Brandon sat stiffly in the grand study, the heavy scent of aged whiskey and cigars clinging to the air like an oppressive fog. Across from him, Bernardo lounged in a leather chair, his fingers drumming against the polished wood of the armrest. The sound was slow and calculated, a taunt wrapped in nonchalance, and it made Brandon’s blood simmer with restrained fury.Armed guards stood at attention around the room, their blank stares giving nothing away, but their presence was enough to remind Brandon of just how deep he was in enemy territory. He had walked into the lion’s den, and Bernardo knew it.“I’ll make this simple for you,” Bernardo finally said, his voice smooth but dripping with venom. “Sign over your company, and I’ll let Hannah and Jessica go. Refuse, and you’ll never see them again. Not alive, at least.”Brandon forced his expression to remain unreadable, though every muscle in his body tensed at the threat. His mind worked furiously. If he handed over his company, he’d b
Lucas pulled his jacket tighter around him as he stepped out of the hotel into the cold night air. The city lights flickered in the distance, their glow barely reaching the isolated docks where he was supposed to meet this unknown informant. His instincts screamed at him that this was a setup, but he couldn’t ignore the possibility that it wasn’t. If there was even a sliver of truth behind that message, it could be the edge they needed to bring Bernardo down.He kept his hand near his gun, every sense on high alert as he moved through the rows of rusting shipping containers. The sound of waves crashing against the pier mixed with the distant hum of the city, but here, in the shadows, it felt like a different world.A figure stood ahead, barely visible under the dim light of a flickering lamppost.Lucas stopped, his fingers twitching near the grip of his weapon. “You wanted to talk?”The figure took a cautious step forward. A man's hood pulled low over his face, his hands tucked int
Brandon leaned back in his chair, gripping the edge of the desk so tightly his knuckles turned white. The weight of what Lucas had just told him settled on his shoulders like a crushing boulder. Bernardo had a daughter—Teresa Provenzano. And she was married to Senator Graves’s son.This was their way in.Brandon exhaled slowly, his mind already racing ahead. If they could get to Teresa first, they might be able to turn her against her father. Although it would not be easy, they have to move fast.. Bernardo would be tightening his security around her the moment he realized Lucas had escaped with the truth.Brandon sat forward, his voice low but firm. “We need to find Teresa before Bernardo realizes we’re coming for her.”Lucas let out a pained grunt on the other side of the line. “Easier said than done. The guy has eyes everywhere. You think he just let his daughter marry into a powerful political family without keeping a leash on her?”“How badly are you injured and when are you comi
Brandon watched as Teresa disappeared into the sea of elite guests, her emerald-green dress vanishing among the glimmering jewels and expensive tuxedos. His jaw tightened. She hadn’t shut him down completely, which meant there was a crack in her loyalty to her father. Now, he just had to wedge it open.Lucas slid up beside him, a glass of whiskey in hand. “Well?”Brandon exhaled. “She didn’t say no.”Lucas raised an eyebrow. “She also didn’t say yes.”“She wants proof that Bernardo would turn on her,” Brandon explained.Lucas let out a low whistle. “That’s a tall order. The guy’s careful. And even if he would, she’s his daughter—how do we convince her he’d throw her to the wolves?”Brandon’s mind was already working through the possibilities. Teresa was clearly intelligent. She wouldn’t be swayed by baseless claims. She needed something undeniable.“We dig,” Brandon said firmly. “There’s got to be something—financial records, secret deals, contingency plans in case she ever became a
The air was thick with dampness, the scent of mold clinging to the cold stone walls. Flickering fluorescent lights hummed faintly overhead, casting eerie shadows across the underground facility. The room was small, its walls lined with steel bars, making it impossible to tell whether it was a prison or a bunker.Hannah sat on the hard chair, her chair pressed against the pole she was tired of. She kept struggling to free herself from the rope even though it kept hurting her hands.She had lost track of time, but she knew it had been four days—maybe even three days—since they had been thrown into this underground hell.Jessica is seen beside her also tied to a chair, her body unmoving, her face pale. The only sound in the room was the distant dripping of water from an unseen pipe and the faint buzzing of the overhead lights.Then, suddenly—A gasp.Jessica’s body tensed, her fingers twitching before her eyes fluttered open. For a brief moment, confusion clouded her gaze. Then realizat
The underground cell remained eerily quiet after Dario left, except for the distant hum of a ventilation system and the occasional dripping of water from a rusted pipe in the corner. The cold stone floor beneath Hannah and Jessica sent chills up their spines, but the discomfort was the least of their concerns.Their survival depended on patience, observation, and the right moment to strike.Hannah had been trying to cut off the rope in her hands for days now and finally she had succeeded although she was bleeding.She quickly went and untied Jessica.“You are bleeding…” Jessica muttered softly. “Yeah, but I'm fine…” she paused when she heard a voice from outside the door.“We have to be careful. If they suspect anything, we’ll lose our chance. Pretend as if your hands are still tied” Hannah rushed back to the chair and sat down.Jessica nodded, though her fingers still trembled slightly. “You really think we can get out of here?”Hannah’s expression hardened. “I know we can. But we
