Chapter 7 – The Crash Through the Gate
Chapter 7 – The Crash Through the Gate
The iron gate exploded inward.
Steel twisted like paper.
The deafening crash echoed through the entire neighborhood.
Lily screamed.
I pulled her behind me without thinking.
"Stay down!"
The black armored SUV tore across the front lawn.
Fresh sod flew through the air.
Stone planters shattered beneath its tires.
The vehicle stopped only yards from the front entrance.
Its engine continued to roar.
Daniel's voice thundered through the house.
"Everyone into defensive positions!"
FBI agents moved instantly.
Weapons were drawn.
Bullet-resistant shields came forward.
Two agents took cover behind the marble staircase.
Another covered the rear hallway.
No one fired.
Not yet.
The SUV remained motionless.
Its windows were completely black.
Impossible to see inside.
Nora pressed her earpiece.
"Sniper teams?"
A calm voice answered.
"Targets in sight."
"Standing by."
Daniel raised one hand.
"Hold your fire."
"We still don't know who's inside."
Another tense second passed.
Then another.
Suddenly...
The driver's door swung open.
A man stepped out slowly.
He wore a dark business suit.
No visible weapon.
Gray hair.
Perfect posture.
Expensive Italian shoes.
He looked more like a CEO than a criminal.
Grant's face drained of all color.
"No..."
He whispered.
"It can't be."
The man smiled.
"Good evening, Grant."
His voice was calm.
Almost friendly.
Then his eyes shifted toward the front door.
Toward me.
"So..."
"You must be Evelyn."
I recognized him immediately.
Victor Soren.
The man from the photographs.
The man my task force had spent months trying to identify.
He folded his hands behind his back.
"I was hoping we'd meet under better circumstances."
Daniel stepped onto the porch.
"Victor Soren."
"Federal agents surround this property."
"Place your hands where I can see them."
Victor chuckled.
"You've surrounded the wrong person."
"I came here to talk."
"No."
Daniel replied.
"You came here because your operation is collapsing."
Victor smiled wider.
"Perhaps."
"But that doesn't mean I'm without options."
He snapped his fingers once.
The rear passenger door opened.
A frightened young woman stumbled out.
Her hands were bound.
Her mouth was covered with silver duct tape.
She couldn't have been older than twenty.
An armed man climbed out behind her.
His pistol remained pressed against the side of her head.
Vanessa gasped.
"Oh my God..."
Victor looked almost disappointed.
"I dislike dramatic entrances."
"But they do get everyone's attention."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"This won't end well for you."
Victor ignored him.
Instead, he looked directly at Grant.
"I warned you."
Grant shook his head violently.
"I never betrayed you."
"You disappeared."
"You stopped answering calls."
"You left me no choice."
Victor nodded thoughtfully.
"I suppose that's true."
He glanced toward the frightened hostage.
"This young woman also stopped answering calls."
"Now she's helping us communicate."
My fists tightened.
Victor's eyes met mine.
"You know who she is."
I looked closer.
Then I recognized her.
Emily Carson.
A junior accountant from Blackridge Logistics.
She had vanished three weeks earlier.
Officially...
She was still listed as a missing person.
Victor noticed the recognition on my face.
"Excellent."
"That saves introductions."
Daniel slowly raised one hand.
"Release her."
Victor tilted his head.
"And receive what in return?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Victor smiled again.
"I'll make this simple."
"I want the ledger."
Nora stepped onto the porch beside Daniel.
"The ledger is evidence."
"It belongs to the federal government."
Victor shrugged.
"Then this young woman dies."
Emily struggled against the armed man behind her.
A muffled cry escaped beneath the tape.
Grant suddenly stepped forward.
"I'll give it to you."
Everyone turned toward him.
"No!"
I shouted.
Grant ignored me.
"This is my fault."
"I'll fix it."
Victor laughed softly.
"You still think you matter."
His smile slowly disappeared.
"You stopped mattering the moment your wife came home early."
Grant froze.
Victor's eyes drifted toward the second-floor windows.
"I came for something else."
A chill ran down my spine.
He wasn't looking at the ledger.
He wasn't looking at Grant.
He was looking toward Lily's bedroom.
Daniel saw it too.
His voice became ice cold.
"Sniper teams."
"Target Victor Soren."
"Stand by."
Victor smiled without looking away from the house.
"I wouldn't."
"You still haven't noticed."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
Victor raised his wrist.
He pressed a small silver button on his watch.
Nothing happened.
Then...
One of the FBI SUVs parked across the street exploded into flames.
The blast shook every window in the house.
Agents instinctively ducked for cover.
Smoke billowed into the evening sky.
Car alarms erupted throughout the neighborhood.
Victor never flinched.
"That one was only a demonstration."
His voice remained perfectly calm.
"There are two more."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"What do you want?"
Victor finally looked directly at me.
"I want Agent Evelyn Carter."
"Alone."
He smiled.
"Because she has something that belongs to me."
I stared back without blinking.
"And what exactly do you think I have?"
Victor's smile grew even colder.
"My daughter."
Every person on the porch froze.
For a moment...
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Grant looked completely bewildered.
Vanessa stared in disbelief.
Daniel slowly lowered his weapon.
I felt my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
Victor had just said the one thing none of us expected.
The missing girl everyone believed had disappeared months ago...
May you like
According to him...
Was somehow connected to me.
