Chapter 1: The Weight of a Life**
The muddy water of the Rio Salado tasted like copper and diesel, but Aurelio didn’t let go. His eight-year-old arms burned with lactic acid as he dragged the massive, unconscious man onto the gravel bank. The man was dressed in tailored Italian silk now ruined by silt, a heavy gold watch gleaming against pale skin. When the man sputtered and gasped for air, his cold grey eyes locked onto the boy. Two armored SUVs screeched to a halt under the concrete overpass. Armed men in black suits surrounded them instantly.
"What is your name, boy?" the man rasped, his voice cutting through the bridge's echo like a razor.
"Aurelio," the child answered, fearless despite his trembling knees.
The man was Mateo Vance—a name whispered in shadow across the state, a titan who ruled city boardrooms and back alleys alike with an iron fist. He looked at the frail boy whose barefoot heels were bleeding into the wet sand. Mateo raised a hand, stopping his security chief, Vargas, from pushing the kid aside.
"You saved my life, Aurelio," Mateo said, wiping brackish water from his face. "Where are your parents?"
Aurelio looked toward the shantytown clinging to the river’s outer bank. "My mother is sick. She can’t buy her medicine anymore. I was fishing for dinner."
Mateo’s gaze drifted toward the dilapidated tin roofs in the distance, then back to the boy’s resolute eyes. He reached into his wet jacket, pulled out a gold-plated clip, and handed Aurelio a pristine business card encased in waterproof laminate.
May you like
"Go home, Aurelio," Mateo murmured softly. "The debt begins today."
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