Chapter 5 - The Cost of a Star
"The... the stars?" Sterling squeaked, his voice cracking.
"Every star represents a night a four-year-old child went to bed hungry because you wanted to buy luxury watches and drive brand-new cars," Kane said, his tone dropping into a terrifying rumble. "What is the price of a child's hunger, Sterling?"
Sterling looked frantically at the men around him, looking for any sign of mercy. He found none. The restaurant patrons watched in stunned silence; even the waiters stood with their arms crossed, secretly enjoying the downfall of their abusive boss.
"I... I don't know!" Sterling sobbed, completely losing his composure. "Ten thousand?! I can give you ten thousand!"
"Fifty thousand," Kane said flatly. "In cash. By tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."
Sterling's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Fifty thousand dollars?! That’s extortion! That’s every cent I have in my emergency liquidity account!"
"Then you’d better start driving to the bank," Kane said calmly. He reached down and picked up the leather pouch containing the initial $5,430.30, turning to hand it directly to Mara.
Mara stared at the leather bag, her hands shaking so violently she couldn't take it. "Mr. Kane... I... I can't take this much money... I just wanted my regular wages..."
"It’s yours, Mara," Kane said, forcing the pouch into her hands. "You earned every cent of this. And tomorrow, Sterling will pay the rest for the interest he owes your daughter."
"And what about my lease?!" Sterling yelled, desperation making him foolish. "You can't do this to me! I pay you protection money every month!"
Kane slowly turned his head to look at Sterling. The silence in the room was deafening.
"You pay protection money so other crews don't burn your building down," Kane whispered. "You don't pay me to protect you from me. And effective nine o'clock tomorrow morning, your lease is terminated."
"Terminated?!" Sterling shrieked. "You're kicking me out of my own restaurant?!"
"It was never your restaurant," Kane said coldly. "You were just holding the keys until someone worthy came along."
Kane turned away from the cowering man and looked down at me. The harshness in his face melted away in an instant.
"Rory," Kane said, offering his hand again. "Are you hungry?"
I looked at my mom, then back at Mr. Kane. I nodded honestly. "I like chicken nuggets."
May you like
A rare, genuine smile broke across Vincent Kane's face—a sight that left his lieutenants utterly speechless.
"Leo," Kane called out as he walked toward the exit. "Find the best chicken nuggets in Chicago. We’re having dinner."
