Chapter 4 - The Cartel Connection
The sterile hospital room fell into a terrifying, suffocating silence.
I quickly ushered the federal agents out into the hallway, promising to deliver my legal team by sunrise.
Once the door clicked shut, I turned my furious gaze entirely onto my weeping sister.
"Explain everything to me right now," I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.
Emily wiped her ruined makeup and took a ragged, trembling breath.
"Uncle Rick borrowed money from a ruthless cartel boss named Victor to cover his gambling debts," she confessed.
"When Rick could not pay Victor back, he offered up the family business as collateral."
"Victor forced Rick to use our corporate accounts to wash dirty drug money through dummy corporations."
I rubbed my temples, realizing the massive scale of the dangerous mess my family had created.
"Why didn't you just go to the police?" I asked, completely baffled by her reckless stupidity.
"Victor sent me photographs of you walking into your penthouse," Emily cried, looking at me with pure terror.
"He threatened to have you assassinated if I ever told the authorities."
A cold wave of realization washed over me as I understood that she actually committed fraud to protect my life.
I immediately pulled out my encrypted phone and dialed the head of my private military security firm.
I ordered twenty armed mercenaries to completely lock down the hospital floor within the next ten minutes.
While I was issuing the tactical commands, my phone suddenly vibrated with an unknown video message.
I tapped the screen and watched the chilling, high-definition footage begin to play.
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It was a live security feed showing two men dressed as hospital doctors wheeling a stretcher out the back exit.
The unconscious man strapped to the moving stretcher was my father.
