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CHAPTER 134 - THE DIAGNOSIS
Four months after Marcus's death, Ral noticed he was more tired than usual. Not the exhaustion of grief—something physical that made climbing stairs difficult and left him breathless after simple tasks. He ignored it for weeks, attributing it to age and accumulated stress. But when he started coughing blood during warehouse shift, his supervisor insisted he see a doctor.The clinic was busy, fluorescent-lit, filled with people who looked as reluctant to be there as Ral felt. He sat in waiting room rehearsing explanations for symptoms that were probably nothing serious. Just aging, just working too hard, just residual damage from years of stress.Dr. Patricia Morrison was younger than him, efficient and direct in way that suggested she'd learned not to waste patients' time with gentle preambles."Mr. Petrov, your chest X-ray shows mass in your left lung. We need CT scan and biopsy to confirm, but preliminary indication is lung cancer. Advanced stage based on size and your symptoms."Th
CHAPTER 133 - FINAL VISIT
Marcus died on Thursday morning, three days before Ral's planned second visit. The hospice nurse called with gentle voice that had delivered this news too many times before."He went peacefully. Asked me to tell you he was grateful for your visit. Said it gave him the closure he needed."Ral sat in his apartment after the call, staring at nothing, feeling emptiness that went beyond simple grief. Marcus was gone. Last connection to his prison years severed. The man who'd protected him from violence, who'd saved his life multiple times, who'd taught him that trying mattered even when success seemed impossible—gone.The tears came slowly at first, then harder, until Ral was sobbing in his kitchen with a rawness he hadn't allowed himself in years. Not just crying for Marcus, but for Dmitri who'd died in prison, for Louis who'd bled out in Volgograd, for all thirty-four people who'd died in operations he'd coordinated, for fifteen years of running and thirteen years of imprisonment and all
CHAPTER 132 - MARCUS RETURNS
The call came on Tuesday evening while Ral was preparing simple dinner in his cramped kitchen. Unknown number, which he normally ignored, but something made him answer."Ral? It's Marcus. From prison."The voice hit him like physical force—memories flooding back of concrete cells and constant danger and the man who'd saved his life multiple times because of debt owed to Maya. Ral's hands trembled slightly as he set down the knife he'd been using to chop vegetables."Marcus. It's been years. How are you?""Not good, brother. Not good at all." Marcus's voice carried exhaustion that went beyond physical tiredness—the soul-deep weariness of someone who'd fought too long against impossible odds. "I'm sick. Cancer, like Dmitri. Doctors give me maybe six months. I'm calling people who mattered, trying to make peace before the end."Ral felt his chest tighten with grief for man he hadn't seen in years but would never forget. "I'm sorry. That's—I don't know what to say.""Don't need you to say
CHAPTER 131 - THE LETTER
Three years after Maya's wedding, Ral's parole officially ended. No more check-ins, no more restrictions, no more supervised freedom. He was simply free—fully, completely, for first time in sixteen years since his surrender.The parole officer handed him final discharge papers with handshake and simple statement: "You did well. Many people with your charges don't make it this far. Good luck with whatever comes next."Ral walked out of the office into Baltimore afternoon feeling strangely empty. He'd spent sixteen years working toward this moment—end of legal supervision, restoration of basic freedoms. But freedom felt less dramatic than he'd imagined. Just another day, slightly less restricted than yesterday.He was sixty-five years old now, still working warehouse job, still volunteering at food bank, still living in same small apartment. Freedom hadn't changed his circumstances, just removed invisible chains he'd grown so accustomed to he barely noticed them anymore.His phone rang.
CHAPTER 130 - MAYA'S WEDDING
The invitation arrived six months after the food bank controversy had finally settled. Simple cream-colored card with elegant printing:*Maya Petrov and David Chen invite you to celebrate their wedding.*Ral held it in his hands, fingers trembling slightly. His daughter was getting married. Normal thing that normal fathers experienced with joy. But he wasn't normal father, and this joy came wrapped in complicated pain.He called Maya that evening."You got the invitation," she said, hearing something in his silence."Yes. I'm happy for you. David is good man. You deserve this happiness.""But?" Maya prompted, knowing him too well."But I can't walk you down the aisle," Ral said quietly. "Every guest will know who I am—convicted terrorist, man who coordinated thirty-four deaths. I'll ruin your wedding just by being there. People should be watching you, celebrating your love. Instead they'll be whispering about your father the murderer.""Dad—""I'm not saying I won't come," Ral interru
CHAPTER 129 - THE DECISION
Sarah called three days later. Her voice was measured, careful, the tone of someone who'd wrestled with impossible choice and finally reached conclusion."Can you meet me at the food bank tomorrow morning? Before we open. Just you, me, Tom, and Marcus. We need to talk about your future here."Ral arrived at dawn, stomach tight with anticipation. The food bank looked different empty—warehouse space stripped of the energy that came from volunteers serving hundreds of struggling people each week. Just metal shelves and concrete floors and three people who would determine whether his attempt at redemption could continue or ended here.Sarah stood with arms crossed, defensive posture suggesting she hadn't reached easy peace with whatever decision she'd made. Tom leaned against sorting table, expression unreadable. Marcus stood near the door like he might need quick exit."I spent three days thinking," Sarah began without preamble. "Three days reading about what you did, who you killed, why
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