THE TICKING VEIL

Instead of heading to his downtown corporate offices, Gabriel took a nondescript sedan to the outskirts of upstate New York. Nestled among pine trees stood a secluded botanical greenhouse where his sister Clara had brought Emma.

When Gabriel stepped inside, the warm, earthy aroma of blooming jasmine and wet moss greeted him. Emma was kneeling beside a bed of white lilies, a tiny watering can in her hands.

"Uncle Gabe!" she cried out, dropping the can and sprinting across the dirt path.

Gabriel caught her effortlessly, swinging her into his arms as she buried her face into the crook of his tattooed neck.

"You smell like rain," she whispered.

"It’s pouring in the city," Gabriel said gently, carrying her over to a cedar bench where Clara stood watching with crossed arms and a worried brow.

"Gabriel," Clara said quietly. "Is it as bad as you feared?"

"Worse," Gabriel admitted, setting Emma down and handing her a wooden box of colored pencils he had brought along. "Julian Vance ordered the strike on Marcus. Elena was the inside operative tasked with securing Emma’s trust."

Clara gasped, covering her mouth. "Dear God... Marcus treated the Vance family like royalty. How could they be so soulless?"

"Greed doesn't have a conscience, Clara," Gabriel said, watching Emma draw a bright yellow sun on a sheet of rough sketch paper. "Marcus believed that creating community wealth would protect people. He forgot that sharks only see blood."

Emma looked up, holding out her drawing. In the corner of the paper, she had drawn three stick figures holding hands: a tall man with black hair, a little girl in a yellow dress, and an angel with sprawling wings.

"Daddy watches us from the clouds," Emma said matter-of-factly. "He told me in a dream that you have a big shield."

Gabriel felt a heavy, unyielding knot tighten in his chest. He had spent his early life fighting in back alleys to protect his family; now, he would use every dollar and resource he owned to be the shield Marcus’s daughter needed.