Chapter 8 - The Bloodline
Lorenzo stared in absolute disbelief at the older brother he had mourned and buried over a decade ago.
Marcus looked remarkably sophisticated, wearing a tailored winter coat and leaning heavily on a silver-tipped cane.
The ruthless cartel boss raised a single hand, and every mercenary on the pier instantly ceased firing.
The eerie silence was only broken by the loud, rhythmic thumping of the idling helicopter blades.
Lorenzo demanded to know how his own brother could orchestrate the kidnapping of his innocent grandnephew.
Marcus smiled sadly, limping slowly toward the glass incubator that held the sleeping, oblivious child.
He explained that he had faked his own death fifteen years ago to protect Lorenzo from a brutal mob war in Chicago.
He had fled to Russia and violently conquered the Volkov syndicate, building an unstoppable empire of blood and money.
But a year ago, Marcus was diagnosed with a highly aggressive, terminal form of genetic bone cancer.
His vast wealth and unlimited power were completely useless against the aggressive disease destroying his body.
He needed a highly specific, rare bone marrow transplant that could only come from a direct, biological relative.
Marcus revealed that Lorenzo was not a match, and Sofia's marrow was completely incompatible due to a recessive gene.
The incredibly rare triplet pregnancy was the only medical miracle that could potentially save the cartel boss's life.
He needed all three babies because the grueling, dangerous extraction process would likely kill at least one of them.
Lorenzo was completely horrified, disgusted that his own brother would harvest infants just to extend his miserable life.
He raised his rifle and aimed it directly at Marcus's head, completely willing to execute his own flesh and blood.
Marcus calmly pointed out that there were ten laser sights currently aimed directly at Lorenzo's chest.
If Lorenzo pulled the trigger, the mercenaries would instantly kill him and simply take the baby from his dead hands.
Lorenzo realized he was completely outgunned and outmaneuvered by a man who had planned this for months.
Suddenly, a loud, roaring engine shattered the tense standoff on the foggy wooden pier.
A stolen delivery truck smashed through the chain-link gates, driven wildly by Sofia with Agent Claire in the passenger seat.
Sofia slammed the brakes, leaping out of the truck with a heavy shotgun aimed directly at Marcus.
She screamed at the cartel boss to step entirely away from her stolen child.
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Before Sofia could pull the trigger, Victor emerged from the shadows of a shipping container and fired a suppressed pistol.
The bullet struck Sofia violently in the shoulder, spinning her around and dropping her onto the hard wooden planks.
