Chapter 3 - THE WOLF'S ALLIANCE
Mia didn't have time to argue. She followed Daniel through a maze of abandoned subway tunnels until they reached a decommissioned electrical room deep beneath the city. The space was lit by a single, swinging bulb and filled with the humming of old generators. Daniel locked the heavy steel door behind them, tossing a medical kit onto a dusty table.
"Why are you helping me?" Mia demanded, her voice shaking but laced with sudden defiance. She pulled the cassette tape from her pocket and slammed it on the table. "My father said not to trust Victor. He didn't say anything about Victor's personal executioner."
Daniel let out a dry, humorless chuckle. He unbuttoned his soaked trench coat, revealing a dark crimson stain blooming across his white shirt. "Your father didn't mention me because, to the rest of the world, I was already dead." He winced as he applied pressure to his side. "Ten years ago, Thomas Carter wasn't just building Victor's casinos. He was laundering the syndicate's money. When he realized Victor was planning to massacre the rival families and take total control of the city, Thomas tried to stop him. He gathered evidence. Ledgers, recordings, bank codes. Enough leverage to bury Victor Kane in federal prison for ten lifetimes."
Mia’s head spun. "And my mother?"
"Your mother," Daniel said, his eyes darkening with disgust, "loved the power more than she loved your father. She made a deal with Victor. She gave up Thomas's location in exchange for a seat at the head of the table. They staged the accident. But your father was smart. He hid the evidence before they got to him. I was his bodyguard, Mia. I survived the ambush that night, but barely. I had to embed myself in Victor's inner circle, wait for the right moment, and look for you."
Mia stared at him, the pieces of the horrifying puzzle finally snapping together. The photograph, the cryptic messages, the sudden reappearance of her mother. "They don't want me dead," Mia whispered, the realization sending a fresh chill down her spine. "They think I know where the evidence is. They’re using me to find it."
"Exactly," Daniel confirmed, tossing her a loaded pistol. "Elena's little assassination attempt at the restaurant? That was a distraction. Victor knew you were listening. He manipulated you into 'saving' him so he could pull you into his inner circle, isolate you, and watch your every move. But they are running out of time. The feds are closing in, and Victor needs those ledgers destroyed by midnight tomorrow."
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Mia stared at the heavy black gun in her hands. The invisible, trembling waitress from the Belladonna was dead. In her place, a cold, burning anger began to take root. "My father used to take me to the old St. Jude Orphanage on Sundays," she said slowly, her eyes meeting Daniel's. "He always told me that if I ever got lost, I should look behind the cornerstone of the chapel. I thought it was just a game."
Daniel cracked a fierce, bloody smile. "Then we better go to church."
