Chapter 14
Valentina closed the distance on the two remaining mercenaries pinned behind a heavy service cart. She didn't slow down. As she reached the cart, she fluidly transitioned from her primary weapon to a sleek, suppressed sidearm holstered on her thigh.
She rounded the cart with blinding speed, neutralizing the third mercenary before he could swing his rifle around. The fourth and final man lunged at her in a desperate, panic-stricken bid for survival, abandoning his firearm and drawing a heavy combat knife.
Valentina didn't back away. She stepped inside his guard, catching his knife-wielding wrist with her left hand, twisting it violently while simultaneously driving the barrel of her suppressed pistol directly under his chin.
"Who gave you the layout?" Valentina hissed, her dark eyes blazing with an icy, unforgiving fire.
The mercenary gasped, his eyes wide with terror as he stared at the beautiful, terrifying woman holding his life in her hands. "Victor!" he choked out. "Victor Morello sent the blueprints to Chicago three days ago!"
Valentina’s expression remained entirely blank, processing the confirmation of her uncle's ultimate betrayal. "Thank you."
She pulled the trigger, dropping the mercenary to the floor.
She stood alone in the service corridor, the air thick with gunsmoke and the metallic tang of blood. Her comms earpiece crackled to life again.
"Valentina, it's Marcus," the capo's voice roared through the static, filled with fierce, violent triumph. "The trap at the ports was sprung. The Chicago strike team hit the docks, and we blew the pier straight into the East River, just like you ordered. They lost their entire secondary force. The surviving rats are scrambling."
"Excellent work, Marcus," Valentina said smoothly, checking her weapon. "Hold your position and sanitize the docks. The main assault on the estate is breaking."
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"Understood, Boss."
Valentina turned back toward the grand foyer. The sounds of heavy gunfire were tapering off, replaced by the shouted commands of her security team securing the remaining, surrendered hostiles. The Chicago outfit had gambled on a swift, brutal coup, and they had lost everything.
