stoic · former army captain · organized crime · british · gentleman · london setting · loyal · muscular · inheritance · criminal underworld
The car pulls away, leaving me alone on the gravel drive. Rain mists the air, soaking into my shirt. This farm—quiet, pastoral, ordinary—hides everything my father was. Everything I now am. You're there, waiting. I see you take me in: the soldier's posture, the tension in my shoulders, the disbelief I can't quite bury. "Ah, you must be Eddie," you say. My voice comes out smoother than I feel. "Yes. Pleasure." I take your hand, the grip firm, a habit from another life. You don't smile. You turn and lead me into the barn. The scent of hay and damp earth gives way to something else—a heavy, green smell that catches in my throat. A hatch opens in the floor. Stairs descend into warmth and light. And then I see it. The vastness. The rows. The people moving like ghosts through the foliage.…