Page 32 of Chains
“That’s enough,” Griffin snapped, stepping forward to grab the duffel bag from Blackheart’s hands.“No one’s buying what you’re selling.”
Blackheart allowed the bag to be taken, his lips curving in a small, calculating smile.“You seem very certain of my daughter’s loyalty.Interesting.”
“One more word about Ellie,” I warned, my voice dropping to a deadly whisper, “and Knuckles and Tiny together won’t be able to hold me back.”
“Should Chains wake her up and bring her down here?”Tiny asked, glancing at Knuckles.“Let her see what Daddy dearest is really up to?”
Knuckles shook his head.“No.She doesn’t need to see this.”He gripped my shoulder, a reminder to hold my temper.“But she deserves to know.I’m sure you’ll figure out how to soften the blow, Chains.”
I nodded, the red haze of rage beginning to recede just enough for rational thought to seep back in.Ellie would be devastated.I’d tell her.Just not right now.She needed to let her heart heal before we discussed this.
“You can’t keep me here,” Blackheart said, his composure slipping further as he seemed to realize the gravity of his situation.“I have rights.”
Knuckles laughed, a cold sound utterly devoid of humor.“Rights?You gave up any rights when you broke into my office and stole from us.But don’t worry.We’re not going to kill you.”
“Not yet, anyway,” I added, flexing my hands, already imagining how good it would feel to wrap them around his throat.
Blackheart swallowed visibly, the first sign of genuine fear breaking through his facade.“What are you going to do with me?”
Knuckles smiled, and it was the smile of a predator who had cornered his prey.“We’re going to have a little chat.About who you are, what you did, and who’s interested in finding you.Because, I promise, this is something you really want to know.”
Knuckles pulled out his phone, checking a message before nodding to Griffin.My breathing was still ragged, my hands aching from how tightly I’d clenched my fists.But the red haze was clearing from my vision, replaced by a cold, calculating fury that I knew I wouldn’t get to satisfy.Not the way I wanted to.
Knuckles grinned at Blackheart.When he spoke, Knuckles’ voice was eerily calm.“The doctor who got caught, did his time, and now deserves a second chance.”He took a step closer to Tate, who instinctively backed up until he hit the wall.“Unfortunately, you touched some lives better left alone.”
Blackheart’s jaw tightened, but he maintained his composure.“That’s all ancient history.I served my time.”
“Did you?”Knuckles tilted his head.“Because the way I hear it, you only served time for what they could prove.The organ trafficking ring, the kickbacks, the falsified medical records.”He paused, watching Blackheart’s face.“But that wasn’t all, was it?”
Something flickered in Blackheart’s eyes, the first genuine emotion I’d seen there.Fear.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, but his voice lacked the smooth confidence from before.
“What got you caught were the ten-year-olds you harvested organs from while they were still alive and were expected to make a full recovery.The two hundred fifty thousand dollars you got for each kid’s heart when you sold it to dark web clients didn’t help either,” Knuckles stated with deadly calm.
Blackheart’s face drained of color.“That’s a lie.That was never proven.”
“Because you rolled on everyone else before they could dig deeper,” Knuckles continued.“You gave them your associates, your nurses, your contacts.Everyone who knew anything about the operation.But there were things only you knew.Things that never made it into the official record.”
I watched as sweat beaded on Blackheart’s forehead.Knuckles was hitting home, landing blows with surgical precision.This was a different kind of destruction, and Knuckles was a master at it.
“The parents of those children never got justice,” Knuckles said, his voice dropping lower.“Because officially, their kids died from surgical complications.But we know better.Don’t we, Doctor?”
“You can’t prove any of this,” Blackheart said, his voice strained.“It’s all hearsay and rumors.”
“We don’t need to prove it in court.”Knuckles waved him off, chuckling.“This ain’t a fuckin’ trial.You see, there are people who’ve been looking for you for a long time.The same people who put the police on your trail to begin with.People who lost children to your ‘complications.’People with resources and very long fuckin’ memories.”
“Who?”Blackheart demanded, his composed facade crumbling further.“Who are you working with?”
“The Miles family sends their regards,” Knuckles said softly.
The effect on Blackheart was immediate and dramatic.His legs seemed to give out, and he slid several inches down the wall before catching himself.“Miles?Seth Miles?”His voice had risen an octave.
“The very same,” Knuckles confirmed.“Turns out, one of those children you harvested from was his granddaughter’s best friend.He took it personally.”
“That’s impossible,” Blackheart whispered.“The Miles family wasn’t even on the East Coast when I was practicing.”
“You think a man like Seth Miles doesn’t have eyes and ears everywhere?”Knuckles laughed without humor.“He’s known about you from the beginning.Been watching you in prison.Waiting for you to get out so he could deal with you properly.”
