Chapter 12
The heavy hinges shuddered, wood splinters showering the entryway rug. Ryan leveled his weapon at the door, but he didn't fire. Once the first shot rang out inside the estate, every loyalist and traitor on the property would converge on this hallway, turning the bedroom into a slaughterhouse before Emily and the children could clear the lower tunnels.
"Marcus!" Ryan bellowed, stepping forward with lethal deliberate focus. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The kicking stopped. Outside, heavy breathing rattled against the door.
"Boss, you're compromised," Marcus said through the cracked wood, his tone chillingly flat. "I can smell the copper from out here. You've got the ghost in there, don't you? You found Maria's little secret."
Ryan's blood ran cold. He had suspected, but hearing Marcus say Maria's name so casually confirmed the nightmare. Maria hadn't vanished into thin air five years ago with ten million dollars of syndicate money. She hadn't run away to South America. She had been here the entire time, right under their feet, while Marcus climbed the ranks by pretending to hunt her down.
"You put a child inside my walls, Marcus," Ryan said, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "In my own home. Near my daughter."
A low, mocking laugh came from the other side of the door. "I didn't put her there, Ryan. Maria hid her before we could clean up the mess. By the time I found the crawlspace, sealing her in was the only way to keep you from asking questions. She was supposed to starve quietly. But your little girl started playing mother, didn't she? Bringing her turkey sandwiches and juice boxes."
Ryan’s jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. Sarah hadn't just been wandering the halls at night. She had been keeping a dying child alive while Marcus searched the house for the source of missing supplies.
"She's just a little girl," Ryan said.
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"She’s evidence," Marcus replied coldly. "And now, so are you. Step away from the door, Boss. Make it easy on Emily."
Before Marcus could strike the door again, Ryan fired two rounds straight through the wood at chest height. A muffled roar of pain erupted from the hallway, followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the wall. But Marcus wasn't alone. Down the corridor, the distinctive click of automatic rifles echoed, followed by the deafening roar of suppressive fire ripping through the master suite.
