flash
Michael’s words hung in the sterile air of the hallway, heavy as wet lead. A sedative. In an estate guarded like a nuclear silo, someone had slipped a chemical compound into the bloodstream of a quiet, unassuming housemaid, and my security network had treated it like a ghost walking through walls. / Chapter 16 / 20

Chapter 16 - The Clash of Iron and BloodKane’s composure shattered instantly as I slammed him hard against the brick wall of the garage, the impact knocking the wind out of his lungs with a sharp gasp. My left hand gripped him tightly by the lapel of his jacket while my right fist hovered inches from his face.

“Where are they, Victor?” I demanded, my voice dropping into a low, terrifying growl.

Kane coughed, blood fleaking his lips, but a twisted grin crept across his face anyway.

“You... you think I’d leave them anywhere you could find them... without a timer?” he wheezed, his fingers clawing weakly at my wrist. “Look at your phone, Moretti.”

My phone vibrated in my tactical vest. I pulled it out with one hand while keeping Kane pinned against the wall. A live video feed popped up on the screen—a dark, cramped interior of a shipping container suspended over the icy waters of the Calumet River, with a digital countdown clock flashing in red numbers: 04:12... 04:11...

“You sick bastard,” I hissed.

“Checkmate, Adrian,” Kane gasped.

I didn't waste another second. I drove the butt of my pistol hard against the side of Kane’s head, sending him crashing down onto the concrete floor into deep, dreamless unconsciousness.

I spun on my heel, bolting out of the garage and sprinting toward the courtyard where my custom armored SUV sat waiting with the engine running.

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The ink on the emergency audit report was barely dry when the secure terminal on my desk flashed a violent crimson. I hadn't slept in thirty-six hours, my eyes burning from staring at columns of ghost figures, duplicate invoices, and shell corporations linked to Dominic Rossi. But the red alert wasn’t from Rossi’s faction. It was an internal security flag originating from the estate’s main vault deep beneath the west wing.

The ink on the emergency audit report was barely dry when the secure ter...

The glass shattered into a thousand tiny diamonds on the marble, scattering the light from the chandeliers. The muffled laughter died instantly, replaced by a suffocating, heavy silence that crept outward from the grand staircase.

The glass shattered into a thousand tiny diamonds on the marble, scatter...

The heavy oak doors of my private study clicked shut behind us, locking out the clinical, terrifying silence of the kitchen. Evelyn Crane stood stiffly in front of my mahogany desk, her hands folded over her apron with the rigid precision of someone who had spent decades micromanaging every square inch of my estate. Behind her, Norah hovered near the doorway, clutching her clipboard like a shield.

The heavy oak doors of my private study clicked shut behind us, locking...

“Daniel!” I shouted into my comms as I threw myself behind the steering wheel. “Trace the IP address of the live video feed on my phone right now! I need coordinates on that shipping container on the Calumet River!”

“Got it, boss!” Daniel’s voice cracked with urgency. “Old pier 42, southern slip. Sending coordinates to your dash now. Move!”

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