Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO OWNED EVERY ROOMArthur Voss had been beside Declan through funerals, betrayals, gunfights, and the night Declan inherited control of the Knox organization after his father was murdered.
He knew which whiskey Declan preferred, which scars ached in cold weather, and which names could make the mafia king lose his temper.
He had earned a level of trust that money could never purchase.
That was why Clary's accusation felt impossible.
“Explain,” Declan said.
Arthur straightened his jacket.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
Clary immediately stepped backward.
Declan noticed.
“Stay where you are.”
She froze.
He turned to Arthur.
“Start talking.”
Arthur lowered his voice.
“The girl’s brother borrowed money from one of our gambling partners. The debt was transferred to our collection department. Standard procedure.”
“Why is she paying it?”
“Because she offered.”
Clary shook her head.
“I didn't offer. They came to my apartment.”
Arthur's eyes flashed.
“You should be careful about accusing people, sweetheart.”
Declan stepped between them.
“Don't call her that.”
The words were quiet, but Arthur understood their meaning.
He had watched Declan destroy men for less.
“She's leaving things out,” Arthur insisted. “Her brother is an irresponsible gambler. He borrowed the money, lost it, and refused to pay. Someone had to make him understand the consequences.”
“Someone broke his arm.”
“He resisted.”
Clary covered her mouth.
Declan's jaw tightened.
“Get out.”
Arthur stared at him.
“Declan—”
“Now.”
For a moment, Arthur looked like a man who had forgotten how to obey.
Then he turned and left.
Declan waited until his footsteps disappeared before facing Clary.
“Tell me everything.”
She looked toward the corridor.
“Will he hear us?”
“No.”
“He always hears everything.”
“Not tonight.”
She swallowed.
“My brother Tommy is twenty-one. He works at a repair shop when he can, but he got into gambling after our mother died. He thought he could win enough to pay our rent. Instead, he borrowed money from people who said they were connected to you.”
“How much did he borrow?”
“Twenty thousand.”
“And the debt became fifty thousand?”
“They added fees every week. When Tommy couldn't pay, they broke his arm. Then they came to me.”
“Why didn't you contact me?”
A bitter laugh escaped her.
“Contact you? Mr. Knox, people like me don't contact men like you. We pray men like you never learn our names.”
The honesty struck harder than an insult.
“How much have you paid?”
“Almost eighteen thousand dollars.”
Declan stared at her.
“You've paid eighteen thousand toward a debt that started at twenty thousand?”
“Yes.”
“And they still threaten your brother?”
“They say the interest keeps growing.”
He felt a cold fury building inside him.
“Where do you get that kind of money?”
“I work here during the day and clean offices at night. Sometimes I take extra shifts at a diner.”
“When do you sleep?”
“When I can.”
He looked at her hands again.
“Who gave you those bruises?”
Clary pulled her sleeves down.
“Please don't make this worse.”
“I'm trying to understand what happened.”
“And I'm trying to keep my brother alive.”
Her voice broke.
For the first time, Declan realized his questions might sound like threats to someone who had spent months living in fear.
He stepped back.
“I won't touch you. I won't punish you for telling me the truth.”
She searched his face, apparently trying to determine whether the promise was real.
Then she said, “There is something else.”
“What?”
“The men collecting the money knew exactly when I got paid. They knew where Tommy was staying. They knew when I left work.”
Declan's eyes narrowed.
“Someone was giving them information.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“I don't know. But yesterday, one of them told me something strange.”
“What?”
Clary looked toward the closed door.
“He said the debt wasn't really about Tommy anymore. He said it was about teaching someone inside this house a lesson.”
Declan went still.
“Who said that?”
“A man named Mercer. He wears a silver ring with a black stone.”
Declan recognized the description immediately.
Elias Mercer was one of Arthur's most trusted collection supervisors.
And Mercer had been missing from the mansion's security rotation for three days.
Declan took out his phone and called his head of security.
“Find Elias Mercer. Quietly. I want every report connected to Clary Davies and Tommy Davies.”
He ended the call.
Clary looked frightened.
“What are you going to do?”
“Find out who has been using my name to destroy your life.”
“And if it's someone you love?”
Declan met her gaze.
“Then I'll discover how much that love was worth.”
At that moment, his phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of Tommy sitting in a chair, his injured arm in a cast.
Beneath the photograph were seven words.
STOP ASKING QUESTIONS, OR YOUR MAID'S BROTHER DIES.
Declan looked at Clary.
She had seen the photograph over his shoulder.
Her face crumpled.
“Please,” she whispered. “Don't let them take Tommy.”
Declan slipped the phone into his pocket.
“They just made their biggest mistake.”
Then a second message arrived.
This one contained a photograph of Declan's late father.
May you like
And on the back of the photograph, someone had written a date from twenty years earlier.
The night the Knox empire began to bleed.
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