Chapter 7 - The Ransom of Blood

I screamed Lucia's name, my voice cracking with absolute terror.

I tore the thick blankets off the bed, but my beautiful little girl was completely gone.

Adrian and the conductor rushed into the panic room, their weapons instantly drawn.

There was no sign of a forced entry, and the security cameras showed only static.

Resting perfectly on the center of Lucia's pillow was her battered stuffed rabbit.

A silver dagger was driven violently through the rabbit's chest, pinning a pristine white envelope to the mattress.

I pulled the dagger free with shaking hands and ripped the envelope open.

The elegant handwriting belonged unmistakably to Celeste Winthrop.

The note stated that she had bribed one of Adrian's most trusted security engineers to bypass the panic room.

She demanded that I meet her alone at the abandoned shipyard on the edge of the city.

If I brought Adrian, the police, or the media, she promised to throw Lucia into the freezing ocean.

I crushed the letter in my fist, a primal, violent rage replacing all of my fear.

Adrian read the note over my shoulder and swore he would burn the entire city down to find her.

I turned to him with ice in my veins and told him I had to do this completely alone.

He fiercely argued against it, demanding we use his tactical teams to raid the docks.

I pointed the gun directly at his chest, tears streaming down my face as I begged him to let me go.

I told him I could not risk my daughter's life on a chaotic tactical raid.

Adrian slowly lowered his hands, his eyes filled with profound respect and devastating sorrow.

He handed me a small, GPS-enabled earpiece so he could track my exact location.

I drove a stolen black sedan to the rusted, decaying docks as a heavy thunderstorm rolled into the bay.

I walked into the massive, empty Warehouse 4, the rain soaking my hair and clothes.

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Celeste was standing on a rusted metal catwalk three stories above the concrete floor.

She was holding my screaming, terrified daughter over the edge by the back of her tiny blue dress.