Chapter 10 - Trapped in the Warehouse by Lake Michigan
At eleven o’clock that night, an unexpected knock sounded at the front door of the Gold Coast estate.
Marco had left with Luca, leaving four guards stationed around the perimeter.
One of the guards, a young man named Tommy, checked the security monitor.
“Miss Nora,” Tommy called out with a frown. “There’s a woman outside the gate. She says she’s Dr. Adler’s daughter and that she has additional files from the clinic.”
Dr. Adler hurried out of the library, looking bewildered.
“My daughter lives in Denver. I don't have family in Chicago!”
“It’s a trap!” I shouted.
Before Tommy could trigger the alarm, a loud explosion rocked the rear courtyard.
Glass shattered across the ground floor.
Smoke poured through the broken French doors as flashbang grenades blinded the two guards in the rear hall.
Gunfire erupted outside.
“Leo! Get Mom into the basement vault! Now!” I screamed, sprinting toward the hallway.
Leo grabbed our mother, who was crying out in confusion, and dragged her toward the reinforced panic room behind the kitchen pantry.
I turned back to help Dr. Adler, but the front door was kicked open off its hinges.
Three armed men in tactical gear rushed in, led by Dante Bellini.
Dante’s face was twisted in a savage grin, his firearm raised.
“Look what we have here,” Dante sneered, leveling his gun directly at Dr. Adler. “The old rat and the little maid.”
“Dante, don't!” I yelled, throwing myself in front of Dr. Adler.
Dante stepped forward and struck me across the cheek with the butt of his pistol.
The impact sent me crashing against the hardwood floor. Pain flared through my jaw, and the taste of copper filled my mouth.
“Nora!” Dr. Adler cried, trying to help me.
Dante grabbed the old doctor by the collar and dragged him toward the door.
“Victor wants you both alive for the midnight meeting,” Dante barked at his men. “Grab the girl! Put them in the van!”
Two masked men hauled me to my feet, binding my wrists with heavy plastic zip-ties before throwing a black hood over my head.
I struggled with all my strength, kicking and screaming, but the door slammed shut.
The engine of a heavy cargo van roared to life.
Tires screeched as we tore through the Chicago streets.
May you like
My heart was pounding against my ribs like a sledgehammer.
Luca, I thought through the darkness of the hood. Luca, please...
