Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Victor
The heavy door screeched in protest as it slammed against the concrete wall. I burst in first, Glock with suppressor raised. Luca was right behind me, and four of my guards fanned out in tactical formation. Their flashlight beams sliced through the thick darkness.
"Left clear."
"Right clear."
"No heat signatures."
Luca moved up beside me. His light swept across the rough concrete floor. A few empty wooden crates sat covered in thick dust. Not a single footprint disturbed the surface. Startled rats scurried from the corners and vanished into cracks in the wall.
The place was empty. No sign that anyone had lived here or even passed through recently.
I lowered my gun, staring at the deserted space with a blank expression. The air smelled only of old mold. There wasn't a trace of living warmth.
"Boss, we've been played," Luca said, his face tight. He pointed his gun at the floor in frustration. "That piece of shit from the port fed us a fake address. This dump hasn't seen a soul in at least six months."
I stayed silent. My mind raced in the quiet. A cold, dangerous instinct slithered up my spine like a snake.
The rat who'd spilled this address back at the abandoned garage knew exactly what I'd do to him if he lied. He knew I'd crush his remaining bones inch by inch and make him scream for days. Yet he still gave it to me.
There was only one reason. Someone had offered him a deal he couldn't refuse, or they held something he valued more than his life. He'd bought Marcus precious escape time with this fake lead and his own death.
It was a perfect diversion.
"This doesn't add up," Luca muttered, still scanning the room for traps. "Marcus has the black book now. It's packed with dirt on New York's elite. He could sell it for a fortune. Why the hell would he dump Richard's body and lure us out here? There's no point."
Luca's words hit me like lightning, cutting through the fog in my head.
He was right. Marcus already had everything he needed. So why throw the body at me? Even if he knew I was closing in, dumping a rotting corpse wouldn't stop me from hunting him down.
Unless they needed a new card. One that could save their lives or even flip the whole table.
My heart clenched. A wave of raw panic punched through my calm.
Evelyn.
"Fuck!" I spun around and kicked over a wooden crate.
How could I make such a stupid mistake? How could I leave her alone? She was the perfect leverage for Marcus.
"Everyone out! Back to the cars!" I barked, my voice sharp with urgency I barely recognized.
The guards moved instantly, weapons down as they poured out of the warehouse.
I strode toward the exit, already pulling out my phone to call the manor's secure landline.
It rang once, then nothing. Dead silence. No ringing, no polite voice from the operator.
My fingers tightened around the phone until my knuckles turned white. The manor's security system was the best in New York. Even in a citywide blackout, backup power kicked in instantly. The internal line could not go down.
Unless someone had cut the main comms from the inside.
"Boss?" Luca noticed my frozen expression.
"Line's been cut," I growled, shoving the phone back into my pocket. "Marcus wasn't running. His target was the manor."
Luca sucked in a sharp breath, his face turning pale.
We rushed out, yanked open the doors of the black armored Range Rover, and jumped in.
"Drive. Fast as you can. Hit anything in the way," I ordered the driver from the passenger seat.
The engine roared. The Rover shot onto the Brooklyn streets like a beast unleashed.
At five in the morning, the New York sky was a sickly gray-blue. The driver floored it. The speedometer climbed past 120 miles per hour. Streetlights blurred into streaks outside the windows. Tires screamed over puddles.
I stared straight ahead, fists clenched tight on my knees until the knuckles stood out bone-white.
If Evelyn was dead...
The thought alone stole the air from my lungs. If she was gone, what was the point of this empire? Who the hell would I flaunt all this power and money for?
"Faster!" I snarled at the driver.
When we finally screeched to a stop in front of the manor's black iron gates, I didn't wait for the car to settle. I kicked the door open and jumped out.
The gates opened. I stormed into the main house.
The massive crystal chandelier in the hall was still lit. A few night-shift maids were dozing against the wall. They jumped up screaming when I burst in, pressing themselves against the wall in terror as they stared at me.
"Where's Evelyn!" I roared. My voice echoed off the high ceiling.
In the center of the hall, the butler Henry stood in his pajamas, face ashen, hands twisting together nervously.
I strode straight up, grabbed his collar, and lifted him until his toes barely touched the floor. He made a choking sound.
"Where is she?" I stared into his eyes, my voice low and vicious. "Where the fuck is she?"
Henry trembled, his face paper-white. "Sir, I don't know. I knocked on Miss Gray's door at ten. There was no answer, so I assumed she was asleep. The security system never triggered any alarms!"
I glared at him, fury burning in my eyes.
"What orders did I give you before I left?" I shouted in his face. "I told you not to leave her side for a second! I told you to keep your eyes glued to her! I said even if the whole manor collapsed, you were to keep her safe! And now you're telling me you don't know where she is?"
I hurled him onto the sofa, then turned to the terrified guards. "Pull the security logs! I want every record. If a bird flew out, it should be logged!"
Luca ran to the security console and typed rapidly. Seconds later, his face went deathly pale.
"Boss... at ten o'clock, the west wing corridor and rear entrance cameras had a three-minute blackout. Someone used top-level access to cut the feed and fake the system logs."
Top-level access.
The words slammed into me like a hammer. Only two people in the manor had that kind of clearance.
"Where's Caroline?" I snapped, my gaze cutting across everyone in the hall.
Dead silence fell. The maids looked at each other in confusion and fear.
"I asked you where Caroline is!" I drew my gun and fired at the ceiling.
The gunshot cracked through the hall. A corner of the chandelier shattered, sending glass shards raining onto the carpet. The maids screamed and dropped to the floor, covering their heads.
"Madam said she had a headache and went to her room for the night," one maid sobbed, hands over her ears. "We haven't seen her since."
A dark premonition gripped my chest. I ignored the chaos and charged upstairs, kicking open the door to Caroline's guest room.
The lights were off. I flipped the switch.
Empty.
The big velvet bed was perfectly made, untouched. I yanked open the closet. Half of it was bare. Her expensive designer coats and several Hermès bags were gone. The jewelry box on the vanity was cleaned out, too.
She had run.
I stood in the empty room as a low roar filled my head. Blood seemed to rush backward in my veins.
Evelyn's face flashed through my mind again and again.
She was out there in the cold night, in the hands of Marcus and his crew.
If they hurt her even a little...
No. I wouldn't allow it. Anyone who touched her would have their skin peeled off while they were still breathing.
I walked back downstairs and looked down at the trembling people in the hall.
"Listen up." I released the magazine from my pistol and slammed in a fresh one with a sharp metallic click. "Wake every crew in New York. Use our contacts in the police department and put every informant on the street. Block all highways, ports, and airports out of the city."
I strode out the front door. The cold night wind cut across my face like knives.
"I want every rat in this city locked down tonight. I'll burn New York to the ground and tear up every inch of it if I have to. I'm bringing Evelyn home."