Amelia sat stiffly in the booth of a dimly lit diner, her eyes trained on the door. Beside her, Ryan drummed his fingers against the table, his tension palpable. Across from them sat a man in his late 40s, his gaunt face shadowed under the flickering neon sign outside the window.
“You’re the one who reached out,” Ryan said, his voice low but firm. “Start talking.”
The man glanced around nervously, tugging at the collar of his faded jacket. “I worked for Horizon for ten years. I’ve seen what they do to people who don’t play by their rules.” His voice was a whisper, barely audible over the clink of dishes in the background.
“What do you mean by ‘what they do’?” Amelia asked, leaning forward, her tone sharp.
The man rubbed his temples as though trying to steady himself. “They dig into your life—your family, your weaknesses. They exploit everything they can. And when that doesn’t work… they get personal.” He hesitated, his gaze darting toward the door.
Ryan leaned closer, his presence commanding. “Don’t stop now. If you’ve got something, we need to know.”
The man sighed heavily and pulled a small, battered notebook from his pocket. He opened it to a page filled with scrawled notes and slid it across the table. “Here. They keep everything off the books. I don’t know who ordered the hit on your kid, but this...” He pointed to a name scrawled in the margins. “...this is the fixer they use for jobs like that. If he’s involved, it’s bad.”
Amelia’s blood ran cold as she stared at the name. “They went after our children,” she said, her voice trembling with suppressed rage. “This wasn’t just about business. It was personal from the start.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened. “They think they can scare me into backing down. They don’t realize who they’re dealing with.”
The man’s eyes flickered with a mix of pity and warning. “You don’t know what they’re capable of. Walk away while you still can.”
Ryan scoffed. “That’s not an option.”
As the man slipped out of the diner, Amelia turned to Ryan, her face pale but resolute. “This isn’t just a game anymore. They’ve crossed every line, and we can’t let it stand.”
Ryan reached out, his hand briefly touching hers. “We won’t. I promise.”