Chapter 13
The sprawling estate, once a towering symbol of absolute power, had become a bloody warzone. The main power grid had been severed, plunging the mansion into a haunting, crimson glow from the emergency backup lights. Ryan moved through the shadows like an authentic ghost, his tailored black suit absorbing the darkness. He remembered the innocent words Sarah had spoken in the bathroom: "He told the telephone that the boss was getting weak."
The horrific reality slammed into Ryan’s mind. Maria, his first love, the woman he believed vanished eight years ago, was hunted down by his most trusted brother. Marcus had killed her, stolen their child, and locked her in the suffocating darkness of the walls for four agonizing months. This betrayal crossed every conceivable boundary. It demanded a biblical level of retribution.
Approaching the ground-floor security hub, Ryan spotted two guards patrolling with flashlights. Pressing himself into a dark alcove, he waited for the perfect moment. As they passed, Ryan lashed out, driving a combat knife deep into the first guard’s neck. The man fell without a sound. The second guard spun around in a panic, but before he could raise his assault rifle, Ryan closed the distance, delivering a crushing blow to the man’s throat and twisting his arm behind his back.
"Talk," Ryan hissed through clenched teeth, the bloody blade resting against the guard’s jugular. "Where is Marcus?"
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"He... he’s in the main foyer waiting for the Falcone reinforcements," the guard stammered, shaking violently. "They are driving in from the Chicago shipping yards! You are a dead man!"
Ryan’s eyes turned pitch black. The silver falcon crest on the blanket in the wall wasn't a ghost—the Falcone family had rebuilt themselves from the ashes of the war five years ago. Showing no mercy, Ryan snapped the traitor's neck. He stepped into the security room, his fingers flying across the keyboards. He engaged the maximum lockdown protocol, dropping thick, bulletproof steel shutters over every door and window. "Now," Ryan whispered, a chilling smile forming on his lips, "nobody gets to leave."
