Another Midnight Cold call
1203 Words
Chapter 13
Juan’s Point of View
The rain continued pouring endlessly across the city of Gumora.
Inside the master bedroom of the Gonzalo mansion, only dim golden lights illuminated the silence surrounding us.
Veronica rested quietly against my chest beneath the soft blankets while the storm echoed beyond the massive glass windows overlooking the city skyline.
For a brief moment, everything felt distant.
The syndicates.
The corruption.
The endless violence.
Gone.
Her fingertips traced slowly against my arm while her breathing gradually softened beside me. The warmth of her body against mine brought a rare sense of calm I almost never allowed myself to feel anymore.
Veronica had always been different from everyone else in my world.
She still looked at me like there was something human left inside me worth saving.
Sometimes I wondered if she was wrong.
I brushed my fingers gently through her hair while she rested against me silently.
“You’ve been quiet tonight,” she whispered softly.
“I’m thinking.”
“That usually means trouble.”
A faint smile appeared on my lips.
“You know me too well.”
She slowly lifted her head to look at me, her expression softer now compared to earlier that evening.
The tension between us had faded temporarily after hours spent wrapped in each other’s arms.
But temporary peace never lasted long for people like us.
Veronica lightly touched my face.
“You should rest, Juan.”
“I will.”
“You said that yesterday too.”
I chuckled quietly.
“You sound like my doctor.”
“No,” she murmured gently. “I sound like your wife.”
Her words settled heavily inside me.
Because despite everything I had become…
Veronica remained the only person capable of speaking to me without fear.
Not politicians.
Not police generals.
Not businessmen.
Not even the men who carried guns for me.
Only her.
I leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly before pulling her closer beneath the blanket.
Outside, lightning briefly illuminated the city beyond our windows.
Gumora never truly slept.
And neither did its monsters.
Suddenly
My phone vibrated sharply on the bedside table.
One vibration.
Then another.
Persistent.
Urgent.
I immediately felt it.
Instinct.
Years of surviving this world taught me something simple:
Nobody called this late unless somebody was dead.
Veronica noticed the change in my expression instantly.
“Juan?”
I slowly reached for the phone.
Algene.
The moment I saw his name, something inside my chest tightened.
I answered calmly.
“Yes.”
For several seconds, I heard only silence from the other side.
Then Algene finally spoke.
“Boss…”
His voice sounded different.
Heavy.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
I slowly sat upright on the edge of the bed.
“What happened?”
Another pause.
Then
“They hit Jason.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
Veronica quietly sat up behind me, immediately sensing something was wrong.
I kept my voice calm.
“Where?”
“At his house.”
Every muscle in my body tightened instantly.
“How bad?”
Algene exhaled slowly.
“They killed everyone.”
Silence.
Pure silence.
Even the rain outside suddenly felt distant.
My grip around the phone slowly tightened.
Jason.
One of my best men.
Loyal for nearly fifteen years.
The type of bodyguard willing to die without hesitation if ordered.
And now
dead.
Together with his family.
I lowered my eyes toward the floor while trying to control the anger rising inside me.
“Who?” I asked quietly.
“Crimson Vipers.”
The name alone darkened the room around me.
A rival syndicate operating near the southern districts of Gumora.
Small compared to us.
But ambitious.
And ambition made men suicidal.
“They left survivors?” I asked.
“No.”
That answer hit harder than expected.
Not because death shocked me.
Death surrounded my life constantly.
But families
families were different.
There were rules even inside criminal empires.
Children were supposed to remain untouched.
Supposed to.
I slowly stood from the bed while Veronica watched me carefully from behind.
The atmosphere inside the room had completely changed now.
The warmth between us vanished.
Only darkness remained.
“When did this happen?” I asked.
“Less than an hour ago.”
“Police?”
“Already arriving. Chief Villanueva’s men secured the area.”
I walked toward the rain-covered windows while staring down at the sleeping city beneath the storm.
Somewhere out there, men were celebrating Jason’s death.
Mistake.
A terrible mistake.
Because attacking one of my men inside his own home was not merely murder.
It was a declaration of war.
Veronica quietly approached behind me.
Her hand gently touched my back.
“Juan…”
I closed my eyes briefly.
“Not now.”
She remained silent.
Perhaps she already understood.
The city was about to drown in blood again.
I returned the phone toward my ear.
“Listen carefully,” I told Algene.
“Yes, boss.”
“I want every known Crimson Viper location identified before sunrise.”
“Already working on it.”
“Find their suppliers. Their safehouses. Their police contacts. Everyone connected to them.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And Algene…”
His voice lowered immediately.
“Yes?”
“No mercy.”
Complete silence followed.
Then finally:
“Understood.”
The call ended.
I slowly lowered the phone while thunder shook the windows around us.
Veronica stood nearby watching me with sadness in her eyes.
Not fear.
Sadness.
That somehow hurt more.
“They killed his children too?” she asked quietly.
I nodded once.
She covered her mouth briefly, horrified.
“Oh my God…”
I poured myself whiskey from the nearby cabinet without saying another word.
The burn of alcohol barely registered anymore.
My mind was already calculating.
Retaliation routes.
Political consequences.
Police interference.
Territory responses.
War preparation.
Veronica suddenly stepped closer toward me.
“Juan… please.”
I looked at her.
“Please what?”
“Don’t let this become another massacre.”
I almost laughed.
Not because she was wrong.
But because she still believed war could be stopped after blood reached this point.
“They butchered my man inside his own home,” I said coldly. “Beside his family.”
Her eyes filled with pain.
“And if you retaliate, more families will die.”
“That decision was made the moment they entered Jason’s house.”
The storm outside intensified violently.
For several long seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Veronica whispered the question she probably feared asking:
“What are you becoming?”
I stared at her quietly.
The answer was simple.
I was becoming exactly what Gumora created.
A king built from violence.
A man feared more than loved.
A shadow controlling a city drowning in corruption.
And now
a man preparing for war.
I finished the whiskey in one swallow before grabbing my black dress shirt from the nearby chair.
Veronica watched silently while I dressed.
“Where are you going?” she asked softly.
I buttoned the sleeves calmly.
“To see Jason.”
“And after that?”
I looked toward the storm outside the mansion windows.
Then finally answered:
“After that… Gumora burns.”
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