All Chapters of A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The Weight of the CrownThe glass of whiskey in my hand was the only thing keeping me grounded. I stared out the window of my office, watching the city lights move about. Somewhere out there, the Vipers were crawling through the gutters, thinking they could touch what was mine. They thought because they had cornered Raine in an alley, they had found a crack in my armor.They were right. And that’s what made me want to burn the whole North End to the ground.I should have killed them all right there, I thought, my grip tightening on the glass. I should have left their bodies for the rats.But a boss doesn't just react. A boss plans. And my plan for the Vipers wasn't just a hit. It was an erasure. I wanted their warehouses emptied, their bank accounts drained, and their names forgotten by the end of the week.A knock at the door broke my focus. I didn't turn around. I knew the heavy, arrogant stride before he even spoke."You've been staring at that window for twenty minutes, Andreas," D

The hallway was too quiet. Every time my sneakers hit the carpet, I thought the sound was loud enough to wake the whole building. I didn't take the main elevator. Instead, I found the staff door near the laundry chute and took the back stairs. My legs felt heavy as I headed down, floor after floor, until the air turned cold and started to smell like damp concrete and old paper.I reached the basement level. This was the place where everything had gone wrong. I stood at the end of the dark corridor, my heart hammering against my ribs. I pulled my hood lower, making sure the shadows covered my face.I walked toward the records room. The heavy metal door was closed, just like it was the night I fought Felix. I paused, listening for voices or the sound of boots on the floor. Nothing. Just the hum of the pipes overhead.I pushed the door open. It creaked, a small, sharp sound that made me wince. I slipped inside and stood in the dark for a second, letting my eyes adjust. The room was a mess

The club was a blur of neon lights and heavy bass that I could feel in my teeth. I sat at the far end of the marble bar, tucked away in the shadows where the light didn't hit quite as hard. I had a glass of something amber in front of me, but I wasn't really drinking it. I was just staring at the condensation dripping down the side.My mind was back in the penthouse, stuck on that laptop screen. I had spent hours trying to find another file, anything that showed what happened to my brother, Asher. I had searched every folder on that drive, but the incident from the night he was taken just wasn't there. It was like a ghost had erased him.The only thing I had was the image of my father's death and that tattoo. That lion head."You look like you're carrying the weight of the world on those pretty shoulders," a voice said, cutting through the music.I didn't look up. I didn't want to talk. I just wanted to disappear into the noise. "Go away," I muttered.A man slid into the stool next to

The silence of the bedroom was almost as heavy as the secrets I was holding. After Andreas left, I didn’t go to sleep. My body was exhausted, but my mind was spinning like a wheel that wouldn't stop. I sat back on the floor, leaning my head against the side of the bed, and pulled the laptop toward me again. The blue light felt like it was burning my tired eyes.I went back into the "Archive 09" folder. My fingers were shaking as I clicked through the small, nameless files. Most of them were just boring lists of shipping numbers and warehouse addresses. But then, I found a document titled 'External Contacts – North Sector.'I opened it, expecting to see more names of gang leaders or corrupt cops. I scrolled down the list slowly, reading every name. Near the bottom, I froze.Tobi Williams.I stared at the name until the letters started to blur. Tobi. He was my best friend when we were kids. We used to play football in the dusty streets of our old neighborhood until our mothers screamed f

I was pushing the SUV as fast as it could go, my knuckles white on the steering wheel. I didn't care about the speed traps. I didn't care about the rain slicking the roads. All I could think about was the penthouse. All I could think about was Raine."Boss, slow down! You’re going to flip the car!" Vance shouted from the passenger seat, his hand gripping the door handle."Shut up!" I roared, slamming my foot even harder on the gas. "If anything happens to him, Vance, I’m going to burn this entire city to the ground myself!"We rounded the final corner, and my heart stopped.The club—my pride, my fortress—was a wall of orange and black. Thick, oily smoke was billowing into the rainy sky. The ground floor was a skeleton of twisted metal and shattered glass. People were running in every direction, screaming, their faces covered in soot."No," I whispered. "No, no, no."I slammed the car into park before it even fully stopped and threw myself out the door. The heat hit me like a physical p