Chapter Nine: The Exchange

The meet was set for midnight.

Abandoned warehouse on the waterfront. The kind of place where bodies disappeared.

Elena wore a wire.

Dante wore a bulletproof vest under his jacket.

They drove separately. Dante with the federal agents. Elena alone, as instructed.

Her hands were steady on the steering wheel.

Her heart was not.

She parked outside the warehouse. Walked to the entrance. The door was already open.

Inside, Marcus Valdez waited.

He wasn’t alone.

Six men. Armed. Spread throughout the shadows.

“Dr. Vance.” Marcus smiled. “So glad you could make it.”

“Where’s Dante?”

“Mr. Rossi is… delayed.” Marcus’s smile widened. “He had an accident on the way here. Terrible thing. He was always such a careful driver.”

Elena’s blood ran cold.

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” Marcus pulled out his phone. Showed her a photograph.

Dante’s car. Wrapped around a telephone pole. Smoke rising from the engine.

No. No, no, no.

“He’s alive,” Marcus said. “For now. Whether he stays that way depends on you.”

“I have the drive.”

“I know.” Marcus held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

Elena reached into her jacket.

Her fingers brushed the cold metal of the USB.

“What happens after I give it to you?”

“You and your boyfriend walk away. Free. Unharmed.”

“And the evidence?”

“Destroyed. Along with anyone who ever saw it.”

Elena looked at Marcus’s men. Counted them again. Six. Plus Marcus.

The federal agents were outside. Waiting for her signal.

But if Dante wasn’t there—

If he was really hurt—

“I need to see him first,” Elena said. “I need to know he’s alive.”

Marcus’s smile disappeared. “You’re not in a position to make demands.”

“Neither are you.” Elena pulled the USB out of her jacket. Held it up. “This drive has everything. Your accounts. Your contacts. Your crimes. Without it, you’re exposed. Your enemies will come for you. The FBI will come for you. Everyone you’ve ever crossed will want a piece.”

She stepped closer.

“So yes, Marcus. I am in a position to make demands. And my demand is simple. Show me Dante. Alive. Now.”

Marcus stared at her.

For a moment, she saw it. The calculation behind his eyes. The weighing of options.

Then he nodded.

“Bring him in.”

One of the men disappeared into the shadows.

A minute later, they dragged Dante inside.

He was bleeding. Limping. His face was bruised, his lip split.

But his eyes were clear.

And when he saw Elena, he shook his head.

Run, he mouthed.

She didn’t.

“Let him go,” she said. “Let him go, and the drive is yours.”

Marcus laughed. “You think I’m stupid? The moment I let him go, you both run. The agents outside swarm the building. I end up in a cage.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I want you to give me the drive. And then I want you to watch while I kill him. Slowly.”

Dante lunged.

The men grabbed him. Held him down.

Elena’s hand went to her pocket.

The panic button.

One press, and the agents would come.

But Marcus’s men had guns. Six of them. They’d kill Dante before the agents got through the door.

She needed another option.

She needed a miracle.

The door crashed open.

Not agents.

More of Marcus’s men. Except they weren’t pointing their guns at Elena.

They were pointing them at Marcus.

“What is this?” Marcus demanded.

The lead man stepped forward.

“Mr. Valdez. The family has voted. Your methods have become… unsustainable.”

“Unsustainable?”

“You brought the FBI to our door. You exposed our operations. You put everyone at risk for personal revenge.”

The man looked at Dante.

“Mr. Rossi still has friends. Even now. Even after everything.”

Marcus’s face went white.

“You’re betraying me.”

“We’re protecting the family.” The man raised his gun. “Something you forgot how to do.”

Marcus lunged for Elena.

Dante moved faster.

Bruised. Bleeding. Broken.

But still faster.

He tackled Marcus to the ground. Pinned him there.

“Elena. Now.”

She pressed the panic button.

The warehouse exploded with light and sound.

Agents poured through every entrance. Guns drawn. Voices shouting.

Marcus’s men dropped their weapons.

It was over.

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