Chapter 10 – THE RIVAL’S GAMBIT

“LILY!” I screamed, running out into the backyard.

The swing set was empty. The back gate hung open, swaying in the wind.

Gabriel sprinted through the gate, looking down the alley. Tire tracks tore through the mud. They were already gone.

I collapsed onto the grass, sobbing uncontrollably. “No, no, no!”

Gabriel pulled me up, his eyes burning with a lethal fire I hadn’t seen since the day we trapped Vincenzo.

“I will get her back, Rachel,” he swore, his voice trembling with absolute certainty. “I swear on my life.”

We rushed back inside. Sarah was standing in the kitchen, her face pale.

“They didn’t want me,” Sarah whispered, realizing the horrifying truth. “They took her to force you to hand me over.”

Gabriel grabbed his phone, dialing a number he swore he would never call again.

“Marcus,” Gabriel said when the line picked up. “I need my men back. Now.”

Within an hour, our quiet suburban home was swarming with Gabriel’s former enforcers. They hadn’t hesitated to answer his call.

“The Rossi family operates out of a shipping yard on the South Side,” Marcus said, laying a blueprint on our dining table. “If they took her, that’s where she is.”

I grabbed Gabriel’s arm. “I’m going with you.”

“No, Rachel, it’s too dangerous,” Gabriel said.

“She is my daughter!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face. “I’m not sitting here while she’s terrified!”

Gabriel looked into my eyes and nodded. He handed me a small handgun. “Keep it hidden. Don’t use it unless you have to.”

We loaded into two black SUVs. Sarah insisted on coming. “I started this,” she said quietly. “I’ll trade my life for hers.”

We drove in silence, the city lights reflecting in the rain-slicked streets.

When we arrived at the Rossi shipping yard, it was eerily quiet. Gabriel’s men fanned out, moving like shadows through the shipping containers.

We approached the main warehouse. The heavy metal doors were slightly ajar.

Gabriel kicked them open, his weapon raised.

Inside, standing in the center of the vast, empty room, was the head of the Rossi family. Marco Rossi.

He was smiling.

But there was no sign of Lily.

“Gabriel Moretti,” Marco called out, his voice echoing. “You brought my wife back to me. How kind.”

“Where is the child?” Gabriel demanded, walking forward.

Marco frowned. “Child? I didn’t take any child, Gabriel. We don’t touch kids. Bad for business.”

I froze. If Marco didn’t have Lily… who did?

Suddenly, I felt a cold metal barrel press against the back of my head.

“Drop the gun, Gabriel,” a voice whispered behind me.

It was Sarah.

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