Chapter 4 - SHADOWS AT COLUMBIA
Two months passed.
Winter surrendered to early spring, and Maya’s life transformed at a dizzying pace.
Every morning at 7:30 AM, an armored sedan driven by a guard named Leo took Maya from the Grand Sovereign to the uptown campus of Columbia University. She threw herself into her studies with a desperate, ferocious focus, spending twelve hours a day in lecture halls, organic chemistry labs, and the medical library.
She didn't make many friends. She was quieter than the other students, her eyes constantly scanning exits and crowds—habits formed from years on the street that she couldn't unlearn.
Victor kept his distance, respecting her space, but his presence was everywhere. Her tuition was paid, her textbooks were delivered before classes even started, and whenever she returned to her apartment, a fresh meal prepared by Elena’s private chef was waiting for her.
Once a week, Maya visited Elena at the Vance estate in Connecticut. The old woman treated Maya like the daughter she never had, teaching her how to garden, sharing stories of Victor’s youth, and filling the void of loss that had lived in Maya’s chest for three years.
Then, the Marcone family made their move.
It happened on a rainy Tuesday evening in November.
Maya was leaving the science library at 8:30 PM. The campus path was slick with rain, illuminated by dim yellow streetlamps. Leo was waiting in the sedan at the street corner two blocks away.
As Maya walked past a row of tall hedges near the alley behind the chemistry building, a black van pulled up silently to the curb.
The side door slid open.
Two men in raincoats stepped out, moving fast.
Maya’s street instincts screamed. Before the first man could reach for her, she spun around, throwing her heavy leather backpack straight into his face. The heavy chemistry textbooks slammed into his nose with a crunch, sending him stumbling backward onto the pavement.
"Grab her!" the second man hissed, drawing a suppressed pistol from his jacket.
Maya didn't scream for help; she ran. She ducked into the narrow alley between the chemistry building and the boiler facility, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"She’s in the alley!" a voice barked behind her.
Footsteps slammed against the wet brick. Maya sprinted toward the far exit, but a third man stepped out from the shadows, blocking the street end with his gun raised.
Trapped.
"Don't move, girl," the man in front of her sneered, his breath smelling of stale tobacco. "Don Sal Marcone wants to have a little chat with Victor Vance's new favorite charity."
Maya backed away until her shoulders hit the cold brick wall. Her fingers instinctively reached into her pocket, gripping a heavy metal drafting compass she used for anatomy diagrams.
"Touch me," Maya said, her voice dropping into a sharp, lethal tone she didn't know she possessed, "and he will tear your entire family apart."
The man grinned, stepping forward. "He has to find you first—"
A sharp THUD echoed through the alley.
The man’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto his face like a sack of stones.
Standing behind him was Marcus.
Beside Marcus stood four Vance enforcers, their silenced pistols raised. The two men chasing Maya from behind were already on the ground, disarmed and pinned to the asphalt by two more guards.
Marcus lowered his heavy hand, stepping over the unconscious man.
"You're late, Marcus," Maya breathed, her knees shaking as the adrenaline receded.
"Apologies, Miss Maya," Marcus said calmly, bowing his head slightly. "The Boss gave explicit orders to let them commit to the attempt so we could track the authorization back to Don Marcone himself."
The rear door of a sleek black sedan at the mouth of the alley opened.
Victor Vance stepped out into the rain.
He held a black umbrella, his charcoal coat immaculate. He walked down the alley with slow, measured steps, ignoring the groan of the Marcone soldiers on the ground, until he stood in front of Maya.
He looked at the metal drafting compass still held tightly in her small hand, and a rare, proud smirk touched his lips.
"You held your ground," Victor said softly.
"I told them you’d tear them apart," Maya whispered, lowering her hand.
May you like
Victor reached out, taking the drafting compass from her cold fingers and dropping it into his pocket. Then, he gently brushed a strand of wet hair off her forehead.
"You were right," Victor murmured, his voice laced with a dark, terrifying promise. "Tonight, the Marcone family ceases to exist."
