CHAPTER 3: MIDNIGHT EXODUS
"Pack only what fits in a single rucksack," Marco ordered Dante, stepping over the pinned imposter. "We have six minutes before Rossi’s perimeter team realizes Miller failed to report."
"What about Elena?" Dante asked, securing zip-ties around the imposter's wrists.
Marco looked at the weeping woman on the floor. His instinct—the ruthless instinct forged through decades of surviving the city's underbelly—told him to treat her as an active threat. But he looked down at Lily, who had finished counting and was clutching his neck with trembling fingers. Violence in front of this child had to end.
"Leave her the keys to the sedan and enough cash to disappear," Marco said coldly. "If I ever see your face near Lily again, Elena, heaven won't be able to hide you."
Within four minutes, Marco had secured Lily in the back of an unmarked, armored SUV hidden in the underground garage. He smashed the doll beneath his heavy boot, ripping out the internal camera and throwing the remnants into a metal bin.
"Where is my dolly going?" Lily asked through quiet tears as the garage doors rolled open into the torrential midnight rain.
Marco sat beside her, fastening her seatbelt with steady hands. "We are going on an adventure, Lily. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere no one can watch us."
May you like
As the SUV roared down the winding private road, Marco watched the grand manor fade in the rearview mirror. He had spent millions trying to buy a peaceful life, but peace, he realized, was not something you could purchase with dirty money.
---
