Chapter 10 - The Phoenix Rises
The aftermath of the shooting was a blur of blue lights and chaos.
I was rushed into an armored vehicle and driven at high speeds to an undisclosed location.
The shooter hadn't been caught,
but it didn't matter.
The message had been sent.
And so had mine.
The release of the journals had been like an atomic bomb dropping on the state capital.
By sunset,
the Governor had declared a state of emergency.
The National Guard was being deployed to maintain order as more and more public officials were taken into custody.
The "untouchable" syndicate was crumbling in real-time.
I was sitting in a windowless room in a secure facility,
my hand bandaged where a shard of stone had caught me.
Clara was there with me,
holding my other hand.
She was pale but steady.
"You did it,
Mom,"
she whispered.
"You actually did it."
"We did it,"
I corrected her.
"But it’s not over yet.
Dominic is still out there.
And a wounded animal is the most dangerous."
Thorne walked in,
looking exhausted.
"We found the sniper’s nest,"
he said,
tossing a shell casing onto the table.
"Custom-made.
High-end.
Just like everything else he owns.
But we found something else,
too."
He pulled out a tablet and showed me a map.
"The coordinates for 'Project Phoenix.'
We raided the site an hour ago."
I leaned forward.
"And?"
"It wasn't a prison,"
Thorne said,
his voice trembling slightly.
"It was a laboratory.
Dominic wasn't just smuggling drugs,
Victoria.
He was manufacturing them.
New,
synthetic strains that we’ve never seen before.
He was going to bypass the cartels entirely.
He was building his own pharmaceutical empire,
funded by the blood of the city."
I felt a wave of nausea.
The scale of his ambition was horrifying.
"Where is he,
Marcus?"
"We tracked a private helicopter to a small airfield in the north,"
Thorne said.
"He’s heading for the border.
But he left something behind for you."
He handed me a small,
handwritten note.
You won the battle,
Victoria.
But the war is just beginning.
Check on your son.
My heart stopped.
My son.
Julian.
He was in the Navy,
stationed halfway across the world.
"Julian..."
I gasped,
reaching for my phone.
"We’re already trying to reach him,"
Thorne said,
his face grim.
"But the communication lines to his ship have been jammed.
There’s a cyber-attack in progress against the entire Pacific Fleet."
I looked at Clara,
then back at the note.
Dominic hadn't just targeted me.
He had gone after my entire bloodline.
He wasn't just a criminal.
He was a monster.
I stood up,
the pain in my hand forgotten.
"Find him,"
I said,
my voice dropping to a whisper that was more terrifying than a scream.
"I don't care what it takes.
I don't care how many laws I have to break.
I want Dominic Ward brought to me.
And I want him alive."
"Why alive?"
Thorne asked.
I looked at the gavel sitting on the table,
the symbol of my life’s work.
"Because I want to be the one who reads him his rights,"
I said.
"And then,
I’m going to be the one who takes them all away."
The room went silent.
The air felt charged with an ancient,
unforgiving energy.
The Judge was gone.
Only the Mother remained.
And she was coming for blood.
Outside,
the sky was turning a bruised purple,
the clouds heavy with another impending storm.
The hunt was on.
And this time,
there would be no mercy.
No plea deals.
May you like
No appeals.
Just the final,
