a.My Stepfamily Sold Me to a Mafia Boss for $50,000—Then His Security Camera Put Them in Prison...

The interrogation was brief, precise, and brutal. Shaken to his core by Gabriel’s terrifying presence and Nora’s unyielding coldness, Richard Sterling broke completely. He revealed that Julian Vane had established a temporary command post at an abandoned industrial shipyard three miles north of the harbor.

However, the victory was short-lived.

By midnight, Gabriel, Nora, and Leo had returned to the Costa estate to coordinate a tactical strike with their elite security forces. But as their armored SUV pulled up the winding driveway leading to the cliffside manor, something was terribly wrong.

The front gates stood wide open, their iron hinges twisted and broken. The warm fairy lights from the wedding were smashed, and dark smoke billowed from the upper floor of the estate.

"Security team! Report!" Leo shouted into his radio, but only static answered.

Gabriel’s face transformed into a mask of pure fury. He slammed the vehicle into park, drew his weapon, and stepped out before the engine even died. "Nora, stay in the car!"

"Not a chance!" Nora replied, pulling a compact pistol Gabriel had taught her to fire months ago from the glove compartment. "I'm coming with you."

They swept through the front foyer. The grand marble staircase was littered with broken glass and spent shell casings. Two of Gabriel’s security guards lay injured near the doorway, receiving basic first aid from a surviving team member.

"Boss..." one of the guards groaned, clutching his shoulder. "They came by sea... climbed the cliffs... they weren't trying to hold the house... they were looking for something in your study."

Gabriel rushed up the stairs, Nora and Leo right behind him.

The master study was completely destroyed. Bookcases were overturned, hard drives were ripped from the central servers, and the heavy wall safe behind the family portrait was blasted wide open.

"What did they take?" Nora asked, her breath coming fast as she looked at the wreckage.

Gabriel walked over to the open safe. His hand hovered over an empty velvet box. His eyes narrowed to sharp points.

"They didn't take money or offshore account keys," Gabriel said softly, a terrifying calmness settling over his voice. "They took the hard ledger of the Vane Syndicate’s former political allies."

"The list of corrupted officials, judges, and police chiefs your father compiled before he died," Leo realized, his jaw dropping. "If Julian gets those names..."

"He can blackmail half the city leadership into backing his takeover," Gabriel finished. "He didn't attack us to kill us tonight. He attacked us to gain the ultimate leverage."

Nora stepped into the center of the ruined study, looking at the torn carpet and shattered glass. Then, her eyes caught something underneath the fallen mahogany desk. A small electronic device with a blinking red light.

"Gabriel! Down!" Nora screamed.

Gabriel tackled Nora to the floor just as a high-frequency pulse detonated from the device. It wasn't a lethal explosive—it was a localized EMP charge. Instantly, all electronic systems in the manor died. The emergency lights went dark, security monitors turned off, and the automated iron shutters slammed down, trapping them inside the darkened house.

Out in the dark hallway, the heavy sound of combat boots echoed against the hardwood floor.