Chapter 2 - The Perimeter Snaps
The four words hung in the crisp Portland air like a death sentence.
“They know about him.”
Daniel’s bodyguard, a mountain of a man named Viktor whom I remembered from my old life in New York, didn't look at me. His eyes scanned the treeline bordering the park, his hand already resting inside his tailored jacket.
"Who knows, Daniel?" I gasped, pulling Noah tightly against my legs. The maternal instinct that had kept us alive for four years flared into absolute panic. "Who found us?"
"My uncle, Matteo," Daniel said, his voice dropping into a lethal, submissive gravel. The shock of discovering his son vanished instantly, replaced by the terrifying efficiency of a mafia don preparing for an ambush. "He intercepted a leak from my security team. He knows I tracked you to Portland, and he knows why you ran. He has a cleanup crew moving toward the market right now."
Matteo Mercer. The man who had tried to have me killed five years ago because I was a "liability" to the family's ascension.
"Mama, you're squeezing me," Noah whimpered, dropping his toy locomotive into the dirt.
Before I could answer, a sharp, choked gasp echoed from the flower stall twenty feet away. A vendor collapsed behind her counter as a man in a gray hooded sweatshirt stepped over her, a silenced pistol raised and aimed directly at Noah's back.
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"Down!" Daniel roared.
He didn't hesitate. He threw his entire body over me and Noah just as three muffled pops shattered the Saturday morning peace. The wooden crate of tomatoes exploded above us, showering the asphalt in red pulp and splinters.
