Chapter 1 - The Ghost Van
The cold Chicago air felt like blades against Luca’s skin.
He stood in Elena’s childhood home with the ransom note burning a hole in his fist.
Rage blinded him for a full minute before his mafia training kicked in.
He pulled his gun and cleared every room in the small house with deadly precision.
There was no sign of a struggle.
Whoever took his wife knew exactly how to bypass the old alarm system.
He raised his phone to his ear and waited for the connection.
"Nico, lock down the entire city," Luca ordered with a voice like cracked ice.
"Nobody gets in or out without my explicit permission," he added.
He walked back out to his car and slammed the heavy door shut.
His phone buzzed in his palm with an incoming text from an untraceable number.
It was a live video link with no attached message.
Luca tapped the screen and his blood instantly ran cold.
The grainy video showed Elena tied to a rusted metal chair in a dark room.
She was unconscious.
A man in a black ski mask was standing behind her.
He was holding a serrated hunting knife dangerously close to her throat.
"You have one hour to find us, Moretti," a synthesized voice echoed from the speaker.
"If you fail, Chicago will rain blood tonight," the voice continued smoothly.
The feed abruptly cut to black.
Luca slammed his fists against the steering wheel hard enough to crack the leather.
He started the engine and tore down the quiet residential street.
He knew only one syndicate bold enough to pull a stunt like this in his city.
The Volkov Bratva had been pushing into his territory for six months.
He drove recklessly until he pulled up to a known Volkov front on the South Side.
His heavily armed men were already waiting in the shadows of the alley.
They kicked the heavy steel doors open and rushed into the warehouse.
The massive building was completely empty and silent.
Suddenly, a blinding spotlight flicked on from the high ceiling.
A loud ringing sound echoed through the vast empty space.
Luca looked down and saw a cheap burner phone resting on a wooden crate.
He picked it up and pressed it to his ear.
"Check your trunk, Luca," the mechanical voice whispered softly.
Luca sprinted back outside into the freezing night air.
He popped the trunk of his Bentley open with shaking hands.
May you like
He looked inside and his heart stopped completely in his chest.
Inside the trunk was his most trusted bodyguard, dead, with a map carved directly into his skin.
