Chapter 1 - The Dark Discovery
Daniel noticed something completely different on the fourth afternoon of his secret surveillance.
The usual routine of shared sandwiches and quiet conversation was violently interrupted.
A sleek black sedan pulled up to the edge of the rundown plaza.
The tires screeched against the pavement as a heavy-set man stepped out.
The man wore a tailored gray suit that looked entirely out of place in this poor neighborhood.
Daniel instinctively reached inside his coat, his fingers brushing the cold metal of his concealed pistol.
He watched the man march aggressively toward the old wooden park bench where Ethan and the young girl sat.
The girl immediately shrank back, her eyes wide with absolute terror.
She pulled her worn backpack tightly against her chest as if it were a shield.
Before the man could reach her, twelve-year-old Ethan did something that made Daniel stop breathing.
Ethan stood up and stepped directly between the massive stranger and the trembling girl.
The man sneered and aggressively shoved Ethan aside, causing the boy to stumble backward into the dirt.
Daniel’s blood boiled with a lethal, uncontrollable rage.
Nobody touched Daniel Carter’s son and lived to tell the tale.
He took a step out from behind the thick oak tree, ready to end the man's life right there in broad daylight.
But the stranger suddenly raised his hand to point a threatening finger at the girl.
As he lifted his arm, the sleeve of his expensive suit slid back.
A dark, intricate tattoo of a coiled serpent was clearly visible on the man’s thick wrist.
Daniel froze in his tracks, his heart hammering violently against his ribs.
That specific tattoo was not a random gang symbol.
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It was the elite mark of his own syndicate’s most ruthless enforcement squad.
His own men were hunting this little girl.
