Chapter 2 - The Factory and the ShadowThe air inside North River Foods was a biting, artificial cold that smelled of frozen preservatives and damp cardboard. Emma Brooks wiped her forehead with the back of her forearm, wincing as the raw, glass-cut knuckles on her right hand scraped against her sweater.
It was noon. She had slept for barely three hours before her alarm dragged her back into the waking world. Margaret was due for her new round of memory medication, and the rent on the apartment was three days overdue.
"Emma! Box line four is backing up!" her supervisor yelled over the roar of the conveyor belts.
"Coming!" Emma shouted back, forcing her aching legs to move.
Her body felt hollowed out. Giving a pint of blood on top of a twelve-hour shift and a mile-long sprint through the rain had left her system depleted. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the little girl’s face—the small, pale hand resting against her collar, whispering, My dad will come.
Did he come? she wondered. Was the little girl safe?
She didn't know that three blocks away, a sleek black Mercedes Maybach had just pulled up to the curb outside the plant.
Inside the vehicle, Marcus stared at a digital tablet displaying security stills captured from the hospital corridor. He zoomed in on Emma’s face—her soft features, the tired slump of her shoulders, the faded brown coat draped over her chair.
"That's her," Marcus muttered, lifting the car phone. "Boss. We got a location. North River Foods, Queens. Third shift packing line."
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A heavy, measured silence hung on the line before Gabriel's voice came through, cold as winter ice.
"Don't touch her. Watch her. I'm coming to Queens myself."
