Everything happened when I first arrived here on Southport about a year ago. The town seemed as a place where someone with a bad wrap might get a fresh start but... it was actually a port town built on rot and it welcomed me like a brother because rot recognizes rot.
I made a name for myself within the three months of my arrival here, I was what you might call a problem solver. The kind of man you sent for when bribes needed to cross borders quietly, records needed to vanish or when a person needed to disappear without making noise. I forged documents as well, moved illegal cargo through the mayor's docks and tied up every loose ends.
Southport's elites even loved me because I didn't even ask question to do what meed to be done. They used me when things got dirty and our mayor was no different, he paid me well and made sure I stayed just important enough to keep alive.
And honestly? That never bothered me. I wasn't looking for respect around here. I was only looking to make money, so that I can never run out of booze again.
Then came the night that changed everything.
I was finishing up a job down at the shipyard, sealing a crate of smuggled steel beneath falsified grain records when the mayor himself came to me. He didn't look at me with his usual transactional stare. Instead, he smiled at me with a fatherly expression that felt strangely genuine.
'Geralt. You've done more for this town than most men do in a lifetime. My family is hosting a small dinner tonight and I want you to come share a meal with us.'
I was stunned and for the first time in my life, I felt a flicker of something I hadn't realized I was missing – a sense of belonging.
I rushed home, scrubbed the grease from under my fingernails and put on some clean clothes. I went to his manor that evening and the mayor's home was paradise with lanterns that glowed softly along the path and servants greeted me as if I belonged there.
The table was filled with roasted meats, spiced wines and delicacies I couldn't even name but it wasn't the food that captured me, it was his family. Though actually, his daughter Elara. She was beautiful with eyes that seemed to see right through my professional mask and throughout the dinner, I felt her gaze on me.
For sitting at that table that night, I felt like I wasn't a criminal. I felt like a man who could have a life and I would have traded every coin I'd ever stolen just to keep that moment on a loop for rest of eternity. At one point, the mayor raised his glass.
'To Southport and to those who keep it standing.'
I drank, the feeling of belonging settling in and the mayor, was seemingly pleased with the atmosphere, he offered me a room in the manor for the night.
'It's late here for the night, Geralt. Enjoy the comfort you've earned.'
I couldn't sleep that night, the silence of the manor was so unusual. I was staring at the ceiling when the door creaked open. I sat up, reaching for the knife I kept under my pillow but then I saw Elara. She was standing in the room with her nightgown discarded on the floor. She walked to the bed without saying anything and leaned down to kiss me.
I wanted stop her but I didn't and the night burned itself into me. She looked at me afterwards, resting her head on my chest.
'Don't fall in love with me.'
She said quietly to me and that made me laugh a bit as I responded.
'It's a little too late for warnings like that.'
We made it official in the weeks that followed, though we kept it a secret. We both knew that if the mayor found out his dirty-work man was bedding his daughter, things would turn lethal very quickly.
But the secrecy only added fuel to the fire. I fell for her hard and she became the center of my world, the only reason I bothered to wake up in the morning. She also grew more comfortable with me and one other night, while we were lying together in a hidden nook by the cliffs, she started to cry.
'My father isn't the man people think he is, Geralt. He hoards wealth in the vaults beneath the manor while the townspeople starve. I can't stand too look him in the eyes, knowing what he's doing to his people.'
I didn't know what to say at first, I was the one helping him hoard that wealth after all but seeing her pain made my own soul ache. I held her close and whispered. 'I have a plan, Elara. I'll find out exactly what's going on and I'll make it right.'
Elara pulled back and smiled at me, brushing a tear from her cheek. She gave me a soft kiss and whispered. 'I believe in you, Geralt. I believe you can save this town.'
As I thought about it that's all I ever wanted, to make her happy everyday. I didn't care about the townspeople but if helping them was the price of her happiness, I was willing to pay it.
That same night, I broke into the mayor's manor. He didn't keep security on the inside because he believed his reputation was an impenetrable wall. I slipped into his private study and began to dig. I expected to find evidence of embezzlement or tax evasion but what I found was a descent into hell.
I discovered the secret ledgers, that proved the mayor was selling the people of Southport. He was secretly shipping them off to Lord Saito, in exchange for protection and a steady flow of silver.
I grabbed the ledgers and copied the dates and names. I also broke into his floor vault and took a small chest of silver. I needed a way to get Elara and myself out of the city once the truth came out.
I hurried back to my own small house near the docks, my mind racing with visions of our escape. I could see us living in a different land, far from everything but when I pushed my door open, the dream shattered.
My house was full of the mayor's guards and they tackled me, pinning me to the floor before I could even draw a breath. They found the copied ledgers and the silver.
Elara walked in and I looked at her, expecting to see terror or a plea for my life but she stood beside her father, resting her hand on his arm and said.
'There he is, he's the one who broke into my father's house and tried to extort me. He's also been selling the people of our town to Lord Saito.'
I couldn't even speak at that moment, everything happened so sudden that it felt like my heart had physically stopped beating.
So, long story short. I was betrayed by the only person I ever allowed myself to love.