CHAPTER 5: THE MAN WHO CAME TO KILL... AND COULDN'T
CHAPTER 5: THE MAN WHO CAME TO KILL... AND COULDN'T
By dawn, the rain had stopped.
Chicago's skyline glowed pale silver beyond the windows of St. Catherine's Children's Hospital, but inside the intensive care unit, night still seemed to linger.
Dominic had not slept.
Neither had Clara.
Marcus had quietly arranged for trusted men—not members of the Mercer syndicate, but former military security specialists—to guard every entrance to the pediatric ICU.
No weapons.
No intimidation.
Just protection.
Dominic had given one order.
"If anyone asks why they're here, tell the truth."
Marcus had frowned.
"The truth?"
"They're protecting my son."
Across town...
Victor Mercer sat alone in the library of the Mercer estate.
An old family photograph rested on his desk.
Dominic.
Age eight.
Grinning beside a bicycle.
The last picture taken before Dominic's mother had been murdered by a rival family.
Victor picked it up.
His expression softened for only a second.
Then the softness disappeared.
A knock came at the door.
"Come."
A gray-haired man entered.
Leon Archer.
Victor's oldest fixer.
"What did you learn?"
Leon hesitated.
"The child has never used the Mercer name."
Victor nodded.
"And?"
"He believes his father abandoned him."
Victor closed his eyes briefly.
"Good."
Leon looked uncomfortable.
"There is... another matter."
Victor looked up.
"Speak."
"Dominic has removed our people from the hospital."
Victor almost smiled.
"So."
"He has finally chosen."
Back at St. Catherine's...
Clara sat beside Eli's bed reading softly from his favorite dinosaur book.
Her voice cracked every few sentences.
Dominic remained near the window.
He didn't interrupt.
Didn't pretend he belonged.
Halfway through the story...
A nurse entered.
"Mrs. Bennett?"
"Yes?"
"A gentleman says he's your brother."
Clara frowned.
"My brother?"
"I don't have—"
Before she could finish, a man in hospital scrubs stepped inside carrying a bouquet of flowers.
He smiled politely.
"Clara?"
She stared.
"I don't know you."
The smile disappeared.
Dominic noticed first.
The man's shoes.
Too clean.
Military posture.
No hospital ID clipped correctly.
Everything about him was wrong.
"Marcus."
Marcus was already moving.
The stranger reached into the flowers.
Not for a card.
For a syringe.
Dominic crossed the room in two strides.
The man lunged toward Eli's bed.
Dominic caught his wrist.
The syringe fell.
Marcus slammed the intruder into the wall hard enough to crack plaster.
Within seconds, security flooded the room.
The man laughed through bloodied lips.
"You really are getting soft, Mercer."
Dominic stared at him.
"Who sent you?"
Silence.
Marcus searched him.
Inside the fake identification badge was a tiny folded piece of paper.
Only three handwritten words.
Protect the bloodline.
Marcus slowly looked up.
Neither man needed to ask whose words those were.
Victor's.
An hour later...
The would-be assassin sat handcuffed in a secure interrogation room.
Dominic dismissed everyone else.
"I'll talk to him alone."
Marcus objected.
"He came to kill Eli."
"I know."
When the room emptied, Dominic sat across from the prisoner.
"Name."
The man smiled.
"No names."
Dominic leaned forward.
"My father ordered this?"
The man chuckled.
"He ordered protection."
"Protection?"
"You misunderstand the old man."
Dominic frowned.
The assassin spoke quietly.
"I wasn't sent to kill the boy."
Dominic froze.
"What?"
"I was sent..."
"...to take him."
Silence.
The man continued.
"Victor believes every Mercer heir belongs inside the family."
"He said the mother would never survive a custody battle."
Dominic's face darkened.
"And if she resisted?"
The man looked away.
"He told me not to answer that."
Dominic already knew.
When he left the interrogation room...
Clara was waiting.
She looked terrified.
"What happened?"
Dominic didn't hide the truth.
"My father wants Eli."
Clara took a step back.
"No."
"I won't let him."
"You can't stop Victor Mercer."
Dominic looked directly into her eyes.
"I can."
"You don't know what he's capable of."
"I do."
His voice broke.
"He taught me."
That evening...
Eli's fingers moved.
Just once.
A tiny twitch.
Clara jumped to her feet.
"Doctor!"
Nurses rushed in.
Dominic held his breath.
The monitor showed increased brain activity.
The doctor smiled carefully.
"This is encouraging."
Clara grabbed Dominic's arm without thinking.
May you like
For the first time since the accident...
Neither of them pulled away.
