My 9-year-old daughter called me from the hospital and whispered, “Mommy closed the curtain while they were hurting me.” I came home without making a sound. My ex-wife’s powerful family thought they had covered everything and that no one would ever dare challenge them.

Every police cruiser in the state of Texas was now actively hunting for my stolen pickup truck.

I abandoned the vehicle in a crowded shopping mall parking lot and continued my journey on foot.

I stuck to the drainage ditches and thick brush that bordered the wealthy San Jeronimo neighborhoods.

I finally reached the massive wrought-iron gates of the Vance family estate just after noon.

The property was swarming with private armed security contractors patrolling with aggressive guard dogs.

I needed a distraction massive enough to pull the guards away from the main house.

I crept toward the large power substation located a quarter of a mile down the private road.

I used a heavy rock to smash the control panel and cross-wired the main electrical conduits.

Sparks showered the dry brush, instantly igniting a massive, raging brush fire near the property line.

Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, sending the estate's security teams into a frantic panic.

While the guards rushed toward the flames, I scaled the stone wall and sprinted across the manicured lawn.

I climbed the heavy ivy growing on the side of the mansion and slipped through a second-story balcony door.

I drew a tactical knife I had stolen from the wrecked SUV and crept silently down the carpeted hallway.

I found Maya's bedroom, but the massive canopy bed was completely empty.

Suddenly, a cold, hard pistol barrel was pressed firmly against the back of my skull.

Veronica's voice whispered softly in my ear, telling me to drop the knife immediately.

I let the blade fall to the plush carpet and slowly turned around to face my ex-wife.

She was perfectly dressed in designer clothes, looking entirely unfazed by the chaos outside.

I demanded to know where she was hiding our injured daughter.

Veronica smiled coldly and stated that Maya was safe in a private underground bunker beneath the estate.

She told me she knew I had the flash drive containing the footage of the money laundering operation.

She offered me a very simple and highly illegal devil's deal.

If I gave her the flash drive, she would let me take Maya and flee the country safely.

She claimed she wanted Arthur and her brothers to go to prison so she could inherit the entire empire alone.

I stared at the woman I once loved, realizing she was far more dangerous than any of the men in her family.

I slowly reached into my pocket and pulled out the small plastic flash drive.

Before I could hand it over, the bedroom door was kicked completely off its hinges.

Arthur Vance stood in the doorway holding a suppressed submachine gun, flanked by Ross and Ethan.

The Clumsy Maid Bathed His Dog—Then The Mafia Boss Said She Wasn’t Leavi...

She found her husband with another woman and walked away so quietly that...

The Mafia Boss Asked a Disabled Widow If She Was Okay

Arthur looked at his daughter and smiled a truly terrifying smile.

He told Veronica that he always knew she was a greedy, treacherous snake.

Chapter 5 - The Devil's Deal