☕ Chapter 11 — BETRAYAL BREWED
353 Words
The morning began like any other — the scent of beans, the hum of the grinder, the quiet rhythm Elias had come to rely on. But beneath the surface, something felt off.
The street was too quiet. The usual customers were absent. And the air carried a tension Elias couldn’t name.
He was wiping down the counter when he heard it — a sharp click, like a fuse being lit.
Then the world exploded.
The blast tore through the stand, sending wood, metal, and glass flying. Elias was thrown backward, landing hard against the pavement. Smoke billowed into the sky, thick and choking. Flames licked the remains of his sanctuary.
People screamed. Sirens wailed in the distance.
Elias staggered to his feet, blood trickling from a cut on his cheek. His stand — his life — was gone.
Luciano arrived minutes later, flanked by his men. He didn’t speak. He didn’t ask questions. He simply looked at Elias, then at the wreckage, and his expression darkened into something lethal.
“Who did this?” he asked, voice like ice.
Elias shook his head. “Mancini. It has to be. They used Tunde to spy. I kicked him out. This is retaliation.”
Luciano’s jaw clenched. “They touched what’s mine.”
Elias flinched. “I’m not—”
Luciano turned to him, eyes burning. “You are. You chose me. You wear my trust. And now they’ve tried to break it.”
Elias looked at the ruins of his stand. “I built this. My father died for this. And now it’s ash.”
Luciano stepped closer. “Then we rebuild. But first — we burn them back.”
Elias grabbed his arm. “Don’t. Not like this.”
Luciano’s gaze softened, just slightly. “You still think I can be saved?”
“I think you already are,” Elias whispered.
Luciano didn’t reply. But he didn’t pull away either.
And as his men prepared for war, Elias stood beside him — no longer just a vendor, no longer just a debt.
He was a spark.
And the fire had only begun.
- Writer
