Chapter 8 - The Matriarch's Proxy
Silence fell over the snowy street. It was heavy, suffocating, and deadly. Sal’s breathing grew ragged. He had orchestrated the kidnapping to leverage the boy against Vincent, planning to kill the kidnappers himself to look like the hero. But this random woman had ruined everything.
"You're going to believe some random street trash over me?!" Sal screamed, his panic breaking through his tough facade. "She's a spy! How else does she know the old language? She’s mocking your family!"
Vincent looked at Claire. "He makes a fair point. Who are you? And how do you know my grandmother's tongue?"
Claire reached into her coat. Instantly, the bodyguards tensed, but Vincent held up a hand, allowing her to proceed. She pulled out a heavy, tarnished silver locket and tossed it through the air. Vincent caught it.
He popped it open, and his breath hitched. Inside was a picture of him as a baby, and a small inscription written in the dead dialect.
"Your grandmother, Rosa, didn't die five years ago," Claire said softly. "She went into hiding because she knew someone inside your inner circle was plotting to take the family down. She moved to my small town. She raised me. And before she passed away last month, she taught me the old language, gave me that locket, and told me to come to Chicago."
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Claire stared dead into Sal’s terrified eyes. "She told me to find the snake hiding in her grandson's house."
👉 What will Vincent do to the man who betrayed his family and tried to take his nephew?
