Chapter 5: Road to Nowhere**
The old black sedan tore down the deserted country highway as rain began to pelt the windshield. Marcus adjusted the rearview mirror, constantly checking the gray horizon for pursuit. In the passenger seat, Lily sat dwarfed by the oversized seatbelt, her eyes glued to the wipers sweeping rhythmically back and forth.
"Where is your mother, Lily?" Marcus asked gently, keeping his voice steady despite the searing pain in his bruised ribs.
Lily looked down at her plush bear, smoothing its worn fabric ears. "Momma went to sleep in the big white building with the beeping machines. Then Uncle Dominic said she went to heaven, and he took me to that big house with high walls."
A cold fury ignited in Marcus's gut.
Dominic hadn't just betrayed him over syndicate money; Dominic had kept Lily captive as leverage. Her mother, Elena, had been Marcus’s only tether to sanity years ago before he walked away to keep her safe from the mob. Dominic had hidden Elena’s illness and used Lily as an insurance policy.
"Did Uncle Dominic hurt you?" Marcus asked, his jaw tightening so hard a muscle twitched beneath his scar.
"No," Lily whispered. "He told me if I was quiet, he’d buy me ice cream. But his friends were loud, and they carried big guns. I got scared and ran into the barn."
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Marcus reached across the console, his thumb brushing away a stray tear on her cheek. "Nobody will ever scare you again. I give you my word."
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