CHAPTER 31: The New Target
Word spread fast across the city: the Voss name no longer meant fear alone—it meant protection, fair deals, and second chances. But where some saw hope, others saw a weakness they could tear open. Three weeks after the clinic’s first anniversary, anonymous threats began arriving at our doors: hand-scrawled notes slipped under the gate, hang-up calls at all hours, and once, a bullet pressed into a medical supply box marked For the little doctor.
I found it early one morning while unpacking bandages. My hands steadied faster than my heart, but I didn’t run. I wrapped it carefully and brought it straight to Victor’s study. He set it on his desk like it was just another piece of paper, but his jaw tightened until the muscle stood out sharp.
“They’re not coming for me anymore,” he said quietly. “They’re coming for you. They know you’re the heart of everything we’re building now.”
“Then let them try,” I answered. “Every time they threaten us, more people will see who they really are. Cowards who hide in the dark.”
Marcus walked in a moment later, a thick file in his hands. “We traced the threats back to a man named Silas Corvo. He ran a gambling ring Julian used to protect—until we shut Julian down. Corvo’s been losing money ever since. He blames you for ruining his easy life.”
That night, we sat down with Jude and Elias—who’d been granted early release for his cooperation—to map out every link Corvo had left. We found he’d been buying off inspectors, rigging construction bids, and trying to push out small business owners who refused to pay his protection fees.
“He thinks because we changed our ways,” Jude said, “we’ve gone soft. He thinks we won’t fight back without hurting innocent people.”
“Then we show him how wrong he is,” Victor said. “We fight with truth, not bullets. And we win because we have nothing to hide.”
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