Chapter 8 - SHADOWS AT DOCK 14
Ethan’s heart dropped into his stomach.
“Who are you?” Ethan shouted into the phone.
“Did Eleanor send you?”
The deep voice laughed softly, a low, rasping sound.
“Eleanor works for the people I am trying to destroy, Mr. Vance,” the man answered.
“I am the one who just pulled your daughter and your maid out of that basement alive.”
Ethan blinked in shock, his mind swirling in utter confusion.
“You... you took them?” Ethan asked, his voice softening slightly.
“They are safe in the back of my armored vehicle right now,” the caller stated firmly.
“But they won't stay safe for long if Eleanor’s tracking team finds us.”
“Meet me at Dock 14 in ten minutes.”
“Come alone.”
The line went completely dead before Ethan could ask another question.
Ethan stared at the glowing phone screen, his mind torn between hope and extreme suspicion.
Was this a trap set up by another faction?
Or was this stranger truly trying to help him?
Ethan didn't have a choice.
He had to risk everything for his child.
He jerked the steering wheel to the right, taking the off-ramp toward the industrial harbor district.
Ten minutes later, the dark sedan pulled into the quiet, desolate perimeter of Dock 14.
Massive shipping containers were stacked like giant colorful blocks under the dim sodium lights.
The fog rolling off the ocean water was thick, mixing with the heavy falling rain.
Ethan stopped his car, keeping the engine idling, and scanned the surroundings carefully.
Parked in the shadows between two massive red containers was the black SUV from the basement.
Ethan grabbed the guard’s pistol, hid it behind his belt, and stepped out into the rain.
The cool raindrops hit his face, washing away the sweat and concrete dust.
The rear door of the black SUV opened slowly.
Maria stepped out first, holding the little girl wrapped in a large wool blanket.
“Daddy!” the child cried out, her small voice breaking through the sound of the falling rain.
Ethan felt a massive wave of relief wash over him.
He ran forward and threw his arms around both of his daughter and Maria.
“Thank God,” Ethan whispered, kissing the top of his daughter’s head.
“Thank God you’re safe.”
The front door of the SUV opened, and a tall man stepped out into the open fog.
He was a man in his late 50s, wearing a dark trench coat, with short grey hair and a jagged scar running down his cheek.
He walked toward Ethan with slow, deliberate steps.
Ethan stood up, keeping his daughter behind his back, his hand resting near his weapon.
“Who are you?” Ethan asked, his eyes locked on the stranger’s scarred face.
The man pulled a silver pocket watch from his coat and held it up.
Engraved on the silver cover was the exact same family crest as the one on Ethan’s brass key.
“My name is Viktor,” the man said softly.
May you like
“I was your father’s chief of security for twenty years.”
“And I am the man who failed to save your mother.”
