“It’s him! He set me up! He’s that girl’s father! He’s doing this!”
The judge banged the gavel. The guards dragged Ryan away. Captain Brooks looked at Vic for a long time.
He understood. But he couldn’t prove a thing. After the trial, Vic called an old contact named Tony, a man with influence at the prison where Ryan was being sent.
The call was short:
“Tony, it’s Vic. Listen, Ryan Brooks is coming your way. He’s a cop’s son, and he’s the one who hurt my daughter. You follow?”
“I follow, Vic. He won’t have an easy time. We don’t like his kind in here.”
“Don’t kill him. Just make sure he feels it. Make sure he knows what it’s like to be the victim for the rest of his sentence.”
“Consider it done.”
Ryan arrived at the prison in July. He was met with the full weight of the yard’s code. Within a week, he was broken and humiliated.
He became an outcast. Captain Brooks tried everything to get his son out—bribes, favors, appeals. It was useless.
Inside those walls, the badge meant nothing. A dirty cop’s son was the lowest of the low. Vic visited Ellie in the hospital.
No change. But the doctors said her vitals were improving. There was a chance.
He sat by her bed, held her hand, and whispered:
“It’s okay, Ellie. Dad’s handling it. It’s almost over. Just wait for me.”
Three down. One left. Oliver Sterling. The leader.
The architect. The one who broke his girl. Vic was preparing for the finale.
Patiently, methodically. Like a hunter. The wolf doesn’t rush.
He waits for the perfect moment. And he strikes for the throat. The town was talking.
Peterson with his shattered hands. Tony Fox in the burn unit, his career gone. Ryan Brooks in prison, broken.
Three of the town’s ‘elite’ had suddenly become cripples or convicts. A coincidence? Not even the most naive believed that.
Gerald Sterling, CEO of Sterling Chemicals, a heavy-set man with a cold gaze, gathered the fathers of the other boys at his estate. May 21st. Around the table.
Tony’s father, the dealership owner. Captain Brooks, looking ten years older, and Gerald himself.
“Who?” Sterling asked. His voice was low, but it carried a deadly weight.
Captain Brooks put a photo on the table. Vic, caught by a surveillance camera near the courthouse.
“Victor Miller. Goes by ‘Silver.’ Old-school convict. Three priors. Released in April. Father of Elena Miller.”
Sterling took the photo and studied the face. Gray hair, lined face, cold eyes.
“The girl who…” he didn’t finish.
“Yeah, her.” Brooks lit a cigarette. “My son screamed it in court. Said Miller set him up. But we can’t prove it. He’s old-school. Doesn’t leave a trail.”
Tony’s father balled his fists:
“My son is an invalid. His career is over. And your son is in there, turning into…”
Brooks couldn’t continue. He put his head in his hands.
Sterling poured himself a drink, his gaze hardening.
“My son, Oliver, is next. Miller is coming for him. It’s only a matter of time.”
“What are we going to do?” Tony’s father asked.
“We take him out,” Sterling said simply. “If the law won’t work, we’ll do it ourselves.”
Two days later, Sterling met with a man known as “The Mongoose.” A professional. He worked clean and cost a fortune.
The meeting was private, no witnesses.
“The target?”
