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"Gennady." Her voice was barely there, choked with tears. "I really don't know anything."

"Doesn't matter anymore." I calmly drew the gun from my waist, the cold metal touch strangely focusing my chaotic thoughts. "Marco told me himself."

Her face instantly drained of all color, lips trembling. "Wh-what?"

"Meaning," I raised my arm, gun barrel steady on her heart, "your show's over."

"No—!" She burst into a dying scream, body thrashing wildly. "Don't! Please! Let me explain! He forced me! Marco threatened me! He—"

"Too late." My voice held no ripples, finger on the trigger steady as stone. "You chose this road yourself."

"Please! I was wrong! Give me another chance! I swear! I'll never touch a hair on Cassie's head again!" Her cries were heart-rending.

"You're out of chances." My finger squeezed.

The gunshot exploded in the tight space, deafening. Her body jerked once, then slumped softly, the terror in her eyes frozen forever.

"Boss." Dimitri's voice came from behind, tight with urgency. "I've got people tracking Marco's phone satellite location. Next—"

"Next," I holstered the gun, gunpowder smell choking, turning to leave, voice cold as iron, "gather everyone. We're getting Cassie back."

The war room air was taut as a bowstring. Core members stood at attention, eyes focused on me. The huge Chicago map was the only backdrop.

"Marco made his move." I stood before the map, voice not loud but crushing. "He took Cassie, killed four of our men. Now it's our turn." My finger slammed the map hard. "Find him! Dig three feet underground if you have to!"

"Boss, your orders?" Alex asked in a low voice.

"Alex, East End, all entry and exit points—seal them. Not even a rat gets out. Dimitri, the port, watch every ship movement. Nikolai, tell those cops on our payroll—tonight, Chicago is my hunting ground. Nobody gets in the way." Orders came crisp and cold.

"Boss, Marco's demands-" Dimitri frowned deeply.

I looked at the spiderweb of streets on the map, mind racing through scenarios. "He never wanted Chicago from the start." I looked up, gaze like a tempered blade. "He wants my life, dragging Cassie and the baby to hell with him."

"The guys are all ready, we can surround him anytime! He's got no men left; we can take care of this bastard." Fire burned in Dimitri's eyes.

"No, too many people will just corner him, hurt Cassie and the baby." I shook my head decisively. "This is between him and me. I'll settle it personally. But you all wait outside. If something sounds wrong inside, storm in immediately."

I paused, a deeper chill rising from my eyes. "Also, Dimitri."

"Yes."

"Find Vincent's family." My voice was ice-cold piercing. "His son can keep getting treatment. But his wife needs to know crystal clear that her husband traded three men's lives for some blood-stained bills. Let the traitor's name be nailed to the pillar of shame forever." This was the last accounting for the dead, and the cruelest punishment for the living.

Target locked quickly—abandoned dock, Warehouse 17.

I walked to the weapons rack. The Glock's cold metal seeped into my palm. Check magazine, chamber round, movements mechanical but precise.

"Move out," I ordered.

Engine roars tore through the manor's silence. Three black SUVs, like silent beasts, carrying me and a dozen elite men, pierced the thick night. I drove personally, knuckles white from gripping the wheel.

Engine growling low, the car tore through darkness toward the dock area reeking of rust and seawater. At a hidden intersection several hundred meters from the warehouse, the convoy stopped.

"Wait here." I pushed open the door, cold night wind mixed with the sea smell rushing in. "Without my signal, nobody approaches. If I'm not out in thirty minutes, or you hear heavy gunfire inside, storm in. Priority is saving Cassie."

"Boss!" Dimitri grabbed my arm, undisguised worry in his eyes. "At least let me go to the door with you!"

I looked at him, gaze brooking no argument. "Dimitri, my order is to stay here. Watch them." I pulled free. His lips moved, finally slamming a fist on the car roof, growling, "Yes!"