Chapter 9 - The Decoy
Dominic screamed in agony, dropping the heavy electronic detonator onto the wet concrete.
Blood sprayed from his neck as he collapsed, desperately clutching the fatal wound.
Adrian sprinted forward, diving for the detonator before it could bounce and trigger the explosives.
He caught the device just in time, deactivating the master switch with a frantic push.
Rosa ripped the heavy steel doors of the shipping container open, sobbing as she pulled Lily into her arms.
The little girl buried her face in her mother's chest, completely terrified but entirely unharmed.
Luca and the strike team swarmed the pier, securing the area and eliminating the remaining cartel guards.
Adrian stood over his dying brother, watching the life rapidly drain from Dominic's eyes.
Dominic looked up at Adrian, a bloody, mocking smile stretching across his pale face.
"You think you won?" Dominic gurgled, blood bubbling past his lips.
"I am just the distraction, Adrian."
Adrian frowned, kneeling down in the freezing rain.
"What are you talking about?" Adrian demanded, grabbing his brother's collar.
"The money was never the real prize," Dominic wheezed, his breathing growing shallow.
"They just needed you out of the mansion so they could access the family's main vault."
Adrian's blood ran ice cold.
The main vault beneath the estate held the original ledgers, the blackmail files, and the syndicate's deepest secrets.
"Who needed me out of the house?" Adrian yelled, shaking his brother.
Dominic let out one final, rattling laugh.
"The people who really sent the maid," Dominic whispered, his eyes rolling back as he died.
Adrian slowly stood up, turning to look at Rosa.
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Rosa was no longer crying.
She was standing perfectly still, holding Lily in one arm, and aiming Dominic's dropped pistol directly at Adrian's head.
