“That still hurts, doesn’t it?”
The old man said nothing.
“You spent your life protecting strangers,” the leader continued.
“And when you became useless, even your own daughter left you here.”
For the first time that evening, the old man’s hand tightened.
It was a small movement, almost invisible, but the leader saw it and mistook pain for surrender.
He opened the envelope and removed several pages.
The forms had been prepared in advance.
One claimed the old man had agreed to sell the house and land for a fraction of their value.
Another granted control over his accounts.
A third stated that he was signing voluntarily and had received full payment.
There was even a space for a witness whose name had already been filled in.
The old man examined the pages.
“The witness isn’t here.”
“He doesn’t need to be.”
“And the payment?”
“You received it in cash.”
“But I didn’t.”
The leader smiled.
“The paper says you did.”
The old man nodded slowly.
“You improved the wording since the last case.”
The second man grabbed his shoulder.
“Stop wasting time.”
The old man looked down at the fingers pressing into him.
“You were always impatient,” he said.
“That was why you left fingerprints on the first victim’s medicine box.”
The man released him as though burned.
The third intruder swore under his breath.
The leader struck the table with his palm.
“Enough.
Sign.”
The old man picked up the pen.
All three men watched the tip move toward the signature line.
Then he paused.
“Tell me again what happens if I refuse.”
The leader’s jaw tightened.
“You already know.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
The second man laughed without humor.
“Why? Are you going deaf?”
The old man looked toward the cabinet.
The photograph of his daughter still lay facedown, but beneath one corner a small device had been hidden in the shadow of the frame.
Its light blinked again.
The leader followed his gaze.
His expression changed.
He crossed the room in two steps and lifted the photograph.
Behind it sat an old mobile phone with an active call displayed on the screen.
The leader snatched it up.
A voice came faintly through the speaker.
“We heard everything.
Stay where you are.”
The room erupted.
The leader hurled the phone against the wall.
The casing broke apart, but the call had already lasted several minutes.
The third man rushed toward the front door.
