Chapter 8 - The Traitor's Downfall
Silas pumped his heavy shotgun, the loud metallic click echoing menacingly through the vast warehouse.
He mockingly explained that my father did not orchestrate this hostile takeover alone.
Silas had been secretly feeding the Marchetti family highly classified information for over two years.
He was entirely sick of playing second-in-command to Daniel and wanted the Ashford empire for himself.
He had fabricated the fake kidnapping call to lure Daniel away from the safety of his loyal men.
Silas slowly raised the shotgun, aiming directly at Daniel's unprotected head.
I did not hesitate, throwing a heavy smoke grenade violently against the concrete floor.
Thick, blinding gray smoke instantly filled the tight space between us and the traitor.
Silas fired blindly into the dense cloud, the heavy buckshot missing us by mere inches.
Daniel shoved Mia safely behind a massive stack of wooden shipping crates.
I dove aggressively to the left, flanking Silas while Daniel drew his fire from the right.
Silas roared in frustration as he struggled to track our coordinated movements in the thick smoke.
I sprinted silently up a metal staircase, getting a clear elevated angle on his position.
I fired two precise shots, intentionally hitting Silas exactly in his right shoulder.
He dropped the heavy shotgun instantly, screaming in sudden, agonizing pain.
Daniel stepped calmly out of the dissipating smoke and kicked the fallen weapon far away.
He looked down at his former best friend with absolute, chilling emptiness in his dark eyes.
Silas begged pathetically for mercy, claiming he was forced into the betrayal.
Daniel pulled the trigger without a single word, instantly ending the traitor's miserable life.
We grabbed Mia and rushed out into the pouring rain, finally securing our absolute safety.
As we climbed back into our stolen vehicle, Daniel's encrypted phone vibrated with an emergency underworld broadcast.
Katherine had just sent a live, unedited video message to every major crime syndicate in New York.
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She presented fake, heavily doctored evidence claiming Daniel had gone insane and murdered Silas in cold blood.
She officially declared herself the interim boss of the Ashford family, commanding every loyal soldier to hunt us down.
