Chapter 7 - The Hostage
I showed the horrific picture message directly to Alina, and all the color completely drained from her face.
She demanded aggressively to come with me to the terminal to desperately save our only child.
I told her it was a total suicide mission and absolutely forbade her from stepping into the crossfire.
She looked at me with those fierce green eyes and explicitly stated she was a mother, not a fragile prisoner anymore.
We drove in heavy, agonizing silence toward the massive, rusted shipping terminal bordering the freezing lake.
The dark water crashed violently against the concrete piers under the pale, unforgiving moonlight.
I parked the vehicle a block away, and we cautiously approached the massive, towering cranes entirely on foot.
I clearly saw Matteo standing boldly on the absolute highest platform of the rusted central crane.
He was violently holding Sophia by the collar of her tiny yellow dress, dangling her dangerously close to the deadly drop.
Nico was tied securely to a metal beam nearby, looking completely unconscious and severely beaten.
A dozen heavily armed syndicate traitors formed a massive defensive ring around the secure base of the towering crane.
I stepped confidently out of the shadows, dropping my heavy assault rifle loudly onto the solid concrete.
I raised my empty hands high and walked aggressively toward the circle of heavily armed men.
Matteo looked down at me from the extremely high platform and laughed loudly into the howling wind.
He casually announced that he had legally transferred all of my legitimate assets to his own shell corporations this morning.
He smugly explained that he now owned every single hotel, warehouse, and legitimate business in my massive empire.
I was officially completely broke, actively hunted by the law, and entirely stripped of all my power.
Matteo sneered deeply that he had completely won the long game and entirely destroyed the great Marco Vitelli.
He raised his heavy pistol and aimed it directly down at my unprotected, exposed chest.
Alina suddenly stepped out from the dark shadows, raising her silver revolver directly at the armed men below.
Matteo paused, completely shocked to see the woman he had kept imprisoned for six long years standing entirely free.
His genuine shock quickly turned into a deeply sinister, highly twisted smile.
May you like
He calmly reached into his expensive jacket and pulled out a small, brightly blinking remote detonator.
"I was really hoping you would join us, Alina, because this crane is heavily wired with military explosives," Matteo laughed triumphantly.
