CHAPTER 35
I knelt beside Marcus,
immediately applying pressure to his bleeding wound,
refusing to let another friend die because of my past.
Liam retrieved the medical kit from his pack,
expertly treating the gunshot wound,
while I comforted the brave man who risked everything for us.
Marcus explained that Valerie had a helicopter waiting,
and they departed just minutes before we arrived,
heading toward the city ruins.
The city ruins were the remains of the old corporate headquarters,
the place where the organization originally pulled the strings of society.
It was a restricted zone,
abandoned by the government after the chemical leaks,
making it the perfect hideout for a criminal operation.
Liam helped Marcus into a stable position,
ensuring he was safe from the spreading fire above,
before we turned our attention back to the mission.
The anger inside me had crystallized into something cold,
calculating,
and utterly lethal.
Valerie had committed the ultimate sin,
she had taken my child,
and there was no place on Earth where she could hide from me.
We returned to the SUV,
loading additional ammunition and heavy weaponry into the back,
preparing for an all-out assault on their stronghold.
As we drove down the mountain toward the city,
the storm began to clear,
leaving behind a gloomy,
overcast sky that matched my internal mood.
The towering skyscrapers of the abandoned city appeared on the horizon,
looking like concrete monoliths of a dead civilization.
We entered the restricted zone through a broken fence,
navigating the cracked streets that were overgrown with weeds.
The silence here was deafening,
broken only by the sound of our engine,
and the occasional cry of a crow.
We stopped a block away from the main corporate tower,
a massive glass and steel structure that dominated the skyline.
I looked up at the shattered windows,
knowing that somewhere in that giant maze,
my daughter was crying for her mother.
Liam checked his rifle,
slapping a fresh magazine into place,
and looked at me with absolute readiness.
"We go in hard,
we go in fast,"
he said,
his voice steady and calm,
"We kill anyone who stands between us and Clara."
I nodded,
tightening the straps of my tactical vest,
feeling the weight of my father's legacy on my shoulders.
This would be the final chapter of our long nightmare,
the moment where we would either rescue our future,
or die trying to protect it.
We stepped out of the vehicle,
May you like
moving silently through the shadows of the entrance,
and breached the ground floor of the tower.
