Chapter 4 - THE MIDNIGHT RAIDBefore Esteban could lunge, a deafening crash shook the front of the house.
The rusted iron gate outside was violently ripped open, followed by the heavy thud of multiple boots stomping onto the porch.
—Guadalajara Police! Open the door! Backup has arrived! —a voice bellowed over a loudspeaker from the street.
Esteban’s face twisted in blind panic. He abandoned his aggressive stance, shoved past Daniela with brutal force, and scrambled frantically toward a concealed gap behind a tower of refrigerators, disappearing into the pitch-black maze of the back rooms.
Daniela didn't pursue him into the trap. Her priority was securing the perimeter and getting Mateo and Doña Rosa out safely. She backed out of the hallway, her flashlight beam sweeping wildly, and unlocked the front door just as backup officers breached the threshold.
Within seconds, the dim living room was flooded with the bright, blinding glare of flashlights and tactical gear. Paramedics rushed in, immediately wrapping thermal blankets around a shivering Mateo and guiding Doña Rosa toward the fresh air of the street.
As Supervisor Commander Méndez stepped inside, taking in the horrific scale of the hoarding and structural entrapment, he turned to Daniela with grim disbelief.
—Cruz, what the hell are we looking at here? Dispatch received an automated distress ping from your radio, but local registry records show this house was legally condemned and abandoned five years ago after a massive insurance fraud investigation.
May you like
Daniela stared at the doorway where Esteban had vanished into the shadows, a knot of dread tightening in her stomach.
—It’s not abandoned, Commander, —she said, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. —And the hoarding isn't the worst secret this family is hiding. This house is connected to something much darker that happened in Guadalajara ten years ago.
