Chapter 1 - The Blood Price on Asphalt
The heavy downpour pounded against the dark city asphalt, turning the street into a glossy river of reflecting streetlights. A massive black SUV slammed its brakes with a sharp screech of rubber, its glowing headlights illuminating the torrential sheets of rain.
An eight-year-old girl, soaked to the bone in a thin white nightgown, her long dark hair plastered against her pale cheeks, slapped her bare hand violently against the warm hood of the vehicle.
Inside the SUV, William Castellano—a handsome man in his late 30s with dark wavy hair, light stubble, dressed in a sharp black suit, white shirt, and black tie—instantly shouted to his driver. "Stop the car! Don't move!"
William pushed the heavy door open and stepped out into the storm, holding his heavy dark wool coat. He dropped to one knee on the flooded asphalt beside his SUV, looking at the shivering child with genuine concern. "What’s your name, little girl?"
Eight-year-old Diana Reeves stood barefoot in the freezing runoff, rain dripping down her nose, as she reached into her nightgown pocket and thrust a damp, crumpled sheet of paper toward him.
"My mom sold me... for fifty thousand dollars," Diana whispered, her small voice shaking uncontrollably against the thunder.
William took the wet document carefully. His jaw tightened into an iron line as his dark eyes scanned the legal notarized bill of sale signed by her biological mother, selling custody to a notorious underground syndicate boss named Richard Vance.
William stared down into the child's cold face. "Why did you run to me?"
Diana looked directly into William’s eyes with resolute, haunting courage. "I thought if good people wouldn’t help me... maybe a bad person would."
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William wrapped his heavy wool coat around her tiny shoulders as his massive Rottweiler stepped out of the SUV, standing guard behind them in the howling storm. "You’re safe with me now."
👉 Read PART 2 to discover why Richard Vance was hunting Diana across the city!
