victor kicked the front door open.
CRASH!
The room exploded into chaos.
Three armed men turned around.
Sarah lay bleeding on the floor.
Her face bruised.
Her hands tied.
For one second she stared at Victor.
Neither moved.
Neither breathed.
Twenty years vanished instantly.
"Victor?"
Her voice cracked.
One of the criminals raised a gun.
Big mistake.
The former prisoners moved like a storm.
Within seconds the attackers were on the ground.
Disarmed.
Broken.
Crying for mercy.
The same mercy they had shown nobody.
Victor knelt beside Sarah.
She touched his face.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I thought I'd never see you again."
Victor couldn't speak.
For the first time in decades, the feared ex-convict looked completely broken.
Later that night Sarah told the truth.
The truth was worse than anyone imagined.
Twenty years earlier Raymond Cole had become obsessed with her.
When she rejected him, he destroyed her life.
He bribed officials.
Forged documents.
Made everyone believe she was dead.
Then he spent years controlling her through threats.
Every time she tried escaping, someone got hurt.
Friends disappeared.
Witnesses vanished.
Police ignored her.
Until recently.
Sarah had finally collected evidence.
Enough evidence to destroy Raymond Cole forever.
And that was why he wanted her dead.
The room fell silent.
One of Victor's men looked at the files.
His face turned white.
"There are names here."
"What names?"
"Judges."
Another page.
"Police chiefs."
Another page.
"Politicians."
The corruption reached everywhere.
Sarah whispered:
"If these documents become public... everything collapses."
Victor looked at the evidence.
Then at Emily sleeping nearby.
Then at Sarah.
He knew exactly what had to happen.
The problem was simple.
Raymond Cole would never allow them to leave alive.
And at that exact moment—
A phone rang.
One of the captured attackers laughed.
"You idiots."
Victor answered.
A familiar voice spoke.
Calm.
Cold.
Dangerous.
Raymond Cole.
"I know where you are."
The room froze.
Cole chuckled.
"By sunrise, every one of you will be dead."
Then the line went dead.
Outside...
Hundreds of headlights appeared in the darkness.
May you like
They were surrounded.
END OF CHAPTER 2...
