Chapter 4 - The Shattered Glass
The search continued until dawn, but Raphael never left my side. We stayed in the kitchen, the sunlight slowly creeping across the floorboards. I learned things that weren't in the rumors: he hated the smell of gunpowder; he collected rare books he never had time to read; he was haunted by the brother he had lost to the same life he was now trapped in.
As the morning light hit the windows, the mansion came alive with the sound of staff starting their day.
"They’ll find you soon," I said. "The house will be buzzing in an hour."
"I know," he said. He looked at the door. "When they find me, I’m going to tell them I was dealing with a security breach. You weren't here. You were in your room the whole time."
"They won't believe it."
"They will if I command it."
He paused, then reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, heavy key. He placed it on the table between us.
"That’s to an apartment in the city. No cameras. No security. Just a place where the Harbor King can’t reach. If you ever need to disappear, use it."
"Why are you giving me this?"
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"Because," he said, his voice a ghost of the confidence he usually carried, "I want to know that you could leave if you wanted to. And I want you to know that I wouldn't stop you."
The realization hit me: he wasn't just a crime boss. He was a man desperately trying to be free, and he was using me as his anchor.
