Chapter 18 - The Ghost Ship
The freezing ocean water violently sapped the heat from my body as Lorenzo pulled me toward a small, hidden maintenance ladder attached to a concrete piling.
We climbed out of the water, shivering uncontrollably in the dark, narrow space beneath the docks.
"She won," I whispered, my teeth chattering wildly. "She has the empire, the money, and she completely destroyed your reputation."
Lorenzo wrung the freezing seawater from his dark hair, a terrifying, predatory smile slowly spreading across his handsome face.
"Isabella thinks like a corporate executive, Elena. She forgot that I am a creature born in these waters," Lorenzo replied smoothly.
He reached into a hidden, waterproof compartment strapped to his ankle and pulled out a secondary, military-grade satellite phone.
"She escaped on a yacht, but she doesn't realize I own every single shipping channel on this coast," he explained, rapidly typing a string of encrypted coordinates.
Lorenzo had completely anticipated a double-cross and had secretly placed GPS trackers on every luxury vessel docked at his marinas.
"She is three miles off the coast, heading toward international waters," Lorenzo confirmed, looking at the glowing screen.
He made one brief phone call, speaking rapidly in rapid, hushed Italian.
Ten minutes later, a sleek, matte-black stealth speedboat glided completely silently into the shadows beneath the pier.
Two of Lorenzo's most trusted, elite assassins were piloting the vessel, their faces painted in dark camouflage.
We climbed aboard the fast-attack boat, Lorenzo throwing a heavy, thermal tactical jacket over my freezing shoulders.
"We are going to board her yacht in open water," Lorenzo declared, checking the ammunition in a heavy, waterproof assault rifle.
"Tonight, Isabella Rossi permanently joins the ghosts she tried to manipulate."
The speedboat roared to life, cutting through the violent, choppy waves of the stormy ocean with terrifying speed.
We rode in absolute silence, the adrenaline completely overriding the freezing cold as we hunted down the treacherous matriarch.
In less than twenty minutes, the massive, brilliantly illuminated luxury yacht appeared on the dark horizon.
Isabella was throwing a victory party for herself, unaware that the grim reaper was speeding directly toward her hull.
Lorenzo's pilot cut the engines, letting our stealth boat drift silently alongside the massive, towering yacht.
Lorenzo secured a grappling hook, launching it flawlessly over the top railing of the lower deck.
He looked at me, his dark eyes filled with absolute, unyielding determination.
"Stay on the boat, Elena. This ends with me," Lorenzo ordered firmly.
I shook my head, grabbing a suppressed pistol from the weapons rack and securing it to my belt.
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"She stole my daughter, and she tried to destroy our family," I replied, grabbing the climbing rope. "I am going up that wall."
Lorenzo didn't argue. He offered me a fierce, proud nod, and together, we silently scaled the hull of the massive yacht, preparing to take back exactly what was ours.
