Prologue: Before The Fire
The city had been quiet once.
Not soft — never soft — but quiet enough that the streets almost felt tame. The Knights ran Eastgate like a well-oiled machine, and for a while, that was enough. Jerry’s voice kept the peace. Lucy’s laughter kept the home warm. Richard and Katie proved love could survive the war. Vince and Julian were unshaken pillars, holding up the walls.
And Capol—
Capol had been something else back then. Restless, sure. Reckless, sometimes. But alive in a way that didn’t feel dangerous yet. Quick with a joke. Faster with his fists when he had to be. Loyal to a fault, but not yet carrying the weight of it like a noose.
That war had felt like the last one. Diesel was gone, the rivals scattered, the block theirs. They thought they’d earned the r
