Chapter 9 - The Ghost Returns and the Ultimatum
By three in the morning, the estate had been turned into a military command center.
Dante had gathered forty heavily armed Castellano soldiers in the underground garage. Tactical vests, assault rifles, and communication gear covered the steel tables.
Luca stood before a digital map of Pier 42—the crown jewel of the Port of Seattle.
"Moretti thinks he has the jump on us," Luca announced to his men, his voice cold and commanding. "He thinks Marco successfully transmitted the security bypass codes. We are going to let them enter the terminal. Once they are inside the container yard, we lock the gates and eradicate them."
"Boss," Dante interrupted, holding up a ringing satellite phone. "It's an unlisted frequency. Incoming video call."
Luca took the phone, tapping the screen and switching it to the main wall monitor.
The screen flickered to life.
Jake Martinez appeared on the display. He was sitting in a dark, industrial warehouse, a bandage taped across his shattered nose. But behind him, tied to a wooden chair with heavy rope, was Mrs. Chen.
My blood ran cold.
"Where is Emma?" I screamed, lunging toward the monitor before Luca caught me around the waist. "Where is my daughter?!"
Jake sneered into the camera, a sickening, triumphant grin spreading across his bruised face.
"Relax, Ava. Your little brat isn't here yet. But your lovely babysitter was kind enough to give up the location of Emma's emergency medical stash in your old apartment. Don Moretti’s extraction team has already breached the estate's eastern ventilation shafts."
Suddenly, the red emergency sirens throughout the mansion began to wail.
The wall lights flashed crimson.
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"Boss!" a guard shouted over the intercom. "Breach on the third floor! The nursery window is blown!"
"EMMA!" I shrieked, tearing myself from Luca’s grasp and sprinting toward the stairs with reckless, blinding speed.
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