Chapter 1 - THE BLOOD CONTRACT
The air inside the grand ballroom was thick with cigar smoke and the scent of expensive bourbon.
Underneath the brilliant sparkle of crystal chandeliers, dangerous men made decisions that destroyed lives.
Victor stood near the marble column, his hand resting casually near his tailored jacket.
The deep scar running across his left cheek throbbed under the heavy golden lights.
He was the syndicate’s most ruthless cleaner, a man who spoke only through violence.
Nobody approached Victor without permission.
Nobody even looked him directly in the eyes.
Until the soft sound of patent leather shoes tapped against the polished floor.
The heavy crowd of mobsters fell silent as a path naturally opened up.
A five-year-old girl in a immaculate white dress walked straight toward the killer.
She held a crumpled piece of notebook paper tightly in her tiny hands.
Victor’s eyes narrowed as his hand tightened around his hidden weapon.
He expected a trap, a sniper, or an assassin’s distraction.
Instead, the little girl stopped right at his feet and looked up with dark, wide eyes.
"Can I borrow you… as my daddy?" she asked softly.
Her small voice echoed clearly through the silent, frozen room.
Don Salvatore, the bald syndicate boss standing nearby, gasped in absolute shock.
Victor stared down at the child, his chest tightening with an unfamiliar emotion.
"My school play is tomorrow," she whispered, her lower lip trembling slightly.
"Everyone has a daddy except me."
Victor slowly sank to his knee, bringing himself down to her level.
The crowd held its collective breath, amazed that the monster was bending down.
The girl offered him the crumpled piece of paper.
On it was a crude, hand-drawn red heart made with a red crayon.
Victor looked at the simple drawing, then looked back into her innocent eyes.
Deep inside his dark heart, something ancient and broken stirred.
"I accept the contract," Victor said, his deep voice carrying an unshakable promise.
"Tomorrow… I am your father."
In the back of the room, Don Salvatore’s face twisted into an expression of rage and fear.
Salvatore knew something about this child that Victor did not yet understand.
Before Victor could stand up, the child leaned in close to his ear.
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"Mommy told me to find the man with the scar if she didn't come home," she whispered.
Victor’s blood instantly ran cold.
