Chapter 1 - The First Blood
Marin controlled her breathing and waited in the absolute darkness of the bedroom.
She heard the soft, deliberate squeak of the brass doorknob turning.
The heavy oak door glided open, revealing the silhouette of a tall man holding a suppressed pistol.
He stepped into the room with the smooth confidence of a predator who believed his prey was deeply asleep.
He did not look toward the dark corner near the medicine cabinet where Marin was hiding in total silence.
His tactical boots made almost no sound on the thick Persian rug as he carefully approached Adelaide's bed.
Marin waited with perfect patience until the intruder raised his weapon toward the helpless old woman.
She stepped out of the shadows and violently threw the open bottle of concentrated antiseptic solution directly into his face.
The man let out a muffled gasp of sheer agony as the burning chemicals blinded his unprotected eyes instantly.
Before he could blindly pull the trigger, Marin swung the heavy steel surgical clamp with brutal precision.
The solid metal struck the exact center of his throat, crushing his windpipe with a sickening, wet crunch.
He dropped his weapon and collapsed heavily to the floor, gasping desperately for air that would never come.
Marin quickly caught the heavy pistol before it hit the hardwood and made a sound.
She knelt beside the dying man and expertly stripped a small communication earpiece from his ear.
She pressed the device to her own ear and listened to the steady static of the encrypted radio channel.
A deep, authoritative voice suddenly crackled through the tiny speaker, asking for a status update on the old woman's death.
Marin felt a cold shiver run down her spine as she instantly recognized the impatient caller.
May you like
It was not a rival cartel boss or a random enemy of the criminal empire.
The man ordering the brutal assassination of Adelaide Ferrante was Elias's own trusted younger brother, Julian.
