Chapter 4 - A Debt Paid in Blood
Mickey Sullivan operated his illegal loan-sharking business out of a dingy, smoke-filled pool hall on the rough south side of Chicago.
He was a cruel, sweaty man with a gold tooth and a reputation for terrorizing poor, desperate families who could not pay their medical bills.
He was sitting at a greasy card table, counting a thick stack of extorted cash, when the heavy front doors of his establishment were kicked completely off their hinges.
The loud, chaotic music in the pool hall died instantly as a dozen heavily armed, impeccably dressed mafia enforcers flooded the room.
Mickey’s low-level thugs immediately dropped their pool cues, raising their hands in absolute, terrified surrender when they recognized the men.
Vincent Romano walked slowly into the center of the room, looking like the literal angel of death stepping out of the shadows.
He wore a tailored black suit, his dark eyes burning with a cold, terrifying fire that made the temperature in the room plummet.
"Mickey Sullivan," Vincent said, his voice echoing perfectly in the dead silence of the terrified room.
"I understand you have been harassing a young woman named Ruby Jenkins."
Mickey swallowed hard, his face draining of all color as he stared at the most feared crime boss in the entire Midwest.
"Mr. Romano, I didn't know she belonged to you, I swear to God!" Mickey stammered, his hands shaking so violently he dropped his cigar.
"She borrowed twenty grand to pay for her old man's cancer treatments before he died, it was just business!"
Vincent stepped closer, grabbing a heavy wooden pool cue from a nearby table with terrifying, casual grace.
"It stopped being business the second you sent your pathetic dogs to my gates and threatened to break her legs," Vincent stated coldly.
"She is under my absolute, permanent protection, and anyone who threatens her threatens the entire Romano family."
Vincent swung the heavy pool cue with blinding, devastating speed, shattering it completely across Mickey Sullivan’s kneecap.
The loan shark screamed in agonizing, blinding pain, collapsing to the dirty floor and clutching his ruined leg.
"Consider her debt completely paid in full," Vincent whispered, tossing the broken, splintered half of the cue onto the floor beside the crying man.
"If you ever breathe her name again, or if I ever see your men within five miles of my city, I will burn this building to the ground with you inside it."
Vincent turned his back on the pathetic, bleeding man and walked calmly out of the pool hall, returning to his waiting armored vehicle.
When he arrived back at the Highland Park estate an hour later, the sun had already set, casting long, dark shadows across the lawn.
He found Ruby sitting in the massive kitchen, wearing her faded navy dress, quietly washing a sippy cup in the sink.
He walked up behind her, gently placing a large, heavy envelope full of stamped, official legal documents onto the counter.
Ruby turned around, her eyes widening in confusion when she saw the dark, drying blood staining the knuckles of his right hand.
"What happened to your hand, Mister Romano?" she gasped softly, reaching out instinctively before quickly pulling her hand back in embarrassment.
"I took care of a minor business transaction in the city, Ruby," Vincent replied, his voice incredibly soft and gentle for a man who had just shattered a bone.
"Open the envelope."
Ruby picked up the heavy paper with trembling fingers, pulling out the official, legally stamped documents declaring her father's debt completely eradicated.
She stared at the paperwork, her knees going weak as the crushing, suffocating weight she had carried for six months finally vanished.
"Mister Romano, I don't understand, how did you pay this?" she whispered, hot, heavy tears of absolute gratitude spilling over her eyelashes.
"I cannot possibly ever repay you for this kind of money."
Vincent reached out, gently wiping a single tear from her soft, round cheek with his thumb, completely ignoring his own strict rules about touching the staff.
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"You already repaid me, Ruby," he murmured, his dark eyes staring deeply into her soul.
"You brought my son back to life, and for that, I would give you the entire world."
