Chapter 8 - The Trap
Two days later, Ellie’s strategy paid off with devastating precision.
Victor Cruz’s men attempted a massive midnight raid on what they believed was a twenty-million-dollar shipment of high-value electronics sitting at Terminal 7.
Instead of valuable cargo, Cruz's mercenaries found three dozen armed Moretti security officers waiting for them inside the dark containers, backed by federal port authorities who had been tipped off by Ellie’s legal team regarding illegal weapons smuggling.
Forty of Cruz’s men were arrested on the spot. His syndicate’s financial backing was wiped out in a single night, and his credibility among the city's underbelly was completely ruined.
By Thursday afternoon, Victor Cruz was a desperate, hunted man.
Ellie was working in her office on the ground floor when Vance walked in, his phone pressed to his ear, his face pale.
"Mrs. Moretti," Vance said, his voice urgent. "We have a situation. Victor Cruz has fled his compound. His primary vehicle was spotted heading toward the estate's rear gate. Mr. Moretti is already en route with the primary security team, but I need you to move to the panic room immediately."
Ellie stood up, her blood running cold. "Is Luca okay?"
"Mr. Moretti is fine, ma'am, but Cruz has nothing left to lose," Vance warned. "He knows you are the key to this entire operation. If he gets onto the property—"
Before Vance could finish his sentence, the sound of a heavy crash echoed from the rear courtyard, followed by the sharp, deafening pop of gunfire.
"He’s through the rear gate!" Vance yelled, pulling his weapon from his shoulder holster. "Get to the vault now!"
Ellie didn't panic. The fear that used to paralyze her when facing conflict had been replaced by a sharp, crystal-clear focus.
She picked up her tablet, activated the estate's centralized security lockdown, and slammed the heavy iron shutters down over the ground floor windows.
"Vance," Ellie said calmly over the sound of blaring alarms. "The rear courtyard is a bottleneck. Activate the automated security gates on the west drive. Trap his car in the inner garden."
Vance looked at her, stunned by her speed, then grinned fiercely. "Yes, ma'am!"
Ellie tapped the screen. The heavy iron gates of the inner garden slammed shut, locking Victor Cruz’s black SUV inside a narrow stone courtyard surrounded by twenty-foot brick walls.
Seconds later, the front gates of the estate blew open.
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Four black sedans tore up the driveway, stopping directly behind Cruz's trapped vehicle.
Luca stepped out of the lead sedan, dressed in his dark suit, a heavy pistol in his hand, his eyes burning with a terrifying, apocalyptic fury. Behind him stood twenty armed Moretti men, completely surrounding the courtyard.
