Chapter 2 - The Bloodstained Envelope
The room seemed to shrink the moment Marcus pulled that thick, crinkled envelope from his pocket. The paper was discolored, marked with dark, unmistakable rust-colored stains that caught the light of the flickering overhead bulb. Malik’s breath hitched in his throat, the sharp retort he had prepared instantly dying on his tongue. Elena’s eyes widened, a flicker of genuine panic cutting through her usual defensive armor as she stared straight at the soiled paper.
"You talking about my money, young man?" Marcus asked, his voice a deep, gravelly rumble that filled the tight hallway without needing to raise a decibel. He didn't sound angry; he sounded tired, like a man who had carried a corpse across a desert for three days. "You think I'm just sitting on my ass leeching off your sweat? You think I choose to live like a dog in a hallway?"
"Then what's in the bag, Marcus?" Malik shot back, taking a hard step forward, the stack of hundred-dollar bills still gripped tightly in his fist like a weapon. "Every month it’s the same story. Excuses. Empty pockets. But you always got cash for your little trips out to the east side. You always got gas in that beat-up sedan."
Elena held up a hand, her furry slippers shuffling softly against the worn carpet as she stepped between them. "Don't, Marcus. Put that away. Not here. Not in front of him."
"No, let him see it," Marcus said, his dark eyes locking onto Malik with an intensity that made the younger man's skin crawl. "You want to talk about rent? You want to talk about who pays for what roof over your head? This right here is the real rent we've been paying every single month since you were in middle school. Blood money, Malik. Your mother’s blood money."
Malik shook his head, a dry, humorless laugh escaping his lips. "My mother works at the hospital. Don't start bringing her into your bullshit financial games."
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"Your mother hasn't worked a shift at that hospital in five years," Marcus said flatly, pulling the flap of the envelope open to reveal a stack of legal documents and a photograph of a burning warehouse.
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