Chapter 12
The air in the underground parking garage was thick with the smell of exhaust and damp concrete. Silas stood in the shadows, shivering in a cheap jacket that did nothing to hide the thick white bandage taped across his shattered nose. His fair face was heavily bruised, a testament to the violent strike Bennett had delivered the night before. A sleek, unmarked black sedan pulled into the structure, stopping inches from Silas. The passenger window rolled down, revealing a man with cold, dead eyes and a jagged scar across his neck. His name was Graves, a fixer known only to the city’s most desperate elites. "You look like hell, Sterling," Graves noted, his voice a harsh rasp. "I heard your entire family got liquidated by Apex Holdings at six this morning." "I didn't come here to discuss my portfolio," Silas spat, stepping closer to the vehicle. "I came to hire you. I want Bennett Sterling destroyed. I want him dragged out of his penthouse, and I want him to sign everything back over to me." "Taking down a billionaire titan isn't cheap," Graves said, resting his hand on the steering wheel. "And from what I understand, your credit is currently zero." "I have offshore crypto accounts that Apex couldn't trace," Silas lied, his voice dripping with venom. "Ten million dollars. But I need you to hit him where it hurts. I want his daughter." Graves stared at Silas for a long, silent moment. "Half upfront. Or you can walk back out into the snow."