The underground cell remained cold and unforgiving, but Hannah and Jessica’s minds were sharp. Every second that passed was one closer to their escape—or their demise.Despite the dim lighting, there was a fire in Hannah’s eyes, one that Jessica hadn’t seen before.“That guard, Dario,” Hannah whispered, stopping her movement and crouching beside Jessica. “He’s careless.”Jessica frowned. “Yeah, but he’s still armed. And even if we get the keys, what then? This place could be a maze.”Hannah nodded. “That’s why we need to gather as much information as we can before we make a move. We need to know the shift rotations, how many guards there are, and if there’s a way out that doesn’t lead straight into an ambush.”Jessica let out a slow breath. “I hate waiting.”Hannah smirked. “Patience, sis. It’s how we win.”Their chance came faster than expected.Dario returned within the hour, this time carrying a small tray with two bottles of water and a piece of stale bread. He slid it through the
The air in the underground facility was thick with tension as Hannah and Jessica moved cautiously down the dimly lit hallway. The stolen gun felt heavy in Hannah’s grip, but she kept her hands steady, her mind racing with every step. They had come too far to fail now.Jessica clutched the keys tightly, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds, her heartbeat hammering against her ribs. They were free—at least for the moment—but they had no idea where the exit was, and the risk of running straight into more guards was too high.“We need to move fast,” Jessica whispered. “They’ll notice Dario’s missing soon.”Hannah nodded. “We stick to the shadows, find a way up, and we don’t stop running.”They pressed against the cold concrete walls as they reached a corner. Hannah peeked around it, her breath catching at the sight of two armed guards standing near a steel door. She pulled back quickly, cursing under her breath.“Two guards ahead,” she whispered.Jessica bit her lip. “Can we take
Lucas had left the room to make some calls, leaving Hannah and Teresa alone in the dimly lit space. The air between them was thick with unspoken thoughts, with grief and frustration too heavy to voice.Teresa watched Hannah closely. She looked hollow—her eyes distant, her shoulders sagging under a weight no one could carry for her.“You okay?” Teresa finally asked.Hannah blinked and turned her head, forcing a weak smile. “Yeah.”Teresa hummed in response, clearly unconvinced. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with a practiced ease. Smoke curled in the air between them.“Do you smoke?” she asked, offering one toward Hannah.Hannah shook her head. “No. I never have.”Teresa chuckled, taking a long drag before exhaling. “Figures.”Silence stretched between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was the silence of two women who understood each other—different, yet bound by shared pain.“My mother-in-law used to hate me too,” Teresa murmured suddenly, he
Teresa sat in the back of a dimly lit bar, the scent of cigarette smoke and aged whiskey thick in the air. The place was quiet, the kind of underground haunt where no one asked questions, where secrets were currency, and where a person could disappear if they weren’t careful.She checked the time on her phone. Her contact was late.Across the table, Hannah fidgeted with the glass of water in front of her, her expression distant, lost in thoughts she wasn’t ready to speak out loud. Lucas sat beside her, his gaze locked on the entrance, his tension palpable.When the door finally creaked open, Teresa’s eyes narrowed as a tall, wiry man entered, his leather jacket scuffed and his face shadowed with stubble. He scanned the room before spotting her and sauntering over.“You’re late, Marco,” Teresa said, her voice edged with impatience.The man—Marco Ruiz—grinned as he slid into the seat across from her. “Good to see you too, Provenzano. You know how it is—hard to stay alive in this busines
Hannah stood in the dimly lit warehouse, her fingers clenched into fists at her sides. The stale scent of dust and oil filled the air, mingling with the cold fear settling deep in her stomach. The warehouse was one of many they had searched in the last twenty-four hours, but this one felt different. The moment she stepped inside, a weird sensation crawled over her skin, like a presence lingering just out of sight.Lucas moved beside her, scanning the rows of crates stacked high against the walls. His jaw was tight, his frustration barely concealed beneath his calm exterior. Teresa stood a few steps ahead, gun in hand, her eyes sharp as she surveyed their surroundings. They had all hoped—desperately—that this search would yield something more than dead ends and half-truths. But as the minutes ticked by, that hope was slipping.Brandon had vanished without a trace.Every lead they had followed led to nothing. Every whisper, every clue, every trail had been a carefully crafted illus
