Chapter 2 - The Untouchable Nerve
The warehouse gym fell completely silent. The only sound was the heavy, natural breathing of the two fighters on the mat.
The "chair" was Mateo's darkest, most fiercely guarded secret. For the past two years, an agonizing, undiagnosed nerve condition in his spine made it physically impossible for him to lie down in a bed. He spent every single night sleeping upright in a stiff leather chair, heavily medicated, losing his mind from pure exhaustion. Only his inner circle knew.
Mateo slowly pushed himself up from the blue mat. He didn't attack Gia. He stood up to his full, towering height, towering over the young coach in the burgundy top.
"I asked you a question," Mateo demanded, his voice a low, rumbling threat. "Who sent you?"
Gia stood her ground, looking up at the fearsome syndicate boss without a single ounce of fear.
"Nobody sent me," Gia replied calmly, adjusting her messy updo. "I am a neuromuscular specialist. I watched the way you favored your left shoulder when you hit the heavy bags. I felt the severe, unnatural inflammation in your thoracic vertebrae when I pinned you. You sleep sitting up because laying flat feels like broken glass in your spine."
Mateo’s eyes narrowed. His tactical, paranoid mind raced. He had flown in top neurologists from all over the world, and none of them could diagnose the burning agony in his back. Yet this random coach had figured it out in a five-minute sparring session.
"Can you fix it?" Mateo asked, taking a slow step toward her.
"I can," Gia stated firmly. "But it isn't an injury, Mateo."
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Before Gia could reveal the horrific truth she had discovered, the sharp, arrogant clicking of designer heels echoed loudly down the metal stairs of the warehouse.
👉 Who is stepping out of the shadows to silence the brilliant coach?
