Chapter 4 - Three Black CarsThe street changed in less than a minute.
One moment there were customers filming, Marcus threatening, Mia kneeling on hot pavement with a dying stranger’s phone in her hand.
The next, three black cars stopped in front of the café.
The doors opened in perfect timing.
Men in dark suits stepped out. Not police. Not gangsters. Something quieter and more terrifying.
The first man was older, with silver hair and a face that looked carved from stone. Mia recognized his voice when he spoke.
“Where is he?”
“Here,” Mia said.
The silver-haired man rushed forward and dropped to one knee beside Adrian.
“Stay with me,” he said. “You stubborn fool.”
Adrian’s mouth twitched. “Caleb.”
Caleb turned to the men behind him. “Secure the area. No one leaves yet.”
The customers inside the café suddenly stopped recording.
Marcus tried to step backward toward the door.
One of the suited men blocked him.
“Going somewhere?” Caleb asked without looking up.
Marcus forced a laugh. “This is insane. I run a café. I don’t know what this is about.”
Adrian slowly turned his head.
“You knew where I would be today.”
Marcus’s smile vanished.
Mia looked between them. “What is going on?”
Caleb examined Adrian’s pulse, then glanced at Mia. “You helped him?”
“Yes.”
“Even after Marcus told you not to?”
Mia nodded.
Caleb’s eyes softened for half a second. “Then you may have saved more than one life today.”
Marcus scoffed. “Don’t fill her head with nonsense.”
Adrian looked at Mia.
“He is not just a café manager,” he said quietly. “And I am not just the man this city fears.”
Sirens sounded in the distance, but no one moved.
May you like
Mia realized then that she had stepped into a secret much bigger than Bellamy Café.
And somehow, Marcus had been waiting for this moment.
Related Stories