The night was thick with silence, the kind that felt like a living, breathing thing, pressing in on them as they stood at the edge of the abandoned docks. The stench of salt and rust filled the air, mixing with something darker—the unmistakable scent of blood.Teresa’s fingers curled around the handle of her gun as she scanned the area, her pulse drumming hard against her ribs. Her father was dead. That chapter of her life was over. But this? This wasn’t over. Not until she had him.Not until she had Brandon and brought him back to his family.“We should’ve heard something by now,” Hannah whispered, her voice tight with restrained panic.Teresa didn’t answer. She was thinking the same thing.The lead had been solid. Brandon had been held here—multiple sources confirmed it. The docks had been his prison. But as they stood here, surrounded by crates and shadows, the truth settled like ice in her veins.Brandon wasn’t here.And the blood on the floor was still fresh.Teresa crouched do
Teresa barely had a second to react before the door to her office swung open. The moment her eyes landed on the man standing there, a cold shiver ran down her spine. Her father.Bernardo Provenzano. The man she had once idolized. The man she had spent her entire life trying to please.And now, the man she had just betrayed.He stepped inside with a slow, deliberate pace, shutting the door behind him. The soft click of the lock sent her heart into overdrive.“Oh, my little princess,” he murmured, his voice filled with mock tenderness. But his eyes… they were filled with nothing but hatred.Teresa’s hands gripped the arms of her chair, knuckles turning white. Fear slithered through her veins, but she refused to let it show.“How disappointing,” he continued, shaking his head as if she were a child who had misbehaved. “I thought you were different. Better. Not like your mother.”Teresa inhaled sharply.His mother.For years, she had believed the lie—that her mother had been killed by a r
The beeping of machines was the only sound filling the hospital room. Jessica lay on the hospital bed, her skin deathly pale, her chest barely rising under the weight of the oxygen mask secured over her face. Wires and tubes connected her to the machines, keeping her alive, but just barely.Hannah stood frozen in the doorway, unable to move. The doctor’s words still rang in her ears, cutting deeper than any wound ever could.“She has a five percent chance of survival,” the doctor had said, his voice clinical, detached. “She lost too much blood, and the delay in medical care worsened her condition. We’re doing everything we can, but you need to prepare for the worst.”The worst.Hannah clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. This was her fault. If she hadn’t suggested they escape… if she had just listened, just stayed put, Jessica wouldn’t be lying here, fighting for her life.And Brandon…A fresh wave of pain hit her. He was gone. Taken. She had watched him surrender himsel
The river had given them a chance, but it hadn’t given them freedom.Brandon collapsed onto the muddy shore, gasping for air. His limbs ached from the relentless current, but he didn’t have time to recover. Jessica.Lucas dragged her up the embankment, his breathing ragged. She was completely unconscious now, her body limp in his arms. The river had sapped whatever strength she had left. Her wound was bad—too bad. If they didn’t get her help soon…No. He couldn’t think like that.“Teresa,” Brandon barked, snapping back into survival mode. “Where’s the nearest hospital?”Teresa, still soaking wet, flipped open her laptop with shaking hands. Water dripped onto the screen, but she didn’t stop. “There’s one about six miles south,” she said breathlessly. “But there’s a problem.”Brandon exhaled sharply. “There’s always a problem.”Teresa gave him a grim look. “Bernardo’s men will have every major road blocked. They’re already watching the airspace. If we head to that hospital, they’ll find
The cave was damp and cold, the scent of moss and river water clinging to the air. Shadows stretched across the rocky walls, their flickering shapes cast by the distant glow of searchlights cutting through the trees outside. They had barely made it out alive.But they weren’t safe.Brandon pressed his back against the jagged rock, listening. Boots crunched against gravel just beyond the entrance. The soldiers were closing in. They had minutes—maybe seconds—before the cave was compromised.Lucas sat against the far wall, pressing his hand against Jessica’s wound. She was slipping fast, her skin pale, her lips trembling.“I can stop the bleeding, but not for long,” Teresa said, her voice tight with urgency. “But she needs real help, Brandon.”Brandon looked at Jessica’s barely conscious form, then at Hannah, who was up beside Teresa, shaking from the cold,she looked so pale. He had promised to protect her. He had promised to protect all of them.He clenched his fists. Promises meant not
The night was supposed to be theirs. They had escaped, survived impossible odds, and left Bernardo bleeding on the cold ground. But fate had other plans.They wondered how come he was alive. They had witnessed him go on his knees, blood all over him.The deafening roar of helicopter blades grew louder, sending shockwaves through Brandon’s chest. The floodlights cut through the dense trees, slicing through the shadows that had once been their cover. The tracker beneath the seat blinked like a taunting heartbeat—steady, unrelenting, and damning.Teresa’s fingers flew over her laptop, her breath ragged. “I need time,” she muttered, panic lacing her voice.“We don’t have time,” Lucas growled, yanking a rifle from the back. “They’re here.”Jessica shifted, barely conscious, her breathing uneven. Hannah took a deep breathe while having a second thoughts.Maybe she should just surrender herself to Bernardo and all this would be over. But Brandon here would rather die than watch her go back