Chapter 10 - The Syndicate's Angel
Six months later, the Narrows looked entirely different.
The crumbling brick building that used to house Clara’s underground clinic was gone.
In its place stood the Kaine Memorial Clinic, a state-of-the-art medical facility offering free healthcare to the poorest residents of the city.
It was funded entirely by a mysterious corporate donor.
Clara stood in the pristine lobby, wearing a crisp white doctor’s coat.
Her medical license had been quietly reinstated by a state medical board that suddenly found no evidence of her previous malpractice.
She walked into her massive private office on the top floor.
Victor was sitting in her leather desk chair.
He wore a tailored midnight-blue suit, looking every inch the untouchable king of the city.
He was examining a heavy platinum watch in his hand.
"You still haven't worn it," Victor noted, looking up as she entered.
Clara smiled, walking around the desk and leaning against the polished wood.
"It clashes with my lab coat," she teased him.
Victor stood up, closing the distance between them.
He wrapped his strong arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest.
The danger that always surrounded him was still there, but when he looked at her, it transformed into absolute devotion.
"You could have taken the millions I offered and left the city," Victor murmured, kissing the pulse point below her ear.
"You could have been safe from my world."
Clara reached up, tangling her fingers in his dark hair.
She remembered the night he bled on her floor.
She remembered the night he killed a man to protect her.
She remembered the night she decided that the monster in the dark was exactly the man she wanted to stand beside.
"I don't want to be safe from your world, Victor," she whispered fiercely.
"I want to run it with you."
Victor pulled back slightly, his eyes burning with a possessive fire that stole her breath.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.
He snapped it open, revealing a diamond ring that caught the afternoon sunlight like a star.
"Then wear my name, Dr. Hayes," he commanded softly.
Clara looked at the ring, then looked up into the eyes of the mafia boss she had saved for a hundred dollars.
"Put it on me," she ordered him back.
May you like
Victor smiled, a genuine, beautiful expression that belonged only to her.
He slid the ring onto her finger, sealing her fate to his empire forever.
