A Seven-Year-Old Paid the Mafia Boss $4.25 to Scare the Monster in Apartment 309, and by Sunrise the Whole City Was Terrified of What He Found

They hid Ellie in a safe house—a subterranean bunker hidden beneath one of Vincent’s shipping warehouses. It was the only place in the city where the walls were thick enough to stop a bullet and the security was absolute.

Vincent paced the room, the four dollars and twenty-five cents sitting on his desk. He hadn't returned them. They were his reminder.

"If Hayes is willing to kill a child over an apartment complex, the data underneath is worth billions," Vincent said. "He’s not just building apartments. He’s housing a black-ops data farm for someone in the federal government. Maybe even intelligence."

"That’s a big target," Marcus said, cleaning a scratch on his arm.

"It’s not just a target," Vincent said. "It’s a leverage point. If we can extract the data before they tear the building down, we don't just win; we own the city council, the mayor, and whoever else is funding that farm."

"Ellie is the key," Marcus noted. "She’s the only one who can testify that the apartment was occupied before they 'sealed it.' She saw the people going in and out, didn't she?"

Vincent nodded. "She saw, but she’s a witness they can’t afford to keep alive. We need to flip the narrative. We need to go public, but we need to do it in a way that protects her."

"How?"

Vincent looked at the coins. "We need an audience that Hayes can't silence. We need the local news, the federal authorities, and a public outcry that makes it impossible for them to bury this. And we need to make sure the demolition happens on our terms."