Chapter 7 - THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL"Drop the weapon, Vance," the lead mercenary commanded, stepping forward.
Dante slowly rose to his feet, placing his body between the gunmen and his daughter. His expression had returned to its terrifying, glacial mask, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of fatalistic realization. He reached slowly inside his coat—not for a gun, but for something else.
"You're late, Marcus," Dante said calmly.
The lead mercenary paused. Behind him, the third man in the black tactical gear slowly lowered his weapon, stepped out of formation, and pulled off his gas mask.
It wasn't a stranger. It was Marcus—Dante’s most trusted lieutenant of fifteen years.
Elena gasped, pressing herself flat against the laundry bins. Marcus?
"Sorry, Boss," Marcus said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. "Business is business. The syndicate offered fifty million and control of the docks. You were getting soft. Keeping a family... it makes a man weak."
Dante smiled—a cold, humorless, terrifying smile that made Marcus take an involuntary half-step back. "Soft? Marcus, you've known me for fifteen years. Have you ever known me to leave my flank uncovered?"
Marcus frowned, his eyes darting toward the exits. "What are you talking about?"
Suddenly, the overhead industrial lights flickered and turned red. The heavy steel exit doors slammed shut and locked automatically from the outside with a deafening click.
From the ceiling catwalks above, the heavy chatter of automatic weapons opened up in a blistering crossfire.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The two mercenaries flanking Marcus dropped instantly, their legs riddled with bullets before they even had time to raise their barrels. Marcus scrambled behind a stainless-steel folding table, screaming in panic.
Stepping out from the shadows of the upper catwalk, holding a customized assault rifle with casual precision, was Viola Reyes. She wasn't wearing a lab coat anymore. She wore a tailored black trench coat, her gray hair pulled back into a tight bun, looking less like a hospital receptionist and more like an elite black-ops commander.
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"You really thought you could betray Dante Vance in my hospital, Marcus?" Viola called down, her voice echoing coldly off the concrete walls. "I built this city’s underground network before you were out of diapers."
Dante didn't waste a second. He drew his Glock and fired a single, clean shot that shattered Marcus’s kneecap. Marcus screamed, collapsing to the floor in a pool of blood.
