Chapter 2 - Silk, Steel, and SkeletonsThe Trevino estate on Fifth Avenue looked less like a home and more like a fortress designed by a paranoid Renaissance architect. Bulletproof glass windows framed a courtyard where imported white peacocks shrieked against the Manhattan dusk.
Norma stood in a walk-in wardrobe the size of her family's entire cottage, staring at a row of designer dresses that cost more than her father’s boat.
"Mr. Trevino requests your presence in the study," a maid murmured, bowing slightly before retreating like a ghost.
Norma refused to change into the silk garments laid out for her. She kept her frayed denim jeans and oversized flannel shirt, though she had washed the salt from her hair. When she pushed open the heavy mahogany doors of the study, Joseph was pouring two glasses of amber liquid. He handed one to her. She didn't take it.
"I don't drink," she said.
"Neither do I, usually. Tonight is an exception," Joseph said, swirling the scotch. He motioned to the leather wingback chair across from his massive oak desk. "Your father’s boat isn't just getting new nets, Norma. The Coast Guard boarded his vessel twenty minutes after we left the docks. They found twelve kilos of Colombian white tucked inside his bait lockers."
Norma’s breath stopped. The room tilted. "That’s a lie! My dad doesn't smuggle! He can't even afford a new GPS!"
"He can't," Joseph agreed smoothly, leaning forward, resting his chin on his steepled fingers. "Which means someone planted it there. Someone who wants to ruin Thomas Smith to get to me. And since you pulled my dog out of the Atlantic three hours ago, congratulations, Norma—you are now standing directly in the crosshairs of a cartel war."
Before Norma could process the vertigo, the study doors burst open. Marco sprinted in, his face pale as chalk.
"Boss. The harbor warehouse... it's gone. They didn't just raid us. They left a message written in blood on the cargo bay doors."
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Joseph didn't blink. "What does it say?"
"‘The Ice King melts tonight. Return the girl, or we burn the whole harbor down.’"
