My Daughter Walked Into My Bedroom Crying at Two in the Morning, Clutching Her Stomach. “Mom, There Are Little Fish Swimming Inside Me.” At the Hospital, Doctors Found 36 Magnets, and My Husband Asked, “What Did You Do to Her?” I Didn't Argue. I Pulled Out My Phone and Asked the Police to Check the Dining Room Security Camera, Never Imagining Which Family Member Would Appear in the Footage.

A dozen heavily armed men stepped out of the black vehicles.

They wore tactical gear and carried military-grade assault rifles.

A tall, broad-shouldered man with a brutal scar across his neck walked to the front of the group.

It was Hector Santiago, the ruthless leader of the underground gambling syndicate.

Brandon lowered his handgun completely and walked toward Hector with open arms.

"Hector, my friend, I have the situation completely under control," Brandon boasted loudly.

"My wife is going to sign the confession, the police will close the case, and the insurance money will be yours by Monday," he promised.

Hector didn't smile.

He looked at Brandon with a stare so cold it froze the rain falling between them.

"You are a very sloppy man, Brandon," Hector said in a deep, gravelly voice.

"You brought police heat to my business by kidnapping a child from a public hospital."

"We don't wait for insurance payouts anymore."

Hector snapped his fingers.

Two cartel soldiers instantly stepped forward and grabbed Brandon by the arms, wrestling his gun away.

"What are you doing?" Brandon screamed, struggling against their iron grip.

"We are taking your organs to cover the interest on your debt," Hector stated plainly.

Hector turned his terrifying gaze toward me and the open trunk of the car.

"Take the woman and the child too, they can be sold," Hector ordered his men.

The distraction was exactly what I needed.

I lunged forward, grabbed the keys from the ground, and slammed the trunk shut to protect Nancy.

I dove behind the heavy metal engine block of the sedan just as the cartel soldiers raised their rifles.

Gunfire erupted, shattering the windows of Brandon's car and raining glass down on me.

Suddenly, the unmistakable wail of police sirens pierced through the sound of the gunfire.

Red and blue lights flooded the pier from every direction.

Hector cursed loudly and ordered his men to scatter.

“Which daughter is yours?” should have been a harmless question

The first wineglass shattered at 8:07 p.m

The moment the mafia boss’s wife called me “an illiterate servant,”

I tried to stand up to flag down the police.

But a massive cartel hitman stepped directly into my path, raising a long, serrated hunting knife.

Chapter 9 - The Trap