Sixty million dollars had just changed hands when a baby crawled under my desk, grabbed my trouser cuff, and looked up at me with the exact gray eyes of my dead brother. No child was supposed to be anywhere near the private office of a mafia boss, but when I saw what was hanging around her neck, I knew she hadn't gotten into my house by accident.

I stared at the burning cigar as pure, unadulterated terror gripped my entire soul.

Vincent had somehow tracked Doc Sal's stolen van directly to this hidden motel.

He had my brother's brave widow and my innocent niece completely in his evil grasp.

My encrypted smartphone suddenly vibrated violently in my coat pocket.

I answered the call and heard Vincent's cold, arrogant laughter echoing through the speaker.

He mocked me for thinking a simple email blast would instantly destroy his massive empire.

Vincent calmly explained that he had already paid the captains off with the stolen sixty million.

They did not care about Julian's murder as long as they were incredibly rich.

Vincent told me that if I wanted the woman and the baby to live, I had to bring the physical flash drive to the old shipping yard by the docks.

He gave me exactly thirty minutes before he threw them both into the freezing ocean.

I did not waste a single second arguing with a completely ruthless monster.

I drove recklessly through the empty city streets, blowing through every single red light.

I arrived at the dark, foggy shipping yard exactly twenty minutes later.

I walked slowly into the center of the massive concrete loading dock, holding the silver flash drive up in the air.

Vincent stepped out from behind a rusted shipping container, holding little Grace tightly in one arm.

Two massive cartel mercenaries held a severely beaten Hannah at gunpoint right beside him.

Vincent smiled wickedly and confessed that he had personally poured the gasoline on Julian's car while my brother was still breathing.

He demanded that I toss the flash drive across the concrete immediately.

I threw the silver drive, and it clattered loudly against the wet pavement at his expensive shoes.

I yelled at him to release the innocent woman and the child right now.

Vincent picked up the drive and smoothly slipped it into his tailored suit pocket.

He looked at me with a perfectly evil grin and told me I was always too trusting.

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

Vincent revealed that the sixty million was not just a payoff, but a massive payment to purchase a private cartel hit squad.

He snapped his fingers, and thirty heavily armed cartel assassins suddenly stepped out of the shadows, completely surrounding me on all sides.

Chapter 8 - The Final Exchange