Chapter 4 - The Blast Radius
The force of the explosion threw Luca violently into the air.
He crashed hard against the steel bulkhead and everything went black.
When he finally opened his eyes, the world was spinning and ringing loudly.
The ship was tilting dangerously to one side and taking on water.
Flames licked at the walls, creating a nightmare of fire and shadows.
Luca forced himself to stand despite the agonizing pain in his ribs.
He limped heavily toward the exit, choking on the thick black smoke.
Nico and two other men found him just in time and dragged him off the sinking vessel.
They collapsed onto the wet docks, gasping for the freezing air.
"They set us up, Boss," Nico coughed out.
Luca watched the cargo ship slowly slip beneath the dark waves of the lake.
He realized the Russian guard had spoken a terrifying truth.
The Bratva was not smart enough to plan an ambush this elaborate.
Someone else was pulling the strings from the shadows.
Meanwhile, Elena was entirely unaware of the explosion at the docks.
Her hood was finally removed, and she blinked against the blinding light.
She was no longer in the damp warehouse room.
She was sitting in a luxurious, antique-filled office overlooking the Chicago skyline.
Her sister Vanessa was nowhere to be seen.
Elena rubbed her bruised wrists and looked around the opulent room.
The double mahogany doors opened slowly.
An older man in a bespoke suit walked in holding a crystal glass of whiskey.
Elena stopped breathing completely.
She recognized the silver hair, the sharp jawline, and the cold blue eyes.
It was a face she had mourned at a closed-casket funeral ten years ago.
"Hello, little bird," the man said softly.
Elena trembled so hard the heavy chair rattled against the floor.
"Dad?" she whispered in absolute disbelief.
Arthur Hart smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.
"I told you I would always come back for you," Arthur replied.
May you like
He took a slow sip of his expensive whiskey.
"Now, we are going to destroy your husband together," her dead father declared.
